at The Crucible, Sheffield

John Higgins succeeded fellow Scot Graeme Dott as 888.com World Snooker Champion in Sheffield in the early hours of this morning.

The 31-year-old from Wishaw prevailed 18-13 in a marathon, gruelling showdown with Leicester qualifier Mark Selby.

The pair slogged it out for 724 minutes to claim the latest- ever finish to a Crucible world final at 12.54am.

When Higgins potted the winning ball in his last break of 78, it was just two minutes later than Dott's victory over Peter Ebdon 12 months ago.

It may have been way past his bedtime but his young son, Pierce, joined his dad in the arena to join the celebrations. So, too, did proud wife Denise.

"I'm shattered," announced Higgins clutching the trophy for the first time in nine years.

"I thought I would be bursting into tears like I did the last time, but I'm really just so pleased.

To join a group of players like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams who have won it twice is special to me.

"When I was here nearly 10 years ago, I thought I was going to win a few more. Hopefully now I'll go on and get three, four and so on."

Higgins paid tribute to his 23-year-old rival saying: "When Mark got back to 14-13 I was ready to throw in the towel. He came back superbly. He is a future world champion.

"Two years ago when I played him here he wasn't that good, but he beat me 10-4 last year and I could see the change in him."

Higgins, who cut out the booze to help him become champion again, added: "I might just have one glass of champagne to toast the trophy."

His reward for winning the toughest match of his career is a £220,000 cheque while Selby deserved every penny of his £110,000 consolation prize.

He said: "From 12-4, I thought to myself I'm going to give it my best shot. I didn't think I could win but when it got to 12-10 I thought I could. I nearly took it off John but he produced some great snooker at the end.

"It's been an amazing 18 months for me. I couldn't pot a ball, I was in bits and in danger of dropping off the tour, but I've turned it all round and I'll be back next year to have another go."

Just when Selby threatened to increase the pressure on the new world No.1, he finally cracked. Trailing 15-13, he had a great opportunity to reduce his arrears to only one for the first time since the seventh frame. However, leading 43-0, he missed a pink into a middle pocket and Higgins produced a frame-winning clearance of 57.

It was his first half-century for six frames and only his second of the day and, after waiting so long to break Selby's resistance, Higgins extended his advantage to three frames with his 11th century of the tournament. His break of 129 was the 68th of the championship, equalling the record set in 2002.

With the pressure visibly lifting, Higgins produced a final flourish of 78. So, the hard graft and his nine-year wait to become King of the Crucible again was finally over.

However, no-one predicted the match would go so close when Higgins claimed 12 of the first 16 frames on Sunday. Indeed, tournament organisers were already planning alternative entertainment for spectators with tickets for the final session.

Higgins started the final day with a seemingly unassailable 12-4 lead, threatening to finish the match without need of the last 11 frames.

Instead, the 1998 champion's celebrations were put on hold as Selby, considered drained by four previous matches, found unexpected new energy levels.

In their third Crucible meeting in three years, Selby reeled off six frames without reply to threaten his greatest comeback.

Despite the lateness of the hour, the duo still had some way to go before beating the latest-ever finish at the Crucible.

In 1983, Terry Griffiths and Cliff Thorburn eventually concluded their second-round marathon at 3.51am.

Selby's first target of the day was simply to avoid one of the heaviest defeats in a Sheffield final, and he achieved that with ease as Higgins looked on with increasing discomfort. Selby began the penultimate batch of eight frames at 25-1 to capture the title but by the time the session was halted two frames short, Selby the odds had come in to 2-1.

The decision to withdraw the pair was certainly baffling. They merited a rest but as a two-hour break ensued before the match resumed, it would have been perfectly feasible to fit in at least one further frame.

Anyone relying on Sheffield's public transport to get them home had to pay double fare for the city's taxis. The BBC consistently refuse to budge from their 8pm start time and then spend most of the night apologising for changing their programmes.

However, considering the duo's break-building prowess throughout the tournament, it was surprising the final two frames of the afternoon lasted 76 minutes. Higgins certainly had his chance in frame 22 but couldn't sink the final blue and Selby completed his six of the best.

In the five previous frames, Higgins had been outscored and outmanoeuvred. He accumu-lated only 76 points as the underdog stormed back with breaks of 109, 65, 62 and 56.

Selby's ton brought up a personal dozen. Higgins had already recorded the Crucible's 1000th century in the semi-finals against Stephen Maguire.

No player has ever recovered an eight-frame deficit to steal the trophy but Selby gave it his very best shot last night.