John Higgins captured the Championship League title on Thursday with a 3-1 defeat of Judd Trump in the final.
The pair had both been vying for a record fourth Championship League victory, but Higgins came out on top at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
A break of 62 in the opening frame helped the Scot into an early lead, but Trump responded with an even ton to draw level.
Higgins subsequently moved to within one frame of glory with a 78 contribution in the third frame and duly wrapped up a successful Championship League defence in the fourth frame.
The four-time world champion collected the £10,000 champion’s cheque in addition to more than £15,000 in bonus prize money that he earned throughout the competition.
By adding to his previous triumphs in 2017, 2018, and 2022, Higgins will also gain an invitation to the prestigious Champion of Champions event later this year.
The victory will grant the 47 year-old with some much-needed extra confidence ahead of the World Championship next month.
It has been a difficult season overall for the Wizard of Wishaw with appearances at the business end of events scarce.
Higgins will be hoping this win will help spearhead a more positive conclusion to the 2022/23 campaign.
Trump had earlier dominated the Winners’ Group, winning five out of his six league phase encounters – his only loss coming against Higgins.
The Englishman followed that with a 3-0 semi-final victory over Neil Robertson, but he ultimately fell just short of a fourth Championship League trophy of his own.
In the other last-four clash, Kyren Wilson raced into a 2-0 lead over Higgins with breaks of 137 and 85.
But the Kettering cueist could do little about Higgins’ revival, with the latter producing a hat-trick of sizable breaks to turn the match around.
Featured photo credit: CLS
A 55th career title for the great Scot (4th on the all-time list).
He now holds the record for most outright wins in the Championship League and Welsh Open (5 titles). He shares the record for outright wins, alongside Stephen Hendry, at the British Open and the former Grand Prix tournament. He’s won both of those events four times each.