Stuart Bingham has admitted that he thought his chance winning the World Snooker Championship was slipping away during the final session.
Leading 15-12 and needing only three more frames to seal victory, his opponent Shaun Murphy reeled off three frames in a row to level the match.
However, the 38-year-old regained his composure and, after wrapping up the title with a break of 88, he admitted that winning the marathon 31st frame helped him relax.
He told BBC Sport: "At one stage at 15-15 I thought I was going to do Shaun's speech. It was a 64-minute frame to go 16-15 and that really calmed me down. Four words: Winner, winner chicken dinner. My mum, dad, my wife, my family. My whole team I have to thank.
"Coming in to it was a bit different. I got to two semis out of three events. It didn't start brilliantly but I went from strength to strength. And in the final I beat the second best man in the tournament! To beat Shaun in the final tops everything off.
"Twenty years as professional, blood sweat and tears on the road. Qualifying in places like Prestatyn and Malvern. So many family and friends have backed me. It is unbelievable."
Bingham becomes the third-oldest winner of the world title in Crucible history.
Chris O'Keefe
