Stuart Bingham wins world title with one of snooker's greatest performances

"I thought when Shaun pulled back to 15-15, it was gone. It was a 64-minute frame to go 16-15..that calmed me down," said Bingham, 38, who was a 50-1 shot with sponsors Betfred before the tournament began.

He collects a cheque for £300,000 in becoming the oldest champion since Welshman Ray Reardon, then 45, in 1978.

Bingham faltered having opened up a 14-11 lead after the third session as Murphy benefited from several errors by his fellow Englishman to restore parity at 15-15.

But claiming a dramatic 31st frame that lasted for over an hour and needed a toilet break seemed to bring a sense of calmness to Bingham's play before he made his final dash for the winning post with breaks of 55 and 88 sealing the title as Murphy lost his earlier momentum.

Murphy - who ran in 75 and 64 on the way to drawing level after Bingham had contributed 102 to move 15-12 ahead - will reflect on missing a yellow on the verge of moving 16-15 clear before conceding 42 points in fouls as he failed to escape from several snookers with Bingham's tactical nous changing the mood of the final.

"I got to two semi-finals coming into it so I knew I was in form," said Bingham. "To beat Shaun in the final tops everything off.

"It means everything to me. I've been 20 years as a professional. I've had so many family and friends backing me. It has been unbelievable."

It was only the second time Bingham has been past the second round since 2000. He was walloped 13-4 by Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last eight two years ago, but that is all in the past.

Bingham, from Basildon in Essex, is now up from 10 to a career-high of world number two in the sport's rankings.

He turned professional in 1995, but did not win his first ranking event in the sport until 2011 when he picked up the Australian Open title in Bendigo.

He also lifted the Shanghai Masters earlier this season, but carrying off the sport's biggest prize is a life-changing moment.

Few people gave Bingham any realistic hope of becoming world champion, but he has played some remarkable snooker during the 17 days in Sheffield in outplaying tournament favourite O'Sullivan 13-9 in the last eight before holding his nerve to outlast the 2011 finalist Judd Trump 17-16 in the semi-finals.

He trailed Masters champion Murphy 8-4 on Sunday and 9-8 overnight, but held himself together superbly well with a performance that perhaps rivals Dennis Taylor and Joe Johnson's unlikely successes against Steve Davis in 1985 and 1986, respectively.

Murphy was only 22 when he won the title against Matthew Stevens a decade ago, but Bingham's remarkable success is more astonishing given his 20-year journey to the very top of the game. Certainly since snooker became a television sport in the 1970s.

"Four words: Winner, winner chicken dinner'," Bingham told the BBC. "My mum, dad, my wife, my family. My whole team I have to thank.

"Twenty years as a professional, blood sweat and tears on the road," said Bingham.

"Qualifying in places like Prestatyn and Malvern. So many family and friends have backed me. It is unbelievable."

The 32-year-old Murphy, world number eight, was simply overwhelmed as the silky-smooth cue action which took him to the 2005 world title and 2009 final wilted under intense pressure.

Bingham will be regarded as one of snooker's most popular world champions given his dedication to the sport.

"It's been a great fortnight for me. It's not finished the way I wanted it to," Murphy said on the BBC.

"I came here well prepared and gave it my best as I always do and to come up against an inspired Stuart Bingham. - sometimes your name is just on the trophy.

"As a snooker geek like Stuart, there is not a player alive who deserves it more than him."

Stuart Bingham produced a rousing recovery to open up a 14-11 lead over Shaun Murphy after the third session of a pulsating World Championship final at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

World number 10 Bingham from Basildon in Essex trailed 9-8 after the opening two sessions of his first world final, but won six of the eight frames played on Monday afternoon to leave himself on the cusp of a truly remarkable victory 20 years after he turned professional and only four years after winning his first ranking title in Australia.

Bingham - nicknamed 'Ballrun' - almost made a maximum 147 break in the 20th frame after running out of position on the final red on 112, but it was indicative of his form as a 6-2 win in the session left himself four frames short of the 18 frames needed for the old trophy and a winner's cheque of £300,000.

Masters champion Murphy remains in decent touch, but Bingham is playing some of his very best snooker with knocks of 87, 51, 112, 50, 87 and 53 enthralling the sell-out Crucible audience.

With another possible 10 frames to be played this evening, fellow Englishman Murphy from Rotherham will need to win seven of them to lift his second title a decade after his first trophy at the Crucible in 2005.

He is bidding to become the first man to win the trophy after a 10-year gap since Northern Irihsman Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins managed the feat in 1972 and 1982.

The final is rapidly turning into one of the best in recent years characterised by heavy break-building, few unnecessary safety bouts and an average frame time of around 17 minutes.

The final concludes from 7pm (BST) on Monday evening.

Stuart Bingham survived a brutal onslaught by Shaun Murphy to keep alive his prospects of winning the world title at the Crucible in Sheffield with the Masters champion Murphy 9-8 clear after an engrossing opening day of the final.

'Ballrun' from Essex was level at 4-4 having recovered from 3-0 and 4-2 behind in the opening session, but was forced to sit and suffer as a missed red in the ninth frame on 57 set the scene for 2005 world champion Murphy to spark a four-frame winning run.

Knocks of 74, 106, 121 and 51 suggested Murphy would run away with the final like he had done in his 17-9 win over Barry Hawkins in the semi-finals.

But the mid-session interval simply boosted Bingham's bid as 76, 123 and 89 enabled him to close to 8-7 behind.

A rapid 76 from Murphy was impressive coming after he had failed to pot a ball for around 30 minutes.

Both men had chances in the final frame of the session, but a smart 53 from Bingham in the closing frame of the night leaves the match delicately poised before the third session begins at 2pm on Monday afternoon.

Stuart Bingham continued his outstanding run of form as he recovered from trailing 3-0 to level at 4-4 with fellow Englishman Shaun Murphy in the World Championship final at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Rotherham's Murphy is bidding to win his second world title 10 years after he claimed the title as a 22-year-old rookie in 2005, and will be disappointed not to have been ahead after the opening session at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Bingham was forced to sit and watch Masters champion Murphy roll in knocks of 68, 59 and 65 to claim the first three frames, but Bingham showed the form that accounted for tournament favourites Ronnie O'Sullivan 13-9 in the quarter-final and Judd Trump 17-16 in the last four as 105, 56 and 65 helped him restore parity at 4-4.

The best-of-35 frame final resumes on Sunday evening at 7pm with nine more frames to be played in the second session.

Both men are chasing a top prize of £300,000 from tournament sponsors Betfred.