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Shaun Murphy beat Ken Doherty 9-3 to make a successful defence of his Malta Cup crown.

The defending champion registered an impressive victory over former winner Doherty in this year's best-of-17 frame final at the Hilton Conference Centre.

And, despite managing just two notable breaks in a scrappy affair, the Rotherham professional made sure he pocketed the £20,000 winners' cheque.

Irishman Doherty walked away with £9,000 as a worthy runner-up, but for most of a frustrating night had to watch his opponent enjoy a large amount of ball run as both players failed to sparkle.

Murphy, though, deserved his win - a victory which secured his first major title for 12 months having beaten Welshman Ryan Day in last year's final in the luxurious resort of Portomaso.

In claiming this year's prestigious invitational title Murphy became the second player to have won back-to-back titles on the Mediterranean island.

Only Stephen Hendry, the seven-times world champion, has achieved the feat when, in 2001 he won the Rothmans Grand Prix and European Open titles at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Hendry also went on to win the Malta Cup in its debut season in 2005, with Doherty and Murphy having won the crown in the following years.

A Malta Cup winner in 2006, it was world number four Doherty who edged ahead thanks to a cool 91 break in the opening frame.

But world number three Murphy won two scrappy frames for a welcome lead, before adding runs of 41 and 42 to open up a two-frame cushion at the mid-session interval.

And it got even better as the 25-year-old edged closer to this year's title with a 5-2 afternoon session lead, although he failed to muster any break over 50 in the opening seven frames.

However Doherty, appearing in a record fifth final in Malta, still fancied his chances of a comeback.

Last month the Dubliner bravely battled back from 4-1 behind to beat Murphy 6-5 in the quarter-finals of the Wembley Masters.

The Ranelagh professional pocketed three centuries to win four of the last four frames for a famous victory, although he missed out on a place in another major final.

But despite his best efforts the 38-year-old could not keep in touch with Murphy who, far from playing well himself, won two more frames to stretch his advantage to 7-2 - the highlight of which was a break of 75 in the ninth frame.

Doherty won a scrappy 10th frame to reduce his arrears, but the finishing line was in sight for Murphy - and he pushed home the advantage.

Murphy won a scrappy 11th frame to edge within one frame of victory and completed his win with a cool 76 break in the final frame.