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John Higgins won the third World Championship title of his career as he completed a crushing 18-9 Crucible victory over Shaun Murphy.

The brilliant Scot drubbed Murphy to land the trophy and prize-money of £250,000, sealing his victory in the final with a classy break of 73 before celebrating with wife Denise and their two young children.

Higgins had relied on his survival instincts to reach the final, describing his 13-12 victory over Mark Selby in the last eight as the best of his career after winning the final two frames.

But against Murphy he had arguably the most comfortable match of his two weeks in Sheffield, and after winning seven of eight frames in Sunday's second session he merely had to consolidate his hefty lead.

As well as his scare against Selby, 33-year-old Higgins had also battled back from 12-10 down to beat Jamie Cope 13-12 in the second round.

However the final proved more straightforward for Higgins against Murphy, whose error-strewn performance was a disappointment and meant the anticipated close finish did not materialise.

Higgins' top break of the second afternoon of the match had been a modest 61, however he still managed to win five out of eight frames to build on his overnight 11-5 advantage.

Murphy missed three important yellows, two in the first frame of that session and the third just as he seemed certain to cut Higgins' lead to 15-9 at the interval. Having been an excellent champion at the Crucible in 2005, Murphy knew how to approach a final, but he had little left to give today.

No player had ever fought back to win from 11-5 overnight in Sheffield, and the damage was irreparable.

After a terrific tournament, which has seen a record-shattering 83 centuries, the final did not justify the pre-match expectations, however that will probably weigh on Murphy's mind for far longer than it will concern Higgins.

The Wishaw cueman's brilliant performance last night, which featured two breaks of 128 and another of 95, was the high point of the match but also the phase which effectively ended it as a contest.

Murphy made a break of 91 this afternoon which was a hint that he was in the mood to respond to Higgins' second-session surge.

But Higgins went 13-6 ahead after winning a safety battle on the blue and then escaping from a self-inflicted snooker to pot the pink.

Murphy should have narrowed the gap to six frames again after Higgins broke down on a break of 49 in frame 20.

But after reaching 43 he was poorly positioned on a red and could not produce the necessary precise cut required to keep the break going.

He left the red for Higgins who swept eight clear with a run of 27.

A run of 47 brought Murphy the next frame, and he added 79 to reel Higgins in a little further.

The Scot finished the afternoon on a high with breaks of 61 and 52, and then this evening briefly threatened to start with a 147 maximum break.

He faltered on 48 after potting six reds and blacks, but Murphy could not take advantage and a further run of 58 from Higgins took him to within one of victory.

Murphy pulled one back but he had needed 10 in a row.

Higgins almost finished with a 100 break but missed the yellow, not that it mattered.

Having previously triumphed in 1998 and 2007, Higgins joins Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Spencer on three world titles, with only seven-time champion Stephen Hendry, and six-time winners Steve Davis and Ray Reardon having been more successful in snooker's open era, which began in 1969.

Higgins, who turns 34 on May 18, also became the oldest Crucible champion since Dennis Taylor triumphed at the age of 36 in 1985.