Mark Selby added another ranking title win to his glittering CV with a 9-6 victory over Stephen Maguire in the Welsh Open final in Llandudno on Sunday.
A terrific match looked set to go all the way when Maguire levelled at 6-6 with a remarkable counter of 71 after Selby had missed a simple red on 60.
Maguire headed for the mid-session interval with his tail up, but Selby summoned on all of his experience and didn't put a foot wrong after the break, reeling off three frames in succession to finish in style.
In all, Maguire only managed eight points in those frames, Selby making breaks of 60 and 128 – his second of two centuries on the day – before dominating what proved to be the final frame.
Nevertheless, it shouldn't detract from a good week for Maguire whose deep run here was his first ranking semi-final appearance for four years.
In truth, he was never quite able to lay a meaningful blow on his outstanding opponent whose remarkable record in finals continues.
Selby led 3-1 and 4-3 in the afternoon as he made much of the early running, but Maguire pinched another crucial frame to end the session all square at 4-4 and promise a nervy conclusion.
However, Selby managed to keep the Scot at arms length in the evening session and saved his best for last, once again producing the goods when it mattered most.
“Obviously delighted,” Selby, who won his first ranking title in the same event in 2008, told Eurosport.
“The last three frames I played okay, but I felt like I had a lot of run of the ball at key times and that’s the difference at this level.
“I’m my own worst critic, even when I’m playing okay I always think I’m not playing great, but this week I’ve won a lot of key frames when I’ve been 40 or 50 behind and when it’s been a bit nip and tuck I’ve won quite a few of them.
“The last six to eight months I hadn’t been and that’s probably been the difference between me not going on a good run.”