Snooker results: Wu Yize beats John Higgins 10-6 in International Championship final

Victory confirmed Wu's first ranking title success after the 22-year-old finished runner-up at both the English and Scottish Opens last season.

This time there was no mistake, the Chinese youngster capping a wonderful week's work with a dominant display against the veteran Scot who, in truth, was always second best on the day.

After Wu had surged into a 5-2 lead with three dazzling century breaks, the wily Higgins had threatened to spoil the party by pinching the final two frames of the first session to only trail 5-4 at the break.

Wu was unperturbed, however, resuming with runs of 87 and 80 to put himself within touching distance of victory.

Higgins did rally to keep his hopes alive, but Wu finished in style, a magnificent 108, his fourth ton of the match, handing him what will surely be the first of many tournament wins.

Wu told World Snooker Tour: "Honestly, it feels unbelievable. After beating Judd Trump, I started thinking about the whole journey and it was surreal.

"I think one of the good things was that I started both sessions of the final really well. Having a lead helped me to relax. Everything went pretty much the way I wanted.

"It has been a long wait since reaching the final at the Scottish Open and the English Open last year.

"At times I honestly felt quite desperate, but deep down I always believed I had the ability to win a title.

"Every day I kept thinking about it. I had a strong will to lift a trophy. That belief carried me through this week.

Higgins added: "I was nowhere near good enough all day. He was striking the ball beautifully. He was by far the better player.

"It reminded me so much of playing Paul Hunter. The way he gets through the ball and gets so much action on it. He is a brilliant player. 

"There's no point in getting too down. I'll get home and have a couple of days off before the Champion of Champions."