Williams left stunned as Higgins takes title

But Higgins amazingly won five frames in a row to take the crown.

The Welshman dominated the opening session with a series of impressive breaks against world No 2 Higgins.

Higgins was looking to win his first major tournament since a six-month ban for bringing the game into disrepute.

He had also stated his desire to lift the crown for his dad, John senior, who is losing his five-year battle against cancer. But the Scot had to pull out all the stops this evening to deny Williams, who was previously champion in 1999 and 2002.

Williams, currently ranked sixth in the world, sent out a message of intent in the opening frame with a break of 83.

A run of 40 helped Higgins to draw level but Williams established a two-frame advantage by the mid-session interval.

A 39 and 28 enabled him to win frame three and he made Higgins pay the price after breaking down on 45 by missing a straightforward pink into the middle pocket.

Williams took advantage of this let-off with a 65 to the final black although he was relieved when the blue wobbled in the jaws of the pocket before dropping.

Williams looked favourite to win the first frame after the resumption with a break of 55. But Higgins produced a 66 clearance.

Williams reopened a two-frame advantage after an opening 42 despite Higgins managing to achieve the two snookers he required at one stage. In the evening session, the pair shared the first four frames before Williams went 9-7 needing one frame for victory. But he was not allowed to get it.