Sheffield: Stuart Bingham defeated Shaun Murphy 18-15 in a gripping final to win his first World Championship.

Bingham began the final session with a 14-11 lead and won an epic 64-minute frame at 15-15 to close in on victory.

The 38-year-old made a break of 65 to go 17-15 in front and clinched the title with a brilliant 88. Bingham becomes the oldest snooker world champion since Welshman Ray Reardon won the title aged 45 in 1978. He collected a winner's cheque for £300,000 and will rise from 10th to second in the world rankings.

"At one stage at 15-15 I thought I was going to do Shaun's runner-up speech," Bingham told BBC Sport. "It was a 64-minute frame to go 16-15 and that really calmed me down. To beat Shaun in the final tops everything off. Twenty years as professional - blood, sweat and tears on the road. So many family and friends have backed me. It is unbelievable."

The all-English final pitted 2005 champion Murphy against outsider Bingham, who surprised favourite Ronnie O'Sullivan as well as in-form Judd Trump and former champion Graeme Dott in previous rounds.

And Bingham, a 50-1 long-shot at the start of the tournament, held his nerve to become the oldest first-time winner at the Crucible.

Thirty years on from Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis's iconic final - which was won on the last black - both Bingham and Murphy played their part in another memorable title decider.

A breathtaking first day saw Murphy edge one frame ahead as the pair produced four centuries and 13 half-centuries.

Bingham did the damage in the third session on Monday, winning six of the eight frames to go in front at 14-11 and missing the last red when on for a maximum 147 break in the 20th frame.

He had the upper hand going into the final session, but Murphy pulled a frame back, before Bingham's brilliant 102 under pressure put him three away from victory at 15-12. Murphy made breaks of 75 and 64 to level the contest at 15-15, but a missed yellow then proved decisive in a tense 31st frame.

Bingham crucially edged in front again after an hour-long battle and that spurred him on to make 55 in the next, before a missed red from Murphy opened up the table for his opponent to seal a famous victory. (Agencies)