Higgins seals second Crucible crown

The Scot eventually came out on top 18-13 after winning four frames in a row. But the scoreline alone does not tell the whole story of qualifier Selby's gallant efforts after he had been taken apart by Higgins on the opening day of the best of 35 frame marathon.

Higgins' triumph was achieved after the latest finish to a world final in history, narrowly beating the 12.52am climax to the Graeme Dott-Peter Ebdon showdown 12 months ago.

But it was still some way short of the record for any match in the Crucible Theatre - 3.51am for the Cliff Thorburn-Terry Griffiths encounter in 1983.

It completed a memorable 48 hours for Higgins who, in addition to lifting his second world title, has regained number spot in the rankings for the 2007-2008 season.

But many of the plaudits were for Selby who had looked as if he faced mission impossible when trailing 12-4 overnight in the best of 35 encounter - a deficit which no-one has recovered to win in the history of the tournament.

At that stage it looked as if Selby had nothing to play for but pride but the Leicester potter completed a sparkling whitewash of a stunned Higgins in the truncated afternoon session.

He won all six frames with some deadly potting which included his 12th century of the tournament - more than anyone else - while his out-of-sorts opponent managed a top break of 36 during that period.

Higgins would have been the more happy of the two players to see two frames lopped off to allow them a break before the final session got under way and give him time to regroup for what proved to be a marathon stint.

Selby got to within one frame of Higgins at one stage at 14-13 before finally running out of steam after an unforgettable fortnight which has propelled him up to number 11 in the rankings.