Peter Ebdon beat Stephen Hendry in the deciding frame of the Embassy World Snooker championships shortly after midnight to win his first world title.
Ebdon came out on top in a match lasting nearly 10 hours, winning 18-17 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to avenge his 18-12 defeat at the hands of Scotsman Hendry in the 1996 world championship final.
Hendry battled back well from 11-6 down, winning six out of the next seven frames to level at 12-12 going into the final session.
The Scot won the opening frame of the evening session to lead for the first time in the match, and he went two frames ahead by clearing the colours after potting a long yellow.
But Ebdon showed again what a fierce competitor he is by drawing level at 14-14 and regaining the advantage at 16-15 after sinking a superb long red at the start of a 111 break.
After seeing Hendry win the 32nd frame, Ebdon moved to within a frame of victory after compiling an 85 break to go 17-16 up.
Ebdon looked set to seal the win when he opened up a 52-27 lead in the following frame, but he missed a straight-forward black and Hendry took advantage.
That set up a tense final frame which Ebdon clinched following a missed blue from Hendry.