China Championship: Higgins beats Bingham in final

The Scot claimed his first title of the season - which does not count towards his career tally of 28 ranking crowns as it was an invitational tournament - by edging out the 2015 world champion in what was always a closely-contested final.

Higgins edged the first session 5-4 but found himself 6-5 down when play resumed in the evening.

A thrilling finish looked to lie in store when the score moved to 7-7. However, Higgins won the final three frames - all with century breaks - to claim the title.

His breaks were 134, 100 and 101 and left Bingham stuck in his chair at the decisive point in the match.

"At 7-7 I was just hanging in there, Stuart was playing the better stuff and I was just scrapping away," said Higgins on the official World Snooker website.

"I knew my form needed to come. It's a dream come true to finish a match off like that with three centuries, especially for such a big prize and a big tournament. I'm definitely taking this trophy home!

"In recent matches I have sometimes been guilty of not having the correct mindset, but I was really zoned in tonight. Even when I went 6-5 down I stayed positive and kept concentrating on every ball."

Bingham said: "It was a great match and he finished in style. I had a couple of chances to go 8-8 but I didn't do much wrong and I was glad to be part of it. John is still a class act and a match for anyone."

As a result of his victory, Higgins takes home £200,000 - the sport's biggest ever winner's cheque for an event held outside the UK.

The invitational tournament becomes a ranking event next season.

Both players will now head back to the UK where the Champion of Champions tournament gets under way in Coventry on Monday. Bingham starts his bid on Tuesday with Higgins not in action until Thursday in what is another invite-only event. 

China Championship 2016: Daily Results

Tuesday November 1
Afternoon Session (1430 local, 0630 GMT)
First Round (Best of 11 frames)
Mark Selby 6-2 Anthony McGill (Match 1)
Mark Allen 6-4 Ricky Walden (Match 2)

Evening Session (1930 local, 1130 GMT)
First Round (Best of 11 frames)
Ding Junhui 3-6 Marco Fu (Match 6)
Judd Trump 4-6 Ali Carter (Match 4)

Wednesday November 2
Afternoon Session (1430 local, 0630 GMT)
First Round (Best of 11 frames)
Stuart Bingham 6-2 Liang Wenbo (Match 8)
Shaun Murphy 6-4 Joe Perry (Match 5)

Evening Session (1930 local, 1130 GMT)
First Round (Best of 11 frames)
John Higgins 6-4 Mark Williams (Match 3)
Neil Robertson 5-6 Michael Holt (Match 7)

Thursday November 3
Afternoon Session (1430 local, 0630 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Mark Selby 5-6 Mark Allen (Match 9)
John Higgins 6-2 Ali Carter (Match 10)

Evening Session (1930 local, 1130 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Shaun Murphy 6-2 Marco Fu (Match 11)
Michael Holt 5-6 Stuart Bingham (Match 12)

Friday November 4
Afternoon Session (1430 local, 0630 GMT)
Semi-Finals (Best of 17 frames)
First Session - Eight Frames
Mark Allen 2-6 John Higgins (SF 1)
Shaun Murphy 4-4 Stuart Bingham (SF 2)

Evening Session (1930 local, 1130 GMT)
Semi-Finals (Best of 17 frames)
Mark Allen 3-9 John Higgins (SF 1)
Shaun Murphy 8-9 Stuart Bingham (SF 2)

Saturday November 5
Final (Best of 19 frames)
John Higgins 10-7 Stuart Bingham