Higgins eases to third world snooker title

By Nick Johnson

SHEFFIELD, England (Reuters) - Scotland's John Higgins secured his third world title with a crushing 18-9 victory over England's Shaun Murphy in the final on Monday.

Leading 11-5 overnight, Higgins extended his lead to eight frames at 16-8 after the penultimate session and won two out of three frames when play resumed to seal victory, finishing the match off with a 73 break.

"To win it a third time is amazing. I knew my form was really close to being there coming into this tournament and, thank God, it was," Higgins told reporters.

Higgins said the size of victory was not a fair reflection on the balance of the final.

"The score doesn't tell the story of the match because there were maybe five or six frames that went to the colours and that's why I'm sitting here at 18-9 instead of being out there at 15-14," he said.

Higgins became only the fourth player to win three titles at the Crucible, joining Stephen Hendry, Steve Davis and Ronnie O'Sullivan in an elite group.

The 33-year-old believes he can add to his tally over the next few years.

"I'm a lot more sensible than I was 10 years ago in a lot of ways," he said. "I feel a lot more controlled at the table.