Gary Wilson claimed six frames in a row to win his first ranking title with a 9-2 scoreline against Joe O’Connor on the BetVictor Scottish Open at Meadowbank.
The 37-year-old from Wallsend near Newcastle accumulated two 100-plus breaks before wrapping up the title and the £80,000 cheque with 94 in the 11th and final frame.
It was his third bid to claim a ranking title and he did it in style before a packed house at the two-time Commonwealth Games stadium which has just undergone a £45m refit.
He said: “It is unbelievable to think that after the career I’ve had. which has been up and down, that I’ve finally won a tournament. I’ve now fulfilled an ambition.”
Wilson added: “I’ve been in a coupld of finals and lost situations in matches I should have won. This means the world to me.”
Wilson, the world ranked No 32 and whose mother is Scottish, was in the groove from the start, winning the opening frame 129-8 thanks to a break of 102.
Leicester-based O’Connor, in his first ranking final, won the next 99-0 but lost the third 67-64 despite a break of 64, Wilson coming from behind to claim the frame under extreme pressure.
The fourth went the way of the Northumberland player 88-0 but Wilson lost the fifth 82-7. The Englishman, who has a Scottish mother, originally from Fife, bounced back to take the sixth with a break of 102 and the seventh went his way as well, 80-34.
A 74 break in the eighth secured that frame and he won the ninth 81-32 to edge closer to his first major title.
The tenth frame ended with a 54-46 win and he claimed the Stephen Hendry trophy and the big cheque with a 94 break in the 11th.
Wilson had previously knocked out the pre-tournament favourite, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and former world champion, Ken Doherty, on his way to the title and he collected the trophy from Dai Jenkins (pictured).
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