Andrew Higginson won the first professional title of his career at the PTC event 5, beating world champion John Higgins 4-1 in the final.

Watch and bet on live Snooker at Bet365 > Live streaming > Snooker
 
The Widnes ace came through a 200 string field to claim glory in Sheffield, taking home the £10,000 top prize in addition to 2,000 valuable ranking points.

The win also means he will appear in the Players Championship Grand Finals in March.

The world number 23 produced seven consistent performances over the three days, culminating in a superb display against reigning world champion John Higgins.

He took a scrappy opener in the final after sinking the final blue and pink.

The match took off in frame two, Higginson producing a 63, only for Higgins to snatch it with a trademark 73 clearance.

Higginson however bounced back to again take the lead with a run of 78, and proceeded to dominate frame four for a 3-1 lead.

Wishaw's Higgins compiled a run of 55 in the fifth frame, but blew a frame winning opportunity on the black at 56-41; Higginson seized his chance with a composed break of 28 which proved enough to seal the title.

"I'm thrilled to bits," said Higginson. "Even though it's not one of the big ranking tournaments, there were 200 players in it including all the big names, so to be the last man standing is a great achievement. Especially to beat John, the World Champion and best all round player in the game, in the final. He wasn't at his best but I'll still take it."

His run to the final saw him drop just three frames, in convincing wins over Joe Meara, Xiao Guodong, Ian McCulloch, Dave Harold and the impressive youngster Jack Lisowski.

He now sits on the periphery of the top 16, with one PTC event to play in Poland next week before the seeding list is revised. The top 16 following that cut-off will earn an automatic spot in the UK Championship and The Masters.

The next event on the Snooker calendar is PTC 6, at the Arena Ursynow in Warsaw, Poland, starting on Thursday.