Kyren Wilson turned his first world snooker title into a family affair after withstanding a stirring fightback from qualifier Jak Jones to triumph 18-14 at the Crucible.
Wilson emerged from his most difficult year in a decade to lift the famous silver trophy with his wife Sophie and young sons Bailey and Finley looking on.
The 32-year-old 12th seed had reached a solitary semi-final at the German Masters this year, but it was put in sharp perspective by his wife Sophie being diagnosed with epilepsy, while Bailey suffered with illness and also needed an operation on a broken nose. He also revealed his parents had mortgaged their house to allow him pursue his dream of being a professional.
"It was so nice to have all the family there and let out our emotions," said Wilson, who celebrated his match-winning break with a roar of delight and struggled to contain his emotions as the magnitude of his success began to dawn.
"We've been on a rollercoaster journey since the age of six. We’ve sacrificed everything all together and this is just a lovely thing to be able to celebrate with them now."
Wilson was made to work overtime against Jones, who had looked down and out after losing the first seven frames of the match but staged a remarkable comeback and twice reduced the deficit to three frames during a rousing afternoon session.
After sharing the first two frames of the evening, a dramatic 28th saw Jones, who sunk seeds Zhang Anda and Judd Trump on his marathon route to the final, clear the colours to force a re-spotted black, only for Wilson to move one frame away with an audacious pot off three cushions.
But Jones proved far from beaten, ensuring a mid-session interval by taking the next with a break of 67, followed by a break of 96 that briefly threatened a maximum and a flamboyant clearance to pink in the next to leave Wilson with plenty to think about.
It was some revival from Jones, whose first target upon the start of the final day had been simply to avoid the indignity of becoming only the third player, after Jimmy White in 1993 and John Parrott in 1989, to lose the world final with a session to spare.
Jones had further chances to pull back within two, but Wilson kept his nerve and turned his sights on capitalising on his victory by going on to join some of the greats of the game.
"I’ve already said that I’d be disappointed if I only landed one," said Wilson. "I believe I can become a multiple world champion. I can build a legacy in this sport and that’s something I’d like to have a good crack at.
"You sort of hunt for your first 'triple crown’ event and there’s no better one to land as your first than the World Championship. I’ve had misses in all three but now I’ll always be remembered as a world champion and hopefully it can lead to bigger and better things."
Jones, who was aiming to become only the third qualifier to win the title in the Crucible era, insisted he never lost hope of fashioning what would have been the greatest comeback on the final day of the tournament.
"I think if I’d won one more, at 17-15 he could have really started twitching, and I had couple of little chances, but he held himself together well in the end," said Jones.
"I just gave myself too much to do in the first session, but Kyren came out flying in the first session so he deserves it.
"I’m proud because I don’t feel like I’ve played well here at all. I’ve played my B game and my C game to beat some of the best players in the world and get to the final, so to come so close to winning it should give me a lot of confidence going forward."
Wilson's route to the top of the sport has been far from serene. He spent two years consigned to the amateur ranks after an unsuccessful first season on the tour, and considered it his last chance when he got another crack among the professionals in 2013.
His major breakthrough came when he fought through three qualifying rounds to reach and win the Shanghai Masters, becoming the lowest player in a decade to win a ranking tournament, but despite ascending to the world’s top 16, the expected haul of titles have been slow in coming.
"It’s like a Rocky Balboa story," said Wilson. "I’ve had to dig in and go back to the grotty gym and find myself again. For two years I couldn’t get through Q School and Sophie looked at me and said, 'if you don’t do it this year, we’ll have to look at alternatives’.
"There have been plenty of holes in walls, plenty of doors that have been battered. There are lots of things that have been broken in frustration. I’ve sacrificed my life for this moment and it’s all been worthwhile now I’ve got my name on this trophy."
Wilson succeeds Luca Brecel, the Belgian who spent his reign as world champion revelling in his status but underperforming at the table, and who admitted after his first-round defeat to David Gilbert this year that he could not wait for it for end.
But Wilson dismissed suggestions that the title of world champion could prove to be a burden and said he was looking forward to the prospect of every moment on the tour next year.
Wilson added: "I’ll relish every single opportunity. I’m at a different stage of my life to Luca, I’ve been there and bought all the flash cars. I’ve imagined being introduced as world champion at numerous events next season and I can’t wait for that."
