JOHN Higgins won the BetVictor Welsh Open for a record fourth time by beating Ben Woollaston 9-3 in a one-sided final in Cardiff tonight.

Higgins’ victory at the Motorpoint Arena, worth £60,000, was a first ranking title since the 2012 Shanghai Masters for the four-time world champion.

And the 39-year-old, known as the Wizard of Wishaw has now edged ahead of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan in Welsh Open wins, as the trio had previously been tied on three titles apiece.

Woollaston has enjoyed the best week of his snooker career as he had never previously been beyond the quarter-finals of a ranking event.

The 27-year-old from Leicester claimed some major scalps on his way to the final, including Mark Allen, Ali Carter and Gwent’s Mark Williams in the semi-final on Saturday, and goes home with a £30,000 prize.

Higgins led 5-3 after the first session and soon extended his lead tonight, dominating the opening frame with a top break of 46.

The next was a scrappy affair lasting 29 minutes and it came down to the last red. Higgins, leading 46-34, laid a clever snooker on the red, and although Woollaston hit it, he left his opponent the chance to clear for 7-3.

That ended Woollaston's resistance as Higgins sailed through the last two frames with top breaks of 68 and 83.

“In the last two years I didn't think it could happen again," said Higgins. "I'm delighted. Nothing went right for Ben today. The biggest frame of the match was the eighth when I fluked the green. If it had been 4-4 it might have been different tonight.

“Ben has had some great wins this week, and because I haven't been playing that well I knew I could fall at any hurdle. He has been playing at a very high level all week. So that kept my feet on the ground right up until potting the winning ball. I was just trying to stay focussed and not give him any easy chances.

"Overall I've played some good matches this week, and when I haven't played well I have dug in and kept going. To be sitting here with a trophy is a great feeling. This gives me a lot of confidence that I can compete with the top players.”

Woollaston said: "It has been an amazing week. I'm disappointed about the final, but in an hour or two I'll realise what I have achieved.

“Hopefully this will give me the confidence to get to more finals. I've had some big wins this week and played some good snooker. The money is a massive help to me.”