Ken Doherty struggled valiantly against one of the most gifted snooker players to emerge in the last few years before finally passing on the title he won last year from Stephen Hendry to the new World champion John Higgins.

The 22-year-old Scot finally claimed Doherty's crown when he won the 35frame final match 18-12, collecting £220,000 for his efforts.

Behind the formalities of evening dress, both players could not prevent their body language telling the story as it unfolded before 1,000 people at the Crucible, springing to their feet picking at threads, trying to unravel the mind and composure of their opponent at every twist and turn.

In a game where confidence feeds off the misfortune and mismanagement of your opponent and where errors are seen as stepping stones to double and treble-figure scores, it was the relentless precision of Higgins that in the end shone through.

Doherty largely used stealth, poise and grit, Higgins a mixture of potting ability and a light touch that, when on song, was mesmerising. The Scot's impact was a slap on the face, immediate and occasionally shocking in it's brilliance - 130, 103, 130, 128, 118. In all four sessions Higgins provided a 100-plus break, in the end setting a new record for the world championship of 14 in all, two more than Hendry had set in 1995.

Doherty, the surgeon, closed off avenues. Running and hiding, he built small scale, profiting largely from 30's and 40's and 50's. It simply wasn't enough against a young Scot who consistently played the best snooker throughout the two weeks of competition.

In winning, Higgins moves into the world number one spot, displacing Stephen Hendry, while Doherty goes home, not only £132,000 richer, but secure in the knowledge that his position as one of the best players in the world has been further enhanced.

Yesterday began with the reigning champion trailing by 10 frames to six, having won the last game of Sunday's session to keep a tenuous contact. But Doherty needed to do something more than simply chase the pace-setter and was desperately seeking to cut Higgins's lead down to something manageable enough to be bridged in the final session. And he did it. Taking five frames from the second-last session, the Irishman cut the Scotsman's lead to just two frames to finish 13-11 behind with 11 frames remaining.

Breaks of 89 in the 18th and 86 in the 21st frames, combined with a shrewd compilation of moderate breaks and knife-edge safety play, allowed Doherty to enjoy his greatest quarter of the match. At this point the Dubliner was very much still in the game.

Up to that stage, Higgins had been generating the big pots, while Doherty was seen to profit from manoeuvring the white more conservatively. He reached only one century break in the match - 112 in the ninth frame.

The contrasting styles painted a picture of the potter, Higgins, facing the plotter, Doherty. Indeed, the Irishman's last frame of the afternoon session was won when Higgins failed in his bid to relieve himself from a snooker after three consecutive efforts.

Winning three out of the final four frames of that session sent Doherty into the break believing that with another surge, he could overhaul his opponent. But once again the Scot landed a number of long pots to work his way onto the table, snatching a 14-11 lead before posting a 121 break to lead by four frames when they came back out in the evening.

But it was the next frame that sealed the Irishman's fate. Leading 58-45, Doherty screwed the white into a middle pocket off the brown ball. Doherty was trying to set up the blue, but misjudged the strength of his shot, allowing Higgins back to the table to lick up the rest of the colours for an unassailable 16-11 advantage.

Doherty clawed a tight frame back, but Higgins needed little encouragement once on the table, building to 17-12 and inevitably to a match-winning 18-12, naturally with an outstanding break of 118 for his historic 14th century of the competition.

Higgins's soaring play in the final also highlighted the excellent standard of snooker played throughout the two weeks, where 59 centuries or more were compiled, compared to the previous record of 48.