Mark Selby showed his class by heaping praise on John Higgins following his victory over the Scot in the British Open final.

The 41-year-old secured the win, and £100,000 jackpot, with a 10-5 success to make amends for his defeat in last year’s final.

Higgins did not go down without a fight but was unable to stay within touching distance of his rival in the evening session, with Selby pulling clear after the tenth frame to win the British Open for the first time in his career.

Speaking after the success, Selby was full of praise for Higgins and spoke of how he ‘relished’ the chance to play someone with such a legacy in snooker.

He explained: “Winning any tournament nowadays is special because the standard is so tough. To beat John in a final I knew I had to play the top of my game and I did.

“When I had my chances I took them. I’ve got so much respect for John. He’s one of the all-time greats. I relish the moment playing him because he’s an absolute legend.

“I dug in this week. There were a couple of games where it was tough. There are always matches you manage to scrape through and I’ve managed to do that.”

The defeat means that Higgins will be forced to wait to become the most successful player in the history of the tournament following his four prior successes. He conceded that Selby was the better player on the night.