John Higgins returned to snooker's winning circle in emphatic fashion tonight by defeating Peter Ebdon 10-3 to land his second Citywest Irish Masters crown in three years.
The world number three, a 9-4 winner against Stephen Hendry in 2000, began the current campaign by winning the season's first three titles but suffered a decline in form when he took time off to help his wife, Denise, look after their son Pierce, who was born last September.
Spurred into action by a run of poor results, Higgins made a concerted effort to get his game in gear in time for next month's Embassy World Championship and, watched by wife, son and parents, he delivered a first-rate performance to pocket the 65,000 euros first prize.
Higgins, 26, twice missed vital blues in frames three and six of the final but still built a 7-2 first session lead.
He compiled breaks of 91 and 109 as he went 4-1 ahead and coolly cleared with 69 from 0-62 in the seventh to lead 5-2.
A run of 78 then carried Higgins 6-2 ahead and he cleared with 55 to the brown in the last of the session to secure his five-frame lead.
On the resumption, Higgins added the first of the evening to effectively kill off Ebdon's comeback chances and although the world number seven closed to 8-3 with a break of 64, Higgins made 79 to lead 9-3 and he added the last as well to secure the 24th major title of his 10-year career.
As is often the case when form returns, Higgins was also required to ride his luck during the week and things went his way at crucial times.
This was clear in his 6-4 quarter-final victory over fellow Scot Hendry when his compatriot missed the black for 5-5 due to a poor contact with the white.
Similarly, Higgins benefited from Matthew Stevens' kick on the brown in the fourth frame of their semi-final on Saturday, which would have given the Welshman a 4-0 lead.
Higgins recovered to win 6-5 and, with his confidence boosted, played impressively to hold off Ebdon and win his fourth title of the season. -PA