Yan Bingtao shocks John Higgins to become the youngest Masters champion since Ronnie O’Sullivan

Yan Bingtao became the youngest Masters winner for 26 years last night with a breakthrough victory over John Higgins.

The 20-year-old rising star from China won a thrilling contest 10-8 in Milton Keynes to pocket the £250,000 first prize — almost four times his previous biggest payday.

World No 11 Yan, on his debut in the tournament, is the most junior player to lift the Paul Hunter trophy since Ronnie O’Sullivan at 19 in 1995.

Against the 45-year-old Scot Higgins, comfortably old enough to be his father and having won his first Masters before Yan was born, the youngster stood up to everything thrown at him.

World No 6 Higgins was desperate to claim a third Masters crown and become the oldest man to win it but after looking in control at 7-5 up he wilted.

Yan got a huge surprise for his celebration as girlfriend Ada Zhang made it for the finale but waited until he had gone back into the arena for the last frames so as not to distract him.

Yan becomes the sixth player to win the Masters on his debut after John Spencer, Doug Mountjoy, Terry Griffiths, Stephen Hendry and Mark Selby.

Trailing 7-5 going into the evening session, Yan pinched frame 13 on the black and then made it 7-7 with a break of 103.

Boosted by that he clinched victory by taking five of the last six frames. Yan said: ‘I am very excited to win this title. I imagined how I would celebrate this moment, but in the end I feel very calm. Even though in the last few frames I didn’t play well, I never gave up.’