SHAUN Murphy came agonisingly close to winning a second Snooker World Championship title and he admits the dust will have to settle on a classic final before his disappointment truly sinks in.

The Trafford potter was neck and neck with Stuart Bingham for most of the four-session showpiece before his opponent eventually pulled away to win 18-15 on Monday evening.

The 38-year-old was a 50-1 outsider before the tournament began and his fairytale victory will go down in history after he became the oldest first-time winner at the Crucible Theatre.

But that will be small consolation for Murphy who was desperate to lift the trophy for a second time exactly a decade after his first triumph.

The turning point came at 15-15 when a 63-minute frame was eventually won by the Basildon cueman after both players took a mid-frame toilet break.

Bingham then made runs of 55 and 88 to get over the line and Murphy was incredibly gracious in defeat, admitting he lost to the better man.

“I’m disappointed obviously because no-one wants to lose in the final of the World Championship but he played like a champion throughout the tournament,” said the 32-year-old.

“When I went 8-4 up he never balked at it and played like a winner throughout.

“Sometimes in sport people are meant to win things and the way Stuart is – he’s a massive fan of the game. He loves snooker more than life itself.

“It’s a funny one because I’ll probably feel worse tomorrow but he fully deserves to win this tournament.

“I can have no regrets really – I’ve played some good stuff throughout this Championship but there can only be one winner. Unfortunately this year, it wasn’t to be me.”

The final will go down in the Crucible annals as an all-time classic – both players scoring consistently heavily and neither man backing down.

Murphy won his world title back in 2005 as a 22-year-old, the last qualifier to do so.

He may well do so for a second time in the near future but for the time being he will have to be content with playing his part in a thrilling showpiece this year.

“Stuart and I took the lift together earlier in the day and we said it was one of the best finals for a while,” added Murphy.

“We’ve seen every final for the last 25 years and we felt it was a contender for one of the best ever. I thought we put on a really good show.

“He’ll be feeling all the feelings under the sun after winning – he’ll be feeling dazed, confused but it will probably sink in over the next few days what he has achieved.

“It will be too many emotions for him to take in. It will change his life completely.”

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