Kyren Wilson won the International Championship in Nanjing on Saturday, beating John Higgins 10-8 in a thrilling final to claim back-to-back ranking titles for the first time in his career.

The 34-year-old Englishman, known as The Warrior, collected the £175,000 top prize and the 12th ranking title of his career, just a couple of weeks after winning the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast. He becomes only the 16th player in snooker history to win two ranking events in succession.

Higgins, 51, led 5-4 after the opening session and was bidding to become the oldest winner of a ranking event. The Scot compiled a stunning total-clearance break of 141 to move in front early on, and twice produced remarkable clearances from behind to steal frames in the evening session.

Wilson, however, found an extra gear when it mattered most. He made breaks of 70, 65, 130 and 54 in the first four frames of the evening session, then produced a brilliant 101 to move two frames clear for the first time. A contribution of 61 in the 18th frame finally sealed the title and avoided a deciding frame.

Wilson made a half-century or better in all but one of the evening session's nine frames, including two centuries, in a final packed with heavy scoring from both players. Higgins had led at the interval, but Wilson took four of the last five frames to come through.

“It was a really good final,” Wilson said. “It was about sticking in there and bouncing back if I made mistakes. He has made a career out of unbelievable clearances under pressure and has been an idol of mine since I started watching the game. To play him in a final like this is a dream come true and it is an honour to win.”

Higgins was gracious in defeat and said he was taking the positives from the week after arriving in poor form. “Kyren was very strong tonight and I just got a little bit weaker at the end,” the 51-year-old said. “It has given me motivation to get back and try to win an event soon. I feel like I might be close as I played very well.”

The victory extends Wilson's winning run to 12 matches in a row and lifts him from ninth to eighth in the world rankings. He also moves up to second on the one-year list, behind Mark Selby, which puts him in a strong position to qualify for all three Players Series events later in the season.

Wilson's 12 ranking titles put him joint 11th on the all-time list alongside Mark Allen. He now heads to Leicester for the Champion of Champions, which starts on Monday, before the UK Championship in York, where he will aim to complete the Triple Crown set.