Snooker-Bingham hangs tough to land first world title

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Stuart Bingham held his nerve in a dramatic and fluctuating final to beat fellow Englishman Shaun Murphy 18-15 on Monday and win the world snooker championship for the first time. Thirty years after Dennis Taylor famously beat Steve Davis on the final black to lift the title, journeyman Bingham upset 2005 champion Murphy with an inspirational performance at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The 38-year-old world number 10 trailed 8-4 but he fought back to lead 15-12, only for Murphy to level at 15-15. Bingham, however, upped his game again and a break of 88 in the 33rd frame sealed victory. Bingham, 38, had won two ranking tournaments in a 20-year professional career during which he had only once previously reached the world championship quarter-finals. The 32-year-old Murphy, world number eight, was simply overwhelmed as the silky-smooth cue action which took him to the 2005 world title and 2009 final wilted under intense pressure. (Reporting by Ed Osmond; editing by Justin Palmer)