Martin Gould clinches first ranking title by beating Luca Brecel in final of German Masters

Gould, who moves up into the top-16 in the world rankings with the win, defeated the likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams and Graeme Dott on the way to the final - before putting a rather nervous Brecel to the sword in a solid performance in Berlin on Sunday.

The 34-year-old revealed afterwards that he was always confident about his chances this week, having worked hard with his coach to find his best form.

"It's fantastic. It's been unbelievable," Gould said. "I've worked so hard for this ... my form was coming on and I hoped it would come together this week. It was that good that I actually booked my return flight for Monday, I had that good a feeling about it.

"I haven't had an easy run. I've played well all week, I've had slices of luck when I needed to and I'm delighted. It hasn't sunk in yet that I'll have my name on a trophy."

The early stages of the final proved to be rather even as both men battled some nerves, with Brecel taking the opening set but Gould striking back to make it 3-1 after a couple of breaks that seemed to help him find his rhythm. Brecel then took two of the next three frames to reduce the deficit to 4-3 - but the first century of the final, a 104 break, sent Gould into the evening session with a two frame advantage.

That break did not seem to unsettle the Englishman's rhythm, as he returned in style with a 110 knock that finally had him thinking about victory. He clinched a scratchy 10th frame to put himself two frames from victory and, as the duo split the next two, it looked like victory would come sooner rather than later for the world No. 20.

Nerves seemed to creep in as Gould got closer to the clinching balls but, after squandering his chance in the 13th frame and missing a couple of similar opportunities in the 14th, the decisive clearance finally came as Brecel proved unable take one of the half-chances he was offered as his window to claw his way back into contention slipped away.

"The start of the match was a bit nervy, both of us were feeling it a bit," Gould noted. "It was a great week for Luca, and there is no doubt he will win multiple tournaments. He is too good a player not to."

Brecel can perhaps console himself with the achievement of being the first Belgian to reach a ranking final, thanks to his 6-3 victory over Kyren Wilson in Saturday's semi-final.

Just 20 - although he turns 21 next month - Brecel would appear to have a bright future in the game.

"It was a great week." Brecel said. "Performance-wise it was not as good, but playing badly and getting to the final is good I suppose!

"Martin punished me for some mistakes. He is such a good potter, one of the best I have ever seen. He deserved to win."