Shaun Murphy collected the third title of his career with a 9-3 victory over Ken Doherty in Malta.

After near misses this season in Pot Black, the Royal London Watches Grand Prix, The Northern Ireland Trophy and the Maplin UK championship, Murphy finally got his hands on some silverware.

Three previous semi-finals had left the 25-year-old frustrated at his lack of success in converting these chances, but he took his opportunity on Sunday.

The winner of the ranking event held here in Malta last season will be taking home the trophy again after his 9-3 victory.

The match didn't produce the free flowing, high scoring standard of the semi-finals but it was absorbing tactical play. There were few examples of the fluency both players produced previously, there were three fifty plus breaks in the 12 frames but the crowd appreciated the contest.

The tournament has no ranking points on offer due to its Invitational status but most of the players have enjoyed the match practice and hospitality on offer this week.

For now Murphy will enjoy the third title of his career if not the manner in which he won.

"I feel like I've played Ken perhaps in the style that he would probably have liked the match to have gone. He's a very crafty player, very good in the safety and tactical department the match was quite stagnated in places but that's match play snooker.

"That's what you have when you have two players trying not give the other anything and trying win a tournament that's the way it goes," he said.

Another milestone reached is he joins Stephen Hendry in becoming the second player to win back to back tournaments in Malta. "Very very chuffed, to get my name up there with someone like his in the record stakes is very pleasing and hopefully it won't be the first record of his that I either break or equal.

"I'm very pleased that it's only 12 months since my last victory. I could have won Pot Black, the World Championship, the UK, could have won the Grand Prix and in Northern Ireland," Murphy said.

"We always get really good support here, the Maltese are always respectful of people who are good at what they do and I think if we're respectful to them they always treat us very well, as long as we're invited we'll keep coming back," Murphy reveals the reason for his success on the Mediterranean island over the last two seasons.

For Doherty it wasn't the result he wanted but the manner of his success in getting to the final. "I have to take the good things, it’s been a good week, a lot of good matches and good snooker and a lot of positive things, so hopefully the rest of the season will be good to me.

"It is a little bit, in the first frame great then I started to struggle for position. I got lots of chances but both of us did, it wasn't the best final in the world. A complete contrast to yesterday. Sometimes you get days like that, it's just disappointing to play like that after the way I played against John (Higgins)," admitted Doherty.

"It was scrappy, it didn't really blaze at all. He did what he had to do, that's sometimes what you have to so in finals, if you win that's the most important thing," Doherty said.

The players will now turn their attention to the Welsh Open which began yesterday.

Asked what they thought about the format of this year’s Malta Cup both were of the opinion that it was something positive.

Murphy said: “The fact that we had the opportunity of playing a good number of matches provided us with a lot of excellent practice. If the world body had to decide in favour of putting ranking events played over such a format, I would not oppose.”

Doherty agreed and said that all players must have been glad to have been playing so much games in just a few days. “It was not ordinary practice playing at competitive level. We enjoyed it.”