RONNIE O'Sullivan's first phone call today will be to his behind-bars father Ronnie senior after he secured his first Embassy World Championship crown in Sheffield last night.

The 'Rocket' never relinquished the early grip he had on the final as he stormed to an 18-14 success over John Higgins which took him up to number two in the world rankings for next season.

But his first thoughts were with his dad, who is nearly nine years into a life sentence for murder on the Isle Of Sheppey.

O'Sullivan dedicated his victory to Ronnie senior and his mother Maria, who was in the audience last night.

He said: "It's a dream come true, it's a big weight off my shoulders. I've never had an experience like it in my life.

"But I hope I can see my dad as soon as possible and I hope to speak to him on Tuesday morning if they let him use the phone in prison."

O'Sullivan, beaten in three previous semi-finals, had admitted that he should have captured the world title earlier in his career.

But this time he held his explosive game together for the entire 17 marathon days and was able to hold Higgins at arm's length after winning the opening session 6-2 on Sunday.

When it came to the crunch in the final session it was O'Sullivan who had the nerve and determination to win the crucial frames just when Higgins briefly threatened a revival.

O'Sullivan admitted: "When I was at the mid-session interval I was thinking 'I wish they could say I've won it now' because it meant so much - and with John Higgins out there I was thinking 'this is never going to happen.'

"I had to play well to beat John because all through the tournament he had been scoring heavily. He's got everything, bottle, temperament and is a class act.

"I was not physically shaking but mentally I've never experienced anything like that in my life - but hopefully the experience will stand me in good stead for years to come."

Higgins paid a growing tribute to his conqueror and claimed: "He's a worthy champion and now he is the player we are all chasing.

"I don't care about rankings. When Ronnie is in that sort of form he is the tops. He has got to be up there with the greats.

"I would imagine players like Ray Reardon and Cliff Thorburn watching that would never have believed that a player could come through who makes the game look so ridiculously easy. He does that and hats off to him."