Gary Wilson won the longest frame in Crucible history to get over the line and defeat Luca Brecel 10-9 in their opening-round clash at the Betfred World Championship.

The pair were engaged in a dogfight which lasted 79 minutes and 31 seconds late on Sunday night before Wilson made a clearance of 31 to edge the win.

Wallsend’s Wilson led his Belgian counterpart 9-8 when they had to call a halt to their afternoon session after running over the allotted time.

When they resumed after the evening matches, Brecel forced a deciding frame by levelling at 9-9. The final frame got off to a cagey start, requiring a re-rack after a period of stalemate and it once more became edgy as a cluster of reds formed to the left of the black spot on the top cushion.

Both players attempted to grab the initiative in splitting the offending pack but, eventually, Wilson got his chance and he crucially doubled the final red to allow him to clear with 31 and win the nerve-shredding contest.

The previous record for the longest frame at the Crucible was 76 minutes and 11 seconds, during a semi-final match between Mark Selby and Marco Fu in 2016.

Neither played had ever won a Crucible clash before, with Wilson relieved to get over the winning line, irrespective of how long it took.

“I’m just over the moon to get through it on the right side,” said 33-year-old Wilson. “I gave it 100% for the whole match and when I got a sniff of a chance it went my way.

“I tried not to give anything away. Even the moments when I left a bit of a long red and he potted it, I was annoyed. I knew that 15 or 20 points in that scenario were massive. I just wanted to leave as little as possible and do as much as I could.

“You know deep down in your gut what the right shot is and when to play it. I did with that double at the end. As soon as I got on the blue I had to try and get on the double for the last red. I knew it had to be played.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan commences his bid for World Championship glory on Monday afternoon against amateur James Cahill. ‘The Rocket’ is 5.25 to win the match 10-2.