Egyptian Ramy Ashour defeated Karim Darwish 5-11 11-8 11-4 11-5 to take the honours in the Hi-Tec World Open Squash Championships - the first joint staging of the Men's World Open and Women's World Open in the UK at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester.
The men's event climaxed in an all-Egyptian clash between Ramy Ashour, the fourth seed from Cairo who removed compatriot and defending champion Amr Shabana in the semi-finals, and close friend Karim Darwish, the No7 seed who ousted Australia's two-time champion David Palmer.
Both were playing in their maiden world final - and 27-year-old underdog Darwish took the opening advantage by winning the first game.
But the exuberant Ashour, the 21-year-old world No.4 and twice winner of the world junior title, changed his tactics and clinched the second game to draw level.
By now the younger Egyptian was in the ascendancy and - to the joy of the vociferous Egyptian section of the crowd - beat Darwish 5-11 11-8 11-4 11-5 in 60 minutes to become only the second player in history (after Pakistan legend Jansher Khan) to win both the junior and senior world titles.
"Putting me in the same category as Jansher is a huge thing for me," said new champion Ramy Ashour. "I have been watching his videos on YouTube recently - and have used some of his shots in my game.
"I didn't think about becoming World Champion during the whole match," added Ashour. "Karim is a very tough player - I had to keep my focus the whole time."
Manchester is clearly a lucky city for the 21-year-old, who won the PSA's flagship Super Series Finals last year at the National Squash Centre. "For sure I'll be back to try and win another title in front of this great crowd."
Ashour, who now has ten PSA Tour titles to his name, admitted that he had played conservatively in the first game: "I did it on purpose - but he came out doing the things I should have been doing, and this provoked me!"
When asked what winning the world title would mean to him, Ashour said: "It will mean a lot - but it will mean more to my mother and father."
Semi-finals:
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [5] David Palmer (AUS) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8
Quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-2, 11-3, 11-6
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [14] Adrian Grant (ENG) 12-10, 11-7, 11-7
Men's 3rd round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [9] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-9, 2-11, 11-4, 12-14, 11-6
[Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 10-12, 13-11
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [12] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-6
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-7, 11-6, 11-13, 11-4
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-5, 11-13, 11-3, 12-10
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-7, 13-11, 11-8
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
[14] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 1-11, 13-11
2nd round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 12-10, 11-7, 11-4
[9] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8
[Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 12-10, 11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 13-11
Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3
[12] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-3, 11-3, 11-2
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-9, 11-6, 11-9
[15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 9-11, 11-7, 7-11, 15-13, 11-7
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-6, 11-2, 11-3
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-6, 12-14, 11-7, 12-10
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt [13] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 13-11
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt John White (SCO) 11-2, 3-11, 12-10, 11-9
Alister Walker (ENG) bt Kashif Shuja (NZL) 8-11, 11-1, 11-5, 11-5
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-1, 11-7, 13-11
[14] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira (MEX) 12-10, 11-2, 11-13, 11-2
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-6, 11-6, 11-3
1st round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Simon Rosner (GER) 6-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-4, 11-0, 11-1
[9] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [Q] Liam Kenny (IRL) 12-10, 11-5, 13-11
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Arturo Salazar (MEX) 11-4, 11-4 ret.
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Amr Swelim (EGY) 6-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1
[Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Renan Lavigne (FRA) 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8
[10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8
Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-5, 11-6, 12-10
Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6
[12] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-4, 11-5, 11-1
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) 11-3, 11-3, 12-10
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Shahid Zaman (PAK) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5
Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-7, 12-14, 11-3, 11-3
[15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Julien Balbo (FRA) 9-11, 11-1, 11-9, 11-7
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 14-12, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [16] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-8, 11-3, 11-4
Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 14-12, 11-1, 11-3
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-2, 11-8, 11-2
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt [Q] David Phillips (CAN) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-1
[13] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Robbie Temple (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-1
John White (SCO) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 13-11, 11-6, 11-2
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Ben Ford (ENG) 11-4, 11-7, 11-5
Alister Walker (ENG) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4
Kashif Shuja (NZL) bt [11] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9
Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-5, 11-0, 11-3
[Q] Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira (MEX) bt Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-13, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9
[14] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-9, 12-14, 11-5, 11-7
Shahier Razik (CAN) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 12-10, 12-10, 11-4
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-6, 12-10, 11-9
Issued by iSPORTmedia