Matthew, fourth seed in the men's $147,500 PSA World Tour Super Series event, knocked out Karim Darwish, the defending champion from Egypt who has topped the world rankings for most of this year.
Matthew has enjoyed a stunning return to top form after a nine-month layoff following shoulder surgery at the beginning of last year. But top seed Darwish boasted a 3-1 head-to-head record over the 29-year-old from Sheffield going into today's meeting.
However, while Matthew prevailed in a semi-final which lasted only a game and a half after his England team-mate opponent Peter Barker was forced to retire injured, Darwish reached the final following two hard five-game battles over former world champions Thierry Lincou, of France, and compatriot Ramy Ashour.
The final took 51 minutes, but it was Matthew who emerged triumphant in an 11-5, 12-10, 11-6 scoreline.
"Karim is such a great champion, he’s been the world number one for a long time and he’s played some fantastic games over the past years," said the new Qatar Classic men's champion. "Today, he was bound to be tired, having had had a couple of three-twos with Thierry and Ramy.
"I know I’ve had a bit of 'bad luck' recently with my injuries – but, for me, the glass is always half full. Actually, it’s always three-quarters full! I never let myself feel sorry for myself; there are things much more important that can happen to you than a little injury. Look at (Anthony) Ricketts and (Lee) Beachill - they had to give up because they had major troubles, so as long as it’s little things like that, I’m not complaining," added Matthew.
"I really would like to thank Neil (Guirey) who was here with me this week; my team back in Sheffield; and DP [David Pearson] for all the efforts they’ve been doing with me since I was a teenager. It’s nights like this one that makes it all worthwhile for us all."
The Qatar triumph brings Matthew's career Tour tally to ten titles, including the Swedish Open and British Open trophies this year.
Semi-finals:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 11-5, 4-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [8] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-5, 8-2 ret.
Quarter-finals:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-4, 9-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-8
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [6] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 13-11
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [5] David Palmer (AUS) 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [16] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-5, 11-6, 12-10
2nd round:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [15] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-5, 11-7, 11-0
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [14] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 12-10, 11-9, 12-10
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [13] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-4, 11-3, 1-11, 11-3
[16] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9
1st round:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-9, 13-11, 11-7
[15] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-2
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [Q] Simon Rosner (GER) 9-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [9] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Abdul Salem Al-Malki (QAT) 11-2, 11-2, 11-4
[11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 12-10, 12-10, 11-4
[Q] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [10] Alister Walker (ENG) 6-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8
[14] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-4, 11-6, 11-9
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) w/o
[13] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-1, 11-2, 11-6
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [12] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-6, 11-3, 11-5
[16] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
Qualifying finals:
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Yasir Butt (PAK) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8
Simon Rosner (GER) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-3
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6
Chris Ryder (ENG) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 15-13, 11-8, 12-10
Eric Galvez (MEX) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 11-4, 6-11, 11-6, 11-13, 15-13
Mark Krajcsak (HUN) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-2, 11-7, 11-5
Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 11-7, 11-1, 11-5
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-9, 11-7, 11-6
Issued by iSPORTmedia