He won two qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the 2005 World Championship and then defeated former world champions Higgins 13–8, Steve Davis 13–4, and Peter Ebdon 17–12 to reach the final where he faced Stevens, the world number six. After trailing 6–10 at the end of the first day (the World Championship final is played over two days), he made a comeback to level the score at 16–16. He then made two frame-winning breaks to lift the title. His 11 century breaks were the most in that year's tournament.