BARRY Hearn believes the "beautiful ordinariness" of Stuart Bingham made the Betfred World Championship winner a sure-fire Crucible hit.

Hearn said the 38-year-old from Basildon had reaped the rewards for hard graft.

Hearn told Press Association Sport: "Stuart and Shaun are two of the best ambassadors I've got out there and two of the nicest guys. It's just a shame one of them has to lose.

"They are people who play the game for the love of the game. Stuart would go anywhere for a game of snooker.

"He's been a great ambassador for me, in terms of spreading the game and taking the top players around the world. He's played more tournaments than anybody else and he's in the World Championship final.

"He's got a sort of beautiful ordinariness about him that the man in the street can identify with.

"He's been around for ages, and he's been a good journeyman pro."

When Hearn took over as chairman of World Snooker in 2010, drastically expanding the tour, Bingham was a long-time professional without a major title.

He has two of those now, won in Australia and China, and tonight added the World Championship crown to his trophy cabinet.

Hearn said: "The world of opportunity came five years ago and he has grasped it with both hands and showed everybody what can happen: if there's a chance and you work hard enough and you've got talent, you can do this.

"It's a great statement to send out to kids taking up the game and to some of the existing pros at the moment."