Stuart Bingham suffered sleepless nights after winning the Dafabet Masters but said it was all worth it after he progressed into the second round at the ManBetX Welsh Open.

The Basildon potter fought from behind to beat world number 61 Martin Gould at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, constructing a characteristically fluent third frame break of 80 to kick-start his comeback.

And it represented his first win since he was crowned king of the Alexandra Palace last month, crashing out of the Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham last week after a first round defeat to John Higgins.

But the 2015 world champion had a valid excuse for his premature departure, citing a post Masters comedown but believing he is now back to full fitness as he vies for more silverware this week.

“I felt a bit spaced out trying to concentrate during the first couple of frames against John - I made some silly errors,” said Bingham.

“John keeps beating me so hopefully I can miss him this week, but if I do I’ll need to play a bit better than I did the other day.

“I feel back to normal now but it probably did take a week or so to get over the Masters.

“I had a few sleepless nights where I was just buzzing and I still have to pinch myself when I think I even won it.

“It was a great tournament to win but that’s history now and I just want to get on with the next tournament.

“I’ve got a day off tomorrow after my win, so it’s a case of getting back on the practice table.”

Bingham’s Masters hegemony represented a surprise high in what has been an otherwise disappointing season, crashing out in the first round at the 19.com Scottish Open and the second at its English equivalent in Crawley.

But he has fond memories of playing in Cardiff and is hoping to use nostalgia to propel him to Home Nations glory this week.

“It always brings back good memories doing well here - it’s the first venue I ever qualified for so it goes back years and year,” he added.

“Cardiff has changed a lot since then, but it’s still great to have a walk around and see all the sights and everything.

“It hasn’t been great for me in the ranking events this season, so I need a good run here.

“I’ve got a chance - I’m in the second round, so let’s just see what happens.”

>Watch the Welsh Open live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player with analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds