The tipsy singer, 27, had a bottle of the whiskey by the stage as he beat Rebecca Ferguson after One Direction were dramatically eliminated.
The former painter and decorator secured a £1million recording contract and will earn up to £2million from touring and advertising.
Matt is now odds-on to get the Christmas No1 with his single, a cover of Biffy Clyro’s Many Of Horror.
After his triumph in front of an estimated 20 million viewers, tearful Matt said: “I’m quite an emotional person anyway, although everything is heightened when you’re on this show. Seeing the support I got at home this week choked me up a little bit.
Matt Cardle Wins X Factor Final
“I’ve had so many nice presents and letters and that makes me quite emotional. This victory is for all of them. I just can’t get over what has happened to me. I remember getting to Bootcamp and seeing 220 contestants and thinking, ‘I’m not going to get anywhere because I’m not like them’. I’ve got a beard and a cap, checked shirt, and no sense of fashion. Sort of Brokeback Mountain meets a woodsman.”
But Matt, who came top in the voting for every week of the live finals, nearly did not make the studio at all last night – because of a sore throat.
He had to call out a doctor at midnight on Saturday because he was so convinced he was losing his voice.
Matt Cardle Wins X Factor Final
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