X Factor voting figures show Saara Aalto was beating Matt Terry on Saturday night in the final

The Finnish runner-up was in the lead when the vote was frozen
Close call: Saara Aalto was coming out on top in Saturday night's X Factor
Dave Benett
Ben Travis12 December 2016

Matt Terry won The X Factor 2016 on Sunday evening – but if the final had ended on Saturday it might have been a different story.

The voting figures for the entire set of live shows has been revealed – and it turns out Saara Aalto was in the lead on Saturday evening.

The Finnish singer was the runner-up in the final episode, but when the vote was frozen on Saturday to whittle three finalists down to two, she had a majority 35.3% share of the vote.

Matt Terry was close behind with 33.4% - which leapt to a 48.5% lead on Sunday against Aalto’s 40.4%.

X Factor winner Matt Terry - in pictures

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Terry came out on top in six out of ten weeks of live shows, though Aalto was the most-voted act in the semi-final.

Simon Cowell praised both artists after the final result was revealed on Sunday.

“You came into this final as good artists, and you’ve ended as great artists,” he said. “This is why we made this show.

“What we promise you, Matt, is that we’ll give you 100%.

"Saara, what can I say, you’re incredible as well.”

Terry’s mentor Nicole Scherzinger told him: “Matt, you’re not only world class, but you’re a class act.

“You blew the roof off of this place. This is yours for the taking and you just did it right now.”

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