The Russian second seed was edged out in the 12th game of the opening set but roared to life against the fifth seed from Germany.
A ruthless second set thrashing forced a decider, which remained level after 12 games. But Kirilenko returned to her dominant ways from there, winning the trophy-clinching tie-break 7-1.
The win earned Kirilenko, ranked number 15 in the world, her sixth WTA silverware in all and ended a lengthy drought since 2008.
"I feel great - to win a title is always special, but it's even more pleasure when you win such a tough one," Kirilenko said
"I was so disappointed after last year's final, but this year it's a much different feeling,Obviously I'm really excited about this right now."
Lisicki looked at the positives in defeat: "I hadn't been in a final in a while, so even though it's a tough one to lose, I still feel very good about my week," she said.
"I played some good tennis here. I was working so hard in the off-season and it's nice to see it's already paying off, especially since we're just at the start of the year.
