Name: Peter Ebdon

DOB: August 27th 1970

Nationality: England

Turned Pro: 1991

Highest Ranking: #3 (1996/7, 2002/3)

Current Ranking: #14

Highest Break: 147×2

Career Highlights: 2002 World Champion, 2006 UK Champion, 2004 Irish Masters Champion, 2001 Scottish Open Champion, 2000 British Open Champion, 1997 Thailand Open Champion, 1993 Grand Prix Champion, 2009 China Open Champion

 

In short

Mentally one of the toughest players in the game, Peter Ebdon realised a dream in 2002 when he won the Embassy World Championship for the first time and proved to everyone that he could win at the very highest level. Now in the latter stages of his career, Ebdon still remains a threat though his results over the last year or two have not been as consistent as he would hope.

His style of play is well documented; Ebdon likes to play at a steady pace, giving full thought and concentration to every shot. Although some have described him as boring, his actual playing style is a fairly aggressive one and I always find his often unorthodox shot selection interesting to watch. It is also true to say that he can play quickly when he is full of confidence; indeed he often produces his best snooker when playing at a faster speed.

On a personal level I have always found Ebdon to be a classy guy, seemingly always armed with a deck of pre-signed post cards to give to his fans. He is not everybody’s cup of tea but he is always gracious in defeat and the first to console his opponent when he wins. Whenever he decides that he has had enough of snooker and goes into retirement, although not exactly a crowd puller, the snooker world isn’t going to be quite the same without him somehow.

Early career

Given how long it took Peter to win snooker’s top prizes it is easy to forget just how long he has been playing the game. Regularly winning pro-am events including the 1989 Pontin’s Open in the late 1980’s, Ebdon was really beginning to make a name for himself on the amateur circuit. His big breakthrough however was when he won the World U-21 World Championship in 1990, his last big victory before turning pro for the 1991/2 season.

His impact on the circuit was immediate, consistently reaching the latter stages of events which for a rookie was remarkable. His real breakthrough and rise to prominence was to come at the World Championship in Sheffield however where on his debut he brushed aside six times world champion Steve Davis in the first round. Considering that Davis was still one of the very best players in the world at this point, the significance of the result could not be underestimated. Although he managed to show that it was not a one off with a 13-4 win against Martin Clark in the next round, his run was to come to an end at the quarter-final stage against Welsh veteran Terry Griffiths.

His performances however had been good enough to send him straight in at number 47 in the rankings and earn him the title of WPBSA Young Player of the Year. In the following season he was again very consistent, though not quite managing to make the breakthrough to the latter stages of an event.

Into the top 16

He did not have long to wait however as at the start of the 1993/4 season he was to take his first title at the Grand Prix, beating Ireland’s Ken Doherty 9-6. Combined with a semi-final result at the Regal Welsh Open and a quarter-final in Dubai, these results were enough to send him up into the top 16 for the first time at number 10.

This is where he was to remain for the next two years having again had a consistent season in 1994/5 where he reached his second ranking final in Dubai. As well as this he again made a mark at the Crucible and reached his second quarter-final before losing out to Andy Hicks.

What was to follow in 1995/6 however was to be another significant step forward, reaching three ranking event finals including the two biggest of all at the UK and the World Championship. Although he lost out in both to Stephen Hendry who at that point was looking invincible, he had done enough to show that he was one of the top players around and sent his ranking surging up to a career high of number three.

His form however was to dip slightly after this point, although he did win his second ranking event title at the Thailand Open as well as the Scottish Masters. Suffering a number of first round defeats, his ranking slipped two places to fifth at the end of 1996/7. His mixed form was to continue for the next couple of years in fact, winning no titles and ultimately slipping down to number 13 in the rankings.

This was not going to go on forever though and in 2000/1 he was back to his best, capturing the British Open title (having made the final a year before), as well as the Scottish Open tournament that immediately preceded the 2001 World Championship. Once again making the quarter-finals he came up against the ultimately unstoppable Ronnie O’Sullivan in Sheffield however and had no answer to the man he dubbed the Mozart of snooker. He had at least done enough to maintain his place in the elite top 16 of the rankings however, moving up one place to number 12.

World Champion

2001/2 was to be Ebdon’s real season to remember however as he entered the 2002 World Championship with high hopes on the back of another consistent season. Having survived an absorbing match with Matthew Stevens, highlighted by one stunning ‘do or die’ pot that he simply had to make to stay in the match, he once again came up against old foe Stephen Hendry in the final. In what was one of the most dramatic world finals ever seen, the match swung one way and then the other until it reached that inevitable deciding frame. Although Hendry had his chances, Ebdon was the one who took the one that he needed and finally he had done it, he was world champion. Back up to number three in the world, all that hard work has paid off.

Determined to defend his title the following year, Ebdon concentrated so hard on his preparation for the Crucible that it seemed to have a negative impact on the rest of his season. Ultimately his hopes were ended by the late Paul Hunter who won a thriller 13-12 at the quarter-final stage.

Ebdon’s form remained consistent during the next couple of seasons before he was to make his mark once again at the Crucible Theatre. Resuming 10-6 down to Ronnie O’Sullivan in his quarter-final match of the 2005 World Championship, Ebdon’s famed slow play was to return as he grinded his way to an amazing 13-11 victory. Unfortunately for Peter however, he could not do anything about young star Shaun Murphy in the semi-finals who somehow seemed to have destiny on his side all fortnight.

Third world final and UK glory

The following year he again ran deep at Sheffield, making his third world final after an epic victory against Marco Fu in the semi-finals. Having been 15-9 down, Fu fought back in brilliant style to level it at 16-16 before Ebdon produced what I consider to be the clearance of the championship to take the deciding frame. Holding his nerve under immense pressure to win the frame he did, he must surely have felt good going into the final but up against Scotland’s Graeme Dott, it just never quite happened for him. Entering the final session facing a 15-7 deficit he began an impressive comeback, taking the opening six frames of the night including one which at the time was the longest ever seen on TV. Ultimately though Dott was to prevail, leaving Ebdon disappointed once again.

The next season however he was to make up for it with victory in the UK Championship for the first time. Playing all week with a fluency and freedom that you would not associate with Peter Ebdon, he looked as good as I have ever seen him as he tore some of the best players in the game apart on his way to victory. Becoming only the ninth player to have won the World and the UK Championship, this tournament clearly meant a lot to Ebdon as he proved to himself that he was could still compete at the very highest level.

Recent form

Since then though, his form has been patchy and he has not come close to repeating his world title glory again in his last three attempts. At 38 years of age now, Peter Ebdon isn’t getting any younger and now being based in Dubai it is easy to question his motivation and whether he has still got it. Always at his best in the longer frame matches, Peter’s ranking has slipped recently given his poor performances in the best of 9’s, highlighted by a 5-0 defeat to Liang Wenbo at the first event of the 2008/9 season.

His form was not to improve for the rest of the season, apart from one glaring exception at the 2009 China Open when with his long unbroken spell in the top 16 looking under serious threat, he found some of his very best form from nowhere to win capture his eighth ranking event trophy. This ensured that despite a shock defeat to Nigel Bond in the opening round at the World Championship, Peter just about hung onto his elite status in 14th place.

Tournament Victories:

Ranking Event wins (8)

Event	Year
World Championship	2002
UK Championship	2006
Grand Prix	1993
British Open	2000
Thailand Open	1997
Scottish Open	2001
Irish Masters	2004
China Open	2009

Non-Ranking Event wins (3)

Event	Year
Irish Masters	1995
Malta Grand Prix	1995
Scottish Masters	1996

Profile supplied by Matt Huart (http://prosnookerblog.com/)