England's Peter Ebdon beat defending Irish Masters champion John Higgins 6-3 at Citywest this afternoon. Ebdon eased into an early 3-0 lead over the Scot, rattling in breaks of 90, 68 and 63. Higgins pulled back the fourth frame but Ebdon reopened his three-frame advantage in the next to go 4-1 up. Higgins performed a mini-revival to claw back to 4-3 before Ebdon took the following two frames to secure victory and a place in tomorrow's semi-final, when he will meet Ronnie O'Sullivan who beat Steve Davis tonight by the same score, 6-3.
"It's always an honour to be on the same table as John because he's one of the best that's ever played the game," said Ebdon. "But I always fancied playing well here this week. Even before I put my hand on the table for my first match, I thought conditions looked beautiful.
"Some of my fondest memories in snooker have come from the Irish Masters," added the 1995 champion. "It seems to bring the best out of me. However, it's always nice to get the results and to see that all the hard work is coming to fruition."
Filed by Seán Folan
