Peter Ebdon is through to the second round of the Embassy World Championship in Sheffield this afternoon despite a late comeback from opponent James Wattana. Ebdon was cruising at 8-3 but Wattana surprised everyone with an excellent fightback to narrow the gap to 9-8 before a break of 97 secured the vital 10th frame win for the Englishman.
Although Ebdon was in impressive form throughout this tie and never looked in serious trouble at any stage, Wattanan certainly pushed him to perform at his best. In the 18th frame, the world number 12 was actually trailing Watttana 25-0 before he produced his fine break of 67 to rescue the frame and the match.
"I was very proud of that break - it was a bit special," said Ebdon afterwards. James had played very well and put me under pressure so I had to find something. It was nice to be able to dig deep like that and come up with the answers. He's not a former world number three for no reason and he will be disappointed to have lost, but he didn't do much wrong," he added.
Ebdon will now have to wait until Saturday for his second round match, where he will play either Stephen Lee or Nigel Bond for a place in the last eight.
Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan had little difficulty in booking his place in the second round at The Crucible when play resumed this afternoon in his first round tie with fellow countryman Andy Hicks. "The Rocket" was 7-2 up against Hicks after the first session and took just over a half-an-hour to secure the next three frames to take the match 10-2, restricting his opponent to a mere 44 points in the process. O'Sullivan will now play Dave Harold in the second round on Friday but is very confident about his prospects in snooker's top event.
"I definitely feel I can win the tournament," he said after today's easy victory. "I have everything needed to be the champion - all the ingredients are there. Motivation and will to win aren't a problem for me and I certainly have the bottle. But there is something lacking and I can't put my finger on what it is. I've not found the right answer yet and I may never do," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
