Snooker: Ebdon snuffing out Thaiphoon
In-form Peter Ebdon was closing in on a second-round place at the Embassy World Championship in Sheffield today.
The world number 12, winner of two ranking events this season, led James Wattana 6-3 after the opening session and won the first two frames when the match resumed this morning.
Wellingborough-based Ebdon is fancied by many experts for this year’s title after arriving at the Crucible fresh from his triumph in the Regal Scottish Open.
And his form against the ‘Thaiphoon’ certainly suggested that the 1996 runner-up is a leading contender to reach the final again.
Wattana, twice a semi-finalist at the Crucible, has slid down the rankings over the last few seasons and now finds himself at number 27.
But the 31-year-old gave himself a glimmer of hope by taking frame 12 to reduce his arrears to 8-4.
This year’s tournament has gone entirely according to the script so far, with every seed to have completed his opening match taking his designated place in round two.
Ebdon was one of the victims when a number of top-ranked players bit the dust early on in 2000 but he and Ken Doherty, who was on the other table in this morning’s session, both looked on course for victory.
Doherty, the 1997 champion, cruised into a 4-0 lead against world number 114 Nick Dyson of Cheshire, who was making his second appearance at the Crucible 10 years after his previous visit.
