By Paul O'Hehir at The Citywest Hotel
A new name will grace the Irish Masters trophy on Sunday night after reigning champion John Higgins was ousted by Peter Ebdon 6-3 at the Citywest Hotel this afternoon.
Having made a remarkable comeback against world number five Stephen Lee on Wednesday night, Ebdon produced a similarly aggressive gameplan that stunned Higgins into a frustrating afternoon.
Ebdon’s skillful cueing kept Higgins in his chair for large periods and despite the odd basic error, his ability to recover from testing situations played a impressive role in Higgins’s demise.
"I’m very pleased with the way I played because I hold the highest regard for John and consider him to be one of the best players the game has ever seen," said Ebdon.
"I’m cueing very well at the moment and it's nice because perhaps you might go for one or two balls that you would not usually go for. The table is playing beautifully and it just suits my style of play."
"I’m looking forward to getting out there again for the semi-final because the audience are very appreciative of the snooker. They are a very fair and knowledgeable crowd and it’s great to interact with them," Ebdon said.
His tactic to freeze out Higgins paid immediate dividends when breaks of 63, 68 and a splendid 90 in the third frame propelled him into a 3-0 lead after only 48 minutes. By contrast, Higgins only posted 22 points in return.
At this stage, Ebdon, the 1995 champion, was in full flow and playing some of his best snooker in recent seasons.
Although frustrated at the lack of table visits, Higgins proved he would be no weak link by notching a break of 66 to make it 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
The fifth frame saw Ebdon extend that advantage after Higgins misjudged a red to middle, allowing Ebdon to clear to pink and saunter into a 4-1 lead.
But a brief period ensued where Ebdon seemed prematurely at ease with his three-frame advantage. Higgins, seizing the initiative, showed glimpses of his brilliant best by rattling in breaks of 57 and 52 to win the sixth and seventh frames, respectively, closing the gap to 4-3.
But Ebdon responded with a crucial eighth-frame win. Higgins missed a risky blind pot on red to middle left setting Ebdon up with a frame-winning visit.
The Englishman then pulled off a beautiful manouvre by removing the last remaining red from the top-right cushion and into a potting position. After the pot, Ebdon cleared the colours for a 61-25 victory, leaving him one frame from victory.
Higgins’s miserable long-potting efforts had him in pent-up mood throughout the session and it was no surprise to see Ebdon take advantage from a such a missed pot in the concluding frame.
Higgins’s effort on a red just after the break misfired and spread the table invitingly for Ebdon. He duly obliged with a potent break of 83 for a thoroughly deserved victory.
After the game, Higgins said: "He played well and I didn’t really have much of a shot to three nil; apart from that I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t make it four all. I felt I played OK and I didn’t really do much wrong, I'm quite happy with the way I’m hitting the ball".
"The only consolation I can take is that he beat me here before [1999 quarter-final] and I went on to win the World Championship that year, so maybe it is a lucky omen."