Peter Ebdon

D.O.B: 27 Aug 1970
Lives: Hungary
Turned Pro: 1991
Ranking Tournament Victories: 8 - Grand Prix 1993; Thailand Open 1997; British Open 2000; Scottish Open 2001; World Championship 2002; Irish Masters 2004; UK Championship 2007; China Open 2009
Last season World Snooker Tour: prize money: £93,955
Highest Tournament Break: 147 - Strachan Professional 1992, UK Championship 1992

Ebdon started the 2010/11 season outside the top 16, after 16 consecutive seasons among the elite, but it's a measure of his longevity and resolve that he soon regained his place in the top bracket of the world rankings.

He reached the semi-finals of the 12BET.com World Open in Glasgow, beating the likes of Steve Davis and Martin Gould, and though he lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the last four, that run was enough to give Ebdon his top 16 place back.

Later in the season he got to the quarter-finals of the Bank of Beijing China Open, knocking out World Champion Neil Robertson for the second time in the two ranking events staged in the Far East during the season.

However, the campaign ended on a sour note for Ebdon as he lost 10-8 to Stuart Bingham in the first round of the Betfred.com World Championship.

Ebdon's last ranking title came at the 2009 China Open as he beat Tang Jun 5-3, Dave Harold 5-4, Stephen Hendry 5-1 and Stuart Pettman 6-1 to set up a final clash with John Higgins in Beijing.

Neither player hit his best form in the absorbing clash, but Ebdon fought his way to the title, closing with a superb break of 71 to seal the 10-8 scoreline.
"I hung in there and played some good safety, then I found something when I needed it at the end," said Ebdon after winning the eighth ranking title of his career. "I showed composure in the last frame which I didn't have before.

"To win here is a dream and a reward for all the hard work I've put in. I'm incredibly proud of this achievement, and in terms of what it means to me, I'd put it close to winning the World and UK titles."

In 2006, Ebdon joined the select band of players to have won snooker's two biggest ranking titles.

At the UK Championship in York, he beat Mark Selby, Stuart Bingham and Ding Junhui to reach the semi-finals then produced what he described as one of his best ever performances to beat Higgins 9-7.

In the final he faced old adversary Stephen Hendry and came from 3-1 down to score a 10-6 victory. That made him only the ninth player in snooker history to have lifted both the World and UK crowns, joining Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Alex Higgins, Hendry, John Parrott, Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams.

He first reached the final at the Crucible in 1996, losing 18-12 to Stephen Hendry, but gained his revenge on the Scot in 2002 and fulfilled a lifelong ambition.

Ebdon probably prepares more thoroughly for the Sheffield event than any other player, swimming a mile a day and following a strict diet in order to maximise his physical fitness and stamina.

This proved vital as he beat Hendry 18-17 in an epic final, making a crucial break of 59 in the 35th and last frame. "I always believed that I could win it but to actually do it is something else," he said.

The Northamptonshire-based cueman was also Crucible runner up in 2006, losing 18-14 to Graeme Dott.

Among the many strings to his bow, Ebdon is an expert on equine breeding and studied Latin and Ancient Greek at school. He is a devotee of Napoleon Hill's classic motivational book Think and Grow Rich and presented a copy to each of 116 pupils at the school he attended as a teenager, Highbury Grove.

Passionate about music, father-of-four Ebdon played the oboe at school and has sung on two pop singles. He played cricket for London Schools as a teenager, specialising as a leg-spin bowler.