Baize Betting / Paul Krishnamurty / 15 December 2008 / Leave a comment

Peter Ebdon has made long, drawn-out, final frame victories his trademark, says Paul Krishnamurty. Expect more of the same in his first round match against Andrew Higginson....

As the UK Championship is one of only two events where matches are played over more than one session, each year produces memorable comebacks.

So far we've seen Rory Mcleod and Mark Selby nearly rise from the dead before losing their first round matches, but the most impressive turnaround came in Stephen Lee's 9-7 win over Stephen Hendry. Lee trailed 3-5 at the halfway stage, which is the same position former world champion Peter Ebdon finds himself in against Andrew Higginson.

If there's one player renowned for relishing these long matches its Ebdon, who has made long-drawn out, usually final frame wins his trademark. His form in tournaments with a best of nine format has never been particularly consistent or impressive, with nearly all of his great performances coming either at Sheffield in the World Championships, or in this event. Nobody has more bottle. So he shouldn't be too phased about an early deficit against a limited opponent such as Higginson.

Neither player has done anything of note this year, both winning just one match in the televised stages of the four ranking events to date. I expect the second session will be scrappy and tense, which really does play to Ebdon's strengths. In any case, seeing as Ebdon was [1.6] favourite at the start of the match and that there is still a long way to go, odds around [3.2] look like a big over-reaction and offer a nice trading opportunity.