China Open 2012 (the final) - Ebdon takes slow road to victory

Peter Ebdon - the 2012 China Open champion

Peter Ebdon won by 10-9 over Stephen Maguire to capture this year's China Open tournament trophy and put an end to a not-so-good season. 

The Englishman took control of the first session by 5-1, but cope very well with Maguire's comeback from being 8-5 down, going all the way to the last frame.

The Beijing crowd was kept awake until late in the night, this year's China Open final practically starting on Sunday and ending close to Monday according to their time zone. 

Peter Ebdon took his time to win his second China Open title (after the one in 2009) and didn't lose his grip even if during the last frames, his rival put an enormous amount of pressure on him.

It wasn't too much of a surprise to see that the first session of the final wasn't going to see all its nine frames being consumed knowing Ebdon's very slow cueing style, but in all his "slowliness" he managed to take full control of the match at 5-1.

Breaks of 31, 32, 107, 64 and 124 were enough to guarantee Ebbo a comfortable position on the scoreboard, while Maguire was still struggling to settle in.

Stephen Maguire - the 2012 China Open runner-up

However the second session started with the Scottish player winning the first frame after hitting a decisive 84 break, Ebdon's response to that being a 52 one that was reinstalling the four-frame gap pattern.

Once again Maguire took his chances in frame nine and managed not only to win it, but also to add another one with a great 98 break for a 6-4 scoreline just as the mid-session interval was kicking off.

A quarter of an hour later Ebdon was detaching himself at 7-4 after a perfect break of 103 points, but Maguire was also fighting back (with a 65) to pull back a frame.

A 54 clearance was taking the scoreline at 8-5 in favour of Ebdon, this time though Maguire knowing it was time to react in a more offensive way.

A tactical assault under the form of breaks like 70, 36, 40 and 97 was bringing the Scotsman back into the game at eight apiece. It was game on!

Knowingly aware of the danger, Ebbo flew one away from victory with the first chance he got, chance that was materialised under a break of 103 (the 300^th century break of his career as a professional), but Maguire wasn’t going to let go that easily and forced the decider after hitting in runs of 42 and 24.

The Chinese gang next to the champ

The last frame saw both players with equal chances to win it, but a more decided-than-ever Ebdon to fulfil his wish. Breaks of 29 and 40 were securing his 10-9 victory and a share to the glory of being a champion after three years.

The China Open tournament is the last ranking event of the season before the World Championship that is kicking off on April 21^st in Sheffield. 

See ya there peeps!