London born potters Mark King and Peter Ebdon get Round 2 at the Crucible under way this afternoon in a mouth-watering contest. King enjoyed arguably his finest performance at the venue as he edged out tournament second favourite Mark Selby in a solid display of heavy scoring and determined tactical play. King knocked in two centuries and narrowly missed out on a maximum on his way to a 'shock' victory - a shock only for those who haven't seen the goods King has produced on the practice table over the years. But Romford 'Godfather' King is no stranger to last 16 heartache; 4 times he has gone out at this stage, falling to higher ranked players on three occassions in Matthew Stevens, John Higgins and Ken Doherty.
'Swimmer' Ebdon, by contrast, has reached a hat-trick of Finals and was memorably crowned champion in 2002. He also defeated his opponent today in only King's second ever Ranking final, 10-7 in the 2004 Irish Masters, giving King extra incentive to set the record straight. King is due a Quarter Final berth and will draw on his performance in the last round to inspire him again. Dutch man mountain Jan 'Vulcan' Verhass will be refereeing the match on the other side of the arena and will be called upon if the temperature rises so high that the fiery baldies come to blows. On the table at least, expect blood and thunder.
Prediction: A battling 13-10 victory for King
Swimmer: Ebdon swims three miles a day to keep him fit for these occassions. http://www.javajane.co.uk/snooker/sn...eter_ebdon.jpg
Battler: King has beaten all the top players.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...80_king512.jpg
:snooker:
'Swimmer' Ebdon, by contrast, has reached a hat-trick of Finals and was memorably crowned champion in 2002. He also defeated his opponent today in only King's second ever Ranking final, 10-7 in the 2004 Irish Masters, giving King extra incentive to set the record straight. King is due a Quarter Final berth and will draw on his performance in the last round to inspire him again. Dutch man mountain Jan 'Vulcan' Verhass will be refereeing the match on the other side of the arena and will be called upon if the temperature rises so high that the fiery baldies come to blows. On the table at least, expect blood and thunder.
Prediction: A battling 13-10 victory for King
Swimmer: Ebdon swims three miles a day to keep him fit for these occassions. http://www.javajane.co.uk/snooker/sn...eter_ebdon.jpg
Battler: King has beaten all the top players.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...80_king512.jpg
:snooker:
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