Amateur career From the mid-1980s, Ebdon took part in various amateur tournaments and became one of the leading amateurs of his era.
Early professional career and World Championship win (1991–2002) Ebdon turned professional in 1991. Making his Crucible debut at the
1992 World Championship, he defeated
Steve Davis 10–4 in the first round and went on to reach the quarter-finals, losing 7–13 to
Terry Griffiths. This earned Ebdon the
WPBSA's Young Player of the Year award. He won his first ranking title at the
1993 Grand Prix, defeating
Ken Doherty 9–6 in the final. His second title was the
1995 Irish Masters, defeating
Stephen Hendry 9–8 in the final, and reached his first
Triple Crown final at the
1995 UK Championship, but lost 3–10 to Hendry. He first entered the top 16 for the
1994–95 season, and rose to a career high of third in the
1996–97 season, a position he reached again in the
2002–03 season. He won the
1997 Thailand Open, defeating
Nigel Bond 9–7 in the final; the
2000 British Open, defeating White 9–6 in the final; and the
2001 Scottish Open, defeating Doherty 9–7 in the final. Ebdon defeated
Michael Judge,
Joe Perry,
Anthony Hamilton, and
Matthew Stevens to reach his second world final at the
2002 World Snooker Championship. He won his only world title, clinching an 18–17 victory over Hendry. Having started the tournament at odds of 33–1, he stated: "It's what I have been working for and dreaming about for the last 17 years... I wasn't ready to win it six years ago, but I've improved as a player and as a person".
Post–World Championship win (2002–2011) Defending his title at the
2003 World Championship, Ebdon faced
Paul Hunter in the quarter-finals. Ebdon came from 10–12 behind to force a deciding frame, but Hunter clinched a 13–12 victory after a match that lasted 8 hours and 4 minutes. The slower pace of Ebdon's play after his world title attracted criticism, especially when he played O'Sullivan in the
2005 World Championship quarter-finals. Ebdon began the third session of the match trailing 6–10, but won seven of the last eight frames for a 13–11 victory, despite making a highest break of 60 and having an average shot time of 37 seconds. At one stage, Ebdon took three minutes over a shot, and took five minutes to compile a break of 12. Ebdon stated after the match: "When I'm trying my hardest I seem to go slow. I don't do it intentionally". When
The Times described his slow play as "cheating", he sued for
libel. At the
2006 World Snooker Championship, Ebdon led
Marco Fu 15–9 in the semi-finals. Fu won seven of the next eight frames to tie the scores at 16–16, but Ebdon won the deciding frame to reach his third world final, where he faced
Graeme Dott. Trailing 7–15 before the final session, Ebdon won six successive frames, but Dott won the match 18–14. Later that year, Ebdon won his second Triple Crown title at the
2006 UK Championship, defeating
Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals,
John Higgins in the semi-finals, and Hendry 10–6 in the final. At the
2008 World Championship, Ebdon defeated Mark King 13–9 in the second round to reach the quarter-finals. He lost 9–13 to
Ali Carter, who made a maximum break during the match. This was the last time Ebdon featured in the later stages of a World Championship; his final seven Crucible appearances all ended in first-round defeats. In the
2008 Northern Ireland Trophy, Ebdon lost 0–5 to
Liang Wenbo, making a highest break of 32. After the match, the Gambling Commission expressed concern about attempts by punters to place unusually large bets for Ebdon to lose 0–5 and not to make a break over 50. However, the
WPBSA did not instigate a match-fixing investigation. Ebdon won the
2009 China Open with a 10–8 victory over John Higgins in the final, but lost 5–10 to Bond in the first round of the
2009 World Championship. After a disappointing
2009–10 season, Ebdon lost 5–10 to Dott in the first round of the
2010 World Championship. This result ended Ebdon's 16 consecutive seasons ranked within the top 16 in the world rankings. Ebdon stated he was "bitterly disappointed but also very proud" to have been in the top 16 for so many years. At the
2010 World Open, Ebdon reached the semi-finals, losing 1–3 to O'Sullivan. His first semi-final appearance since the
2009 China Open, it saw him re-enter the top 16. Ebdon lost in the first round of the
2010 UK Championship and lost 8–10 to
Stuart Bingham in the first round of the
2011 World Championship. However, Ebdon was ranked number 13 at the end of the season.
Fall from the top 16 (2011–15) Ebdon fell out of the top 16 again early in the
2011–12 season, meaning he had to qualify for the main stage of ranking events thereafter. He lost his first
2011 UK Championship qualifying match 3–6 to
Robert Milkins, meaning that he did not feature at the tournament's main stage for the first time since 1991. He missed the
2012 Masters, the first time he had not featured at the event since 1992. Ebdon won the
2012 China Open, defeating John Higgins,
Neil Robertson, and Ding before beating
Stephen Maguire 10–9 in the final. This boosted his ranking to number 21. During the final, he recorded his 300th
century break. At the
2012 World Championship, he recorded a 10–0
whitewash over
Alfie Burden in qualifying, but lost 4–10 to O'Sullivan in the first round. He finished the season ranked world number 20. Ebdon began the
2012–13 season by qualifying for the
Wuxi Classic, but lost 4–5 to Bingham in the first round. At the
Australian Goldfields Open, he defeated
Michael Holt, Ding, and
Shaun Murphy, all by 5–4 scorelines. In the semi-finals, Ebdon defeated Fu 6–2, despite his opponent having an over 90 percent pot success, 80 percent long pot success, and 80 percent safety success. Facing
Barry Hawkins in the final, Ebdon lost 3–9, admitting afterwards that he had struggled in every department of his game. He lost in the first round of the
2012 Shanghai Masters, but reached the semi-finals of the inaugural
2012 International Championship, where he lost 1–9 to Trump. By qualifying for the
2013 World Championship, Ebdon equalled Steve Davis's then-record 22 consecutive appearances in the tournament. He faced Dott in a match that lasted seven hours, spread over three sessions, as Ebdon recovered from 2–6 behind to level at 6–6, before losing 6–10. After the match, Dott called for rules to combat slow play. Ebdon fell to world number 30 in the world rankings after the tournament. Ebdon's run of 22 consecutive Crucible appearances ended at the
2014 World Snooker Championship, when he lost 8–10 to
Robin Hull in qualifying, missing the event's main stage for the first time since turning professional. He failed to qualify for the event again in
2015, losing 7–10 to
Stuart Carrington in the second qualifying round.
Later career and retirement (2015–20) At the
2015 UK Championship, Ebdon beat opponents including reigning world champion Bingham to reach the last 16, where he lost 2–6 to
David Grace. At 45, he was the oldest competitor at the
2016 World Grand Prix; he defeated Robertson 4–3 before Ding whitewashed him 0–4 in the second round. At the
2016 World Championship, Ebdon defeated
James Wattana 10–6 in the first qualifying round. He came from 3–9 behind against
Gerard Greene to win 10–9 in the second round, the match ending just after 2:00 a.m. He qualified for the Crucible for the first time in three years by defeating
Ian Burns 10–2 in the final qualifying round. However, he lost 2–10 to Fu in the first round. , where he finished as runner-up Ebdon reached the quarter-finals of the
2016 Indian Open, where he lost 3–4 to Bond. He made his 24th and last Crucible appearance at the
2017 World Championship, after beating Holt 10–9 on the final black to qualify. He won the ninth frame of his first-round match against Bingham on a re-spotted black, after having required four snookers, and trailed 4–5 overnight; however, he lost the match 5–10. He ended the season ranked 40th in the world, the first time since 1992 he had finished a season outside the top 32. Ebdon reached his 18th and last ranking event final at the
2018 Paul Hunter Classic, where he lost 2–4 to
Kyren Wilson. He played his last professional match at the
2020 German Masters qualifiers in December 2019, losing 4–5 to Stevens. Following months of chronic neck and spinal pain, Ebdon announced his retirement from professional snooker on 30 April 2020, stating that he was unwilling to undergo spinal surgery in an effort to remain in the sport.
Coaching career (2021–present) In 2021, Ebdon became mentor and coach to
Jack Lisowski, who reached his first world quarter-final at the
2022 World Championship and credited his improved performance to Ebdon. Ebdon also coaches and mentors current professionals
Anthony McGill,
Elliot Slessor, and Kyren Wilson. ==Status==