Ebdon beats Drago 5-3 ...calls for peace

There was good news on and off the table for Peter Ebdon in Telford yesterday.

The world champion beat Tony Drago 5-3 in an entertaining match to reach the last 16 of the British Open. Ebdon was also delighted by the result of the WPBSA Extraordinary General Meeting held yesterday, in which a motion to replace the governing body's current board of directors was defeated by 48 votes to 26.

"The players have spoken with their votes today," said the world No.3. "They have said in no uncertain terms that this is a members association, and I'm very pleased about that. The game is bigger than any individual or group of individuals who think they can take it over.

"Hopefully, there will be some peace now."

Ebdon lost his first match in last month's LG Cup and looked in danger of a similar fate yesterday as Drago took the first two frames with breaks of 62 and 73.

The Englishman hit back with an 85 then claimed a scrappy fourth frame on the blue to level at the interval.

Drago had chances in each of the four frames after the break but made several unforced errors and Ebdon was able to close out the match with a top run of 73 in the eighth.

"It was a tough match because Tony is a very gifted player and we have had some good battles in the past," Ebdon added. "I'm delighted to get through."