Beijing victory a dream - Ebdon

Peter Ebdon described winning the 2009 China Open as a "dream" and now hopes he can take the qualities which saw him through the final into the upcoming World Championship.

Ebdon edged out John Higgins 10-8 to win the eighth ranking event of his 18-year career and his first in China.

"It's amazing, when I came here I was probably the last player that anyone expected to win," said the 38-year-old, who won just two matches in the first six ranking events of the campaign.

"To win here is a dream and a reward for all the hard work I've put in. I'm incredibly proud of this achievement, and in terms of what it means to me, I'd put it close to winning the World and UK titles.

"I've turned my season around, and with two weeks of hard practice, and if I can keep the same character and spirit that I showed in China, I'll prove difficult to beat at the Crucible."

Ebdon is up to 12th in the latest world rankings, reducing his fears of dropping out of the official top 16 for next season.

As for the match, Ebdon added: "John is one of the greatest match players we've ever seen, but neither of us played well and it was a nervy sort of match. I'm fortunate that he wasn't on top form because he would have beaten me easily."

Higgins, who missed out on his 20th ranking title and first in Beijing, said: "I'm disappointed because I didn't play well throughout the match. I missed too many easy balls.

"Peter didn't play great either but he was better than me. He takes on some crazy shots and you never know what he's going to do next.

"With his break in the last frame he showed his class, so fair play to him."

Meanwhile, Stuart Pettman enjoyed the best tournament of his 17-year career after reaching the semi-finals having never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event.

He flies up 11 spots to 37th. Ryan Day was the other losing semi-finalist but stays in sixth.

Ronnie O'Sullivan made the quarter-finals to extend his lead at the top over Stephen Maguire to nearly 7,000 points.

He will retain his official world no.1 ranking next season unless he loses in the first round of the World Championship and Maguire wins the tournament.