Crucible final - frame by frame

Reaction: Graeme Dott & Peter Ebdon

Scotland's Graeme Dott beats England's Peter Ebdon 18-14 to win the World Championship.

Result (best of 35 frames):

Peter Ebdon (Eng) 14-18 Graeme Dott (Sco)
79-12 (63) 53-62 (Ebdon 53, Dott 62) 1-91 (56) 48-70 9-71 (66) 67-32 (62) 6-78 20-53 20-53 16-63 66-25 124-6 (89) 47-72 65-51 5-61 16-92 0-75 (56) 100-0 (78) 67-44 41-75 (62) 31-90 (65) 49-70 117-22 (117) 66-51 (51) 67-29 70-38 (66) 66-59 84-0 (84) 16-78 (66) 99-17 61-69 (Ebdon 51, Dott 68) 31-70

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Frame-by-frame updates:

Frame 32: After a nerve-jangling final frame, which Ebdon had sufficient chances to win, Dott finally stumbles over the line with a gutsy clearance. Ebdon should have sealed it, but missed a pink into the left-centre pocket. Dott lets out another huge roar after potting the brown - and even kisses the trophy before victory is assured.
Ebdon 14-18 Dott

Frame 31: A massive psychological frame. Dott misses a black and puts Ebdon in again. Ebdon racks up a 51 break before running out of position and Dott is in business. He somehow finds the reserves to clear up and when the black goes down, the Scot lets out a primeval roar. The match has now drifted passed 0020 BST, the previous latest finish for a Crucible final - between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis in 1985.
Ebdon 14-17 Dott

Frame 30: Dott has a nightmare start to the frame, attempting to cut in a red and going in-off. Ebdon builds a 66-0 lead before losing position and giving Dott a chance. But Dott - once again - is unable to fill his boots and Ebdon indulges in a bit of showboating on his way to winning the frame. Dott is undoubtedly on the ropes and Ebdon's vaunted fitness could now be key.
Ebdon 14-16 Dott

Frame 29: An Ebdon miss leaves the reds spread and the table at Dott's mercy. Dott builds a 66 break, his highest of the match, but leaves the door ajar for Ebdon. However, Ebdon goes in-off and concedes the frame. It is Dott's first frame of the evening.
Ebdon 13-16 Dott

Frame 28: From marathon man to sprinter, Ebdon wraps up frame 28 in double-quick time with a break of 84. Dott is shrinking further and further into his chair as Ebdon cranks up the pressure. Only two frames in it now.
Ebdon 13-15 Dott

Frame 27: The combatants go into the trenches for this one - an absolute 'grueller'. Dott moves 40 ahead but, once again, breaks down. A tense safety exchange commences, during which Ebdon misses a number of long reds. Dott then lays a snooker behind the brown which Ebdon misses twice.

Dott, with the frame at his mercy, then misses opportunities to wrap up the frame, rattling the jaws with a couple of reds. Ebdon and Dott then take turns missing the green before Ebdon, heart bursting through his waist-coat, mops up. The frame, at 74 minutes, is the longest in Crucible history.
Ebdon 12-15 Dott

Frame 26: Ebdon, who is suddenly cueing beautifully, takes his fourth frame in a row. Dott will be sweating now. The Scot again has a chance to win the frame, but breaks down on 37 with the table at his mercy. Ebdon, looking steely again, steps up and rattles in a break of 66. He will fancy this now - and I might stick a bet on him to win.
Ebdon 11-15 Dott

Frame 25: Ebdon wins three frames in a row for the first time in the final. It was all set up by a great long red followed by a black which developed another red. Dott will want to win the next one before the mid-session interval.
Ebdon 10-15 Dott

Frame 24: A nerve-shredder. Ebdon opens up with a break of 34 but leaves a red over a corner pocket. Dott hits back with a run of 51 before missing the black off its spot. Apparently cruising, Ebdon then gets a kick on the green - but it drops after dragging its feet for what seems like an age.

Ebdon, who usually wears the look of a man about to be blasted into outer space, does a nifty pirouette and mops up brown, blue and pink. Game on.
Ebdon 9-15 Dott

Frame 23: Ebdon finally hits his straps in frame 23, knocking in a superb plant to get his break going and racking up 117 to take the first frame of the final session. It is the first century of the final and will at least keep Dott honest for a while longer.
Ebdon 8-15 Dott

Frame 22: Both players have chances again and, due to poor positional play, both are unable to take the frame by the scruff of the neck. Both play hit-and-hope escapes from snookers before Dott makes a break of 27 and Ebdon goes in-off the green.

Dott then pots green, brown, blue and - after a lengthy exchange, with Ebdon looking for a snooker - pink, to move eight frames clear.
Ebdon 7-15 Dott

Frame 21: The frame starts with a rerack after Dott attempts to lay a snooker behind the black and comes up short. Dott is first in but breaks down before Ebdon sneaks in front, but he too breaks down, missing a black into the middle pocket. Dott then steps in with a run of 65 to open up a seven-frame lead.
Ebdon 7-14

Frame 20: Like a couple of chimps in London Zoo, Ebdon and Dott continue to scratch about as the match approaches the mid-session interval. Yet again, both men have chances. Dott breaks down after a 62 break before Ebdon misses a straight-forward yellow when overstretching.

Dott then fluffs a snooker, leaving Ebdon to pot the yellow and lay a snooker of his own. Dott is unable to escape, but then flukes a snooker of his own and manages to flop over the line. A big psychological frame for Dott.
Ebdon 7-13 Dott

Frame 19: Ebdon's run of 78 in the previous frame is a distant memory as frame 19 takes on the same complexion as most of yesterday's play. Ebdon is looking assured again in making a 35 before badly over-cutting a black into the corner pocket. Both men then miss chances to mop up before Ebdon makes sure with a run of 28.
Ebdon 7-12 Dott

Frame 18: Ebdon appears to have rediscovered his fluency and rattles in a break of 78 to get back to within six frames of Dott.
Ebdon 6-12 Dott

Frame 17: The final day's action gets under way and Dott moves into a seven-frame lead courtesy of a break of 56.
Ebdon 5-12 Dott

Frame 16: The marathon session is finally brought to an end as Dott goes six frames ahead.

Ebdon will want to forget the whole day - as will the crowd - but Dott can be satisfied, if not amazed, by building a huge lead in snooker's biggest match despite having a highest break of just 62.
Ebdon 5-11 Dott

Frame 15: Dott re-establishes a five-frame lead in another error-ridden frame. Ebdon looks like a man desperately in need of a good night's sleep as he continues to miss shots he made comfortably earlier in the tournament.

The end of the final frame of a marathon session cannot come soon enough for Ebdon.
Ebdon 5-10 Dott

Frame 14: Potentially a big turning point in the match as Ebdon claws back another frame.

In keeping with the generally substandard level of the match, it comes from a mistake. Actually it comes after numerous mistakes, but a pink which refuses to drop lets Ebdon in to steal a frame he could and should have sealed 15 minutes previously.
Ebdon 5-9 Dott

Frame 13: If there are any Sheffield traffic wardens reading this, I'd volunteer for the late shift if I were you. There's a fortune to be made on the lapsed pay and display tickets of the Crucible crowd's cars tonight... It's 2335 BST and there are three frames to play.

Dott puts an end to Ebdon's mini-revival with a brave clearance after Ebdon had looked favourite to pull another one back.
Ebdon 4-9 Dott

Frame 12: The tide is turning. Ebdon is playing much more quickly, and the change seems to be working for him. Suddenly the long pots are dropping and it is Dott who has to stay in his seat.

The 2002 champion does get some luck. His miss leaves a straightforward red for Dott, but the Scot conspires to miss it and Ebdon - who goes on to make a match-high break of 89 - does not look back.
Ebdon 4-8 Dott

Frame 11: Ebdon stops the rot with his first frame in some time. He makes a 49 before losing position, but this time Dott's attempted escapes from the snooker are unsuccessful.

Is Ebdon's famous mental strength about to drag him back into the match?
Ebdon 3-8 Dott

Frame 10: Ebdon is getting understandably frustrated. The balls will not run for him, while Dott's worst shots go unpunished as the balls run his way.

Ebdon is reaching crisis-point as the players go off for a break. His average shot time is going up and up, but his scores certainly aren't. Dott goes even further ahead, but the big breaks are not coming for either player.
Ebdon 2-8 Dott

Frame nine: Things are not going well for Ebdon. He is getting plenty of chances, but he is simply not taking them. Dott is not having to do anything special for a five-frame lead in a World Championship final.

This frame is as scrappy as anything which has come before as the high-value colours get tied up early on. A missed black along the rail from Ebdon ultimately proves costly.
Ebdon 2-7 Dott

Frame eight: Peter Ebdon must have walked in front of several black cats, while smashing a mirror or two for good measure, during the interval. To say he is not getting the run of the balls would be an understatement.

Dott takes another for a commanding lead, but it is not pretty stuff. The Scot is failing to put frames away, but such is Ebdon's current slump in form - and luck - it hardly matters.
Ebdon 2-6 Dott

Frame seven: The break between sessions has not done much for the match on this showing. Dott moves further ahead though after another lengthy frame.

Dott, as on several other occasions, pots the frame ball only to miss the next, therefore making it worthwhile for Ebdon to return to the table. The match is getting bogged down at the moment, but it may only take a few moments of inspiration from someone to turn it around.
Ebdon 2-5 Dott

Frame six: It is slow going at The Crucible, and the players are dragged off two frames early. Peter Ebdon will not be too disappointed by this as he wins the final frame of the session.

Ebdon makes a 62 and, despite Dott's efforts at getting the snooker he needed, he holds on for a much-needed boost.
Ebdon 2-4 Dott

Frame five: Ebdon is not operating anywhere near the levels he has been at on his way to the final. A fluked red gives him control, but he leaves his attempted roll in behind the green short.

Dott makes a 66 before missing a blue, but Ebdon cannot make the Scot pay for his error. Ebdon will know he needs to arrest his slide in form fairly quickly.
Ebdon 1-4 Dott

Frame four: The longest frame of the match goes Dott's way, but neither player is at his best. Ebdon has four chances in among the balls, but makes a series of mistakes and Dott goes two frames up.

Ebdon goes in-off twice, and struggles to escape from the snookers laid by Dott. The 2002 champion will be grateful for the mid-session interval.
Ebdon 1-3 Dott

Frame three: Dott takes the lead for the first time. Ebdon has chances but, unusually, his safety play is loose and Dott makes a 56 to claim the frame.
Ebdon 1-2 Dott

Frame two: Dott steals the second frame with an excellent clearance to the pink. Ebdon constructs a tidy break but misses a cut yellow to the corner and Dott takes full advantage.
Ebdon 1-1 Dott

Frame one: Ebdon takes the first frame of the match, but it is not all smooth progress. A kick on his very first pot stops him in his tracks, and when he gets in again, a poor shot sees him break down on 63 with the frame still alive.

But a pink rattles in the jaws from Dott, and Ebdon needs no second invitation to open his account.
Ebdon 1-0 Dott

1510: Those who expected a tight tactical battle could well be proved right. The first frame is re-racked after about five minutes' play.

1505: The two players briefly pose for media photos in front of the trophy while shaking hands. They both look up for this match, as you would expect.

Handshakes and pictures over, it's time for the action to get underway with Peter Ebdon to break.

1503: The players, waiting anxiously behind the curtain, are introduced to a rapturous reception by the MC.

Referee Jan Verhaas, towering over the diminutive Graeme Dott, wishes both players the best of luck.

1441: The famous Crucible theatre is swiftly filling up with the expectant sell-out crowd for the start of the opening session of snooker's showpiece event.

Not too many people would have predicted that Peter Ebdon and Graeme Dott would be the last men standing in Sheffield, but the pair have earned the right with both taking hard routes to the final.