Williams faces Hendry: Snooker

Mark Williams yesterday found the way to beat Peter Ebdon and went through to the British Open final at the Plymouth Pavilions. The 22-year-old Welshman came through a scrappy but exciting final frame to earn a 6-5 victory over a man he had lost to in their previous two meetings this season.

In the final, he will meet Stephen Hendry, who breezed past the man who ruled the roost before the Scot appeared, Steve Davis. He won 6-2, rattling in two century breaks on the way.

Ebdon, who beat Williams 5-1 in Bangkok and 5-4 in Aberdeen, threatened to complete a hat-trick when he recovered from 5-2 down to level at 5- 5. The 36-minute decider took twice as long to complete as any of the 10 previous frames.

Both players had their chances but cracked under pressure until Williams eventually put the match beyond doubt by potting the last blue to leave Ebdon requiring snookers, after he had been 37-30 up at one point. Ebdon made a brief attempt to rescue a lost cause but then teed up the pink for Williams.

"You always know he's never going to lie down. I expected him to come back at me, because he's got this reputation for never giving up," Williams said.