Bond delighted to upset odds

Nigel Bond is happy just to be playing more snooker after he made it into the second round of the Betfred.com World Championships with a shock 10-5 win over Peter Ebdon last night.

Bond won only his third match of the season to overcome Ebdon, the 2002 world champion and recent winner of the China Open, at the Crucible yesterday evening.

The winner of today’s encounter between Stephen Lee and Ryan Day awaits the English potter in round two, but after a difficult season Bond admits he is simply looking forward to getting more competitive frames under his belt.

“I don’t really mind who (out of Day and Lee) gets through,” he said.

“I’m happy to just still be there, punching away. I look forward to a best of 25, which I haven’t played since 2006 when I beat Stephen Hendry.”

Rated at 500-1 to win the tournament prior to yesterday’s result, Bond’s first-round upset saw his odds slashed to 150-1 as he stirred memories of his finest hour as a professional – an appearance in the final way back in 1995.

He has struggled for success at the highest level since then, but claims he still feels capable of taking any opponent the distance, whatever the odds say.

“I don’t really look at the odds to be honest, I never looked at the betting for the match,” he said.

“I feel that if I produce the stuff I’m capable of then I’m capable of doing some damage and beating anyone really.

“I wanted to finish the season on a high, and Peter was obviously favourite after winning the ranking event in China.

“So in that respect I suppose I didn’t really have anything to lose.”