Ebdon came out on top in a thrilling final lasting nearly 10 hours, winning 18-17 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to avenge his 18-12 defeat at the hands of Scotsman Hendry in the 1996 world championship final.
“I always believed that I could be world champion, but it is something different actually going through and doing it,” said the 31-year-old Englishman. “It means so much to me and my family.”
Ebdon, who beat Michael Judge, Joe Perry, Anthony Hamilton and Matthew Stevens to reach the final, was pushed all the way by Hendry, the winner of a record seven world titles.
Hendry battled back well from 11-6 down, winning six out of the next seven frames to level at 12-12 going into the final session.
Hendry won the opening frame of the evening session to lead for the first time in the match and he went two frames ahead by clearing the colours after potting a long yellow.
But Ebdon showed again what a fierce competitor he is by drawing level at 14-14 and regaining the advantage at 16-15 after sinking a superb long red at the start of a 111 break.
After seeing Hendry win the 32nd frame, Ebdon moved to within a frame of victory after compiling an 85 break to go 17-16 up.
Ebdon looked set to seal the win when he opened up a 52-27 lead in the following frame, but he missed a straight-forward black and Hendry took full advantage.
That set up a tense final frame which Ebdon clinched following a missed blue from Hendry.
Ebdon, who was making only his second appearance in the final, said that he thought his missed black in the penultimate frame would prove costly.
“I really thought I’d blown it at the end,” he said. “I couldn’t believe Stephen didn’t take those couple of chances he had.”
Ebdon could hardly take in his victory, which followed another last-frame decider in his semifinal against Welshman Matthew Stevens.
“The last couple of matches have been like a dream. It’s almost like I’ve been looking on in.”
Ebdon paid tribute to Hendry, saying: “He’s an absolutely awesome match player and such a hard man to beat.
“Stephen’s been a magnificent ambassador for the sport and players like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins wouldn’t be playing at the standard they’re playing now if it wasn’t for Stephen Hendry.”
Hendry was left to reflect on some costly misses in the final frame. He said: “I never thought I’d see the day when I’d bottle a chance to win the world championship, but I did it twice.
Ebdon was praised by Hendry for the progress he has made since the pair met in the 1996 final.
FINAL (BEST-OF-35-FRAME):
Peter Ebdon (England) beat Stephen Hendry (Scotland) 18-17
Frame scores (Ebdon first): 94-0, 140-0, 73-13, 71-16, 0-126, 40-73, 4-119, 36-65, 134-0, 56-67, 68-9, 70-68, 77-14, 69-13, 4-70, 89-33, 69-32, 0-126, 0-108, 21-66, 36-89, 67-43, 0-110, 0-97, 1-127, 58-65, 103-22, 62-26, 30-74, 73-21, 111-0, 39-78, 85-4, 52-62, 72-14.—Reuters