Doherty’s victory topped off a great weekend for Irish snooker.
Ken Doherty joined fellow Irish player David Morris in the third-round of snooker’s UK Championship, the second most prestigious prize in the sport. The 1997 world champion found himself 3-0 down to Michael White, but managed to produce a impressive comeback to win six frames to four. The Dubliner will face Ricky Walden, ranked eight in the world, in the third round of the tournament held in York. While Kilkenny native David Morris will meet David Gilbert for a place in the final 16.
‘It wasn’t looking so hot at 3-0 down, but I like a comeback and giving value for money,’ the world number 40 said. ‘But I won an important fourth frame, and that settled me down a bit. And then I knew if I got going I could put pressure on him, and could have gone 5-3 up, but he is a tough player, very clever and aggressive. I just had to keep myself together.
‘And I drew on how well I played in the first match here,’ Doherty said. ‘It was nice to play well in one of the major events, and basically not bottle it. I have had a lot of good matches here at the Barbican over the years, and this is one of the ones you really want to do well in. Every match you have to treat it like a final and Ricky Walden is a man in form in the next match, but I have nothing to lose and if I play like I have been he won’t like playing me either’.
Doherty is competing in his 25th season as a professional and remains the only player to win the amateur, under-21 and professional world snooker titles. The veteran has won six ranking crowns in his career, but has never won the UK Championship.
