- Ken Doherty
-
For the American decathlete and coach, see Ken Doherty (track).
Ken Doherty 
Doherty playing with the rest, at the 2011 Paul Hunter ClassicBorn 17 September 1969 Sport country 
IrelandNickname "The Darlin' of Dublin",
"Crafty Ken",
"Ken-do"Professional 1990– Present Highest ranking 2 (2006/07) Current ranking 33 Career winnings GB£3,269,385[1] Highest break 145 (2004 Players Championship) Century breaks 277 Tournament wins Ranking 6 Non-ranking 11 World Champion 1997 Ken Doherty (born 17 September 1969) is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur (1989) and world professional champion (1997). He was also World Under-21 champion in 1989.
Contents
Career
After two semi-finals in the 1991/92 season (his second as a professional), Doherty reached the final of the 1992 Grand Prix, narrowly losing 10–9 to Jimmy White. In the same event a year later, he lost 6–9 to Peter Ebdon. His first ranking title was the 1993 Welsh Open, enough to take him into the top 16 in the world, where he remained until the 2007/08 season. In the 1994 World Championship he reached the quarter-finals, his only run past the first round before 1997.
Doherty became only the third player from outside the United Kingdom (After Australian Horace Lindrum in 1952 and Canadian Cliff Thorburn in 1980) to win the World Championship when he beat Stephen Hendry 18–12 in the 1997 final. Ken also reached the World Championship final in 1998 (losing to John Higgins) and in 2003, losing narrowly to Mark Williams. The latter run was noted for some outstanding comebacks, including final-frame wins over Graeme Dott and Shaun Murphy, a 13–8 win over John Higgins in a match where Doherty raced ahead 10–0 but Higgins fought back to 10–7, and a semi-final fightback from 9–15 to beat Paul Hunter 17–16. In that championship he played more frames than anyone before or since. In the final, Williams led 11–4 but Doherty fought back to 12–12 and 16–16. In frame 33, Doherty missed the final red with a clearance there for the taking. Williams won that crucial frame and the next to prevail 18–16.
He is one of the few players to win back-to-back ranking events – the Welsh Open and Thailand Masters in 2001, also reaching the final of the following Regal Scottish Open.[2]
In 2000, he narrowly failed to achieve a maximum break when he missed a routine final black off its spot in the 15th frame of the Benson & Hedges Masters final against Matthew Stevens, which he eventually lost 10–8. This one pot would have seen him win an £80,000 sports car. However, at 140 he did at least have the consolation of the £19,000 highest break prize.
In the 2005 World Championship, Doherty beat Barry Pinches in the first round 10–5, winning the last 8 frames, but was knocked out in the second round by Alan McManus 13–11.
Following an average start to the 2005/06 season, Doherty won the Malta Cup in February 2006, beating John Higgins in the final. Doherty had trailed 8–5 at one stage but managed a stirring comeback, winning four frames in a row. Doherty called the victory, which bridged a five-year gap, his "most important tournament win since the World Championship".[3][4]
In the 2006 World Championship, Doherty started brightly winning his first match and defeated Barry Hawkins 10–1 and then he beat Matthew Stevens 13–8, playing superbly to win the last 5 frames. He was favourite in his quarter-final match against Marco Fu but lost 13–10. It was 8–8 as the final session started, but Doherty struggled despite winning a frame in which he required 3 snookers. Although he led 7–6, 8–7, 9–8 and 10–9, he could never quite take a decisive advantage to win the match. Doherty admitted afterwards that he "blew it"" but that he still had "a couple more years" to come back and win the title.[5] He ended the 2005/06 season as the world Number 2, his highest ranking ever.
He made a solid start to the 2006/07 snooker season by reaching the quarter-final at what is the closest thing to a home tournament for him, the Northern Ireland Trophy at Belfast's Waterfront Hall. He followed this up with a last-16 defeats at the Grand Prix in Aberdeen and the UK Championship in York. He reached the quarter-finals of the next two tournaments, the Masters and the Malta Cup. He lost in the first round of the World Championship and, although clearly disappointed, the Dubliner vowed to continue.[6] He was provisional world Number 1 for most of 2006/07 but finished the season at Number 4.
In October 2006, he won the Irish Professional Snooker Championships for a second time (having previously captured the title in 1993), an invitational event, beating Michael Judge 9–4 in the final. A year later he defended his title with a resounding 9–2 victory over Fergal O'Brien. He followed this up a week later by becoming the first Irishman to win the Pot Black invitational tournament, beating Shaun Murphy 76–31 in the one-frame final.
Doherty did not start the 2007–08 season well, winning only one match during the first four ranking tournaments. However, he did reach the semi-finals of the Masters with victories over Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy,[7] before losing to eventual champion Mark Selby. He then reached the final of the Malta Cup for a record fifth time, defeating John Higgins in the semi-finals, before losing to Murphy in the final. Unfortunately for Doherty, neither of these events are ranking events, meaning his performances did nothing to keep him in the Top 16 for 2008/09. Defeat to Liang Wenbo in the first round of the World Championship ensured that he dropped out of the Top 16 after 15 years, and he started the new season 32nd on the provisional (one-year) list. A run of qualifying defeats saw him drop as low as 38th before the UK Championship.
Doherty's poor run of form continued during the 2008–09 season during which he won only two matches. For the first time since 1993, he failed to qualify for the World Championship having been beaten in the final qualifying round by Gerard Greene.
Doherty's form saw an upturn in the 2009/2010 season with a rise back into the top 32 (at 30) in the rankings up from 44th. This is thanks to a quarter final appearance in the 2009 Shanghai Masters, and a last 16 appearance in the 2009 Grand Prix. Doherty defeated 6 times World Championship finalist Jimmy White 10–3, and two time Crucible semi-finalist Joe Swail 10–1 to mark his return to the World Championships for the first time since 2008. In an amusing moment, Doherty got down on his knees and kissed the carpet upon his return to the venue. However, he lost his first round match 10–4 to reigning Masters champion Mark Selby.
The 2010/2011 season proved to be a mixed campaign for Doherty, who made the last 32 of the 2010 World Open, yet missed out on qualifying for the 2011 German Masters, 2011 Welsh Open (snooker) and crucially, blowing a 6–3, losing 10–6 Jimmy Robertson in the final stage of qualifying for the 2011 World Snooker Championship, meaning Ken has only reached The Crucible in 1 of his last 3 attempts.
The 2011/2012 started well for Ken. As he reached the Semi-Final of the Australian Open. He lost this match against Mark Williams 2-6.
Playing style
Despite being most renowned as a clever tactician, he is a heavy scorer when in around the balls at close quarters and has compiled over 250 centuries to date, making him one of only thirteen players to compile over 200 centuries.[8] This relatively cautious approach has led to the nickname "Crafty Ken".
Doherty's early career had begun with practice in Jason's of Ranelagh, Dublin, where he used to play handicap snooker tournaments on Saturday mornings before moving on to national level. This club closed in 2006 and he now practises in a Dublin hotel. In his first national event, an U-16 ranking tournament, Doherty lost in the final but would come back a month later and beat the man who had beaten him in the Irish U-16 National Championships.
Doherty has played his entire career with a warped cue randomly selected from the cue rack in his local snooker club Jason's. Doherty humorously revealed that the club manager originally wanted £5 for it but Doherty haggled him down to £2. Ken Doherty explains, "It's warped. I must be one of the few professionals playing with a warped cue, but I wouldn't dream of changing it. I have got used to holding it in a certain way, with my eye trained on a piece of grain.[9]
Media work
Doherty has started working occasionally on TV studio coverage on snooker matches with the BBC snooker coverage team.
He became a regular commentator for the BBC starting with the 2009 Masters Tournament, following the sidelining of veteran expert Clive Everton.
Personal life
Doherty resides in Rathgar and is married to Sarah, who is Australian. Their first child, a son named Christian, was born on 30 November 2007.[10]
Doherty was nearly blinded in 2002 in a bathroom accident; after slipping, he struck an ornament, which narrowly missed his left eye. However, his distinctive scar on his right cheek dates back to his seventh birthday, when he fell off a shed roof on to a metal dustbin.[9][11]
Doherty is a Manchester United fan and he paraded his trophy at Old Trafford in front of 55,000 spectators following his World Championship triumph. It is also said that Ken is a follower of Barnsley after attending Barnsley's pre-season friendly against Manchester City in 2009. The stadium announcer was heard saying at half time that there was a celebrity fan sitting in the upper East Stand at Oakwell and later revealed that it was Ken.
Although he has never made a 147 break in tournament play, Doherty did make one in a public exhibition in Ireland, in 2002. He made light of his prize on television shortly afterwards, which was allegedly €300, a BMX bicycle and a toy Ferrari car.
In May 2007, Doherty appeared on RTÉ's spoof show Anonymous, heavily disguised as a priest. Ostensibly he was a beginner at snooker and received some tips from Alex Higgins, who was initially fooled by the make-up and Doherty's hopeless play. However, as "Fr Donoghue" began to clear the table, Higgins' suspicions were aroused and Doherty was eventually rumbled. Still, Doherty's disguise was enough to fool his mother and wife.
Doherty currently represents Irish poker site 'VCPoker.ie', appearing on radio commercials, and regularly playing in tournaments where the players on the site receive a bonus for knocking him out.
Career finals
Ranking event finals: 17 (6 titles, 11 runner-ups)
Legend World Championship (1–2) UK Championship (0–3) Other (5–6) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1992 Grand Prix 
Jimmy White9–10 Winner 1. 1993 Welsh Open 
Alan McManus9–7 Runner-up 2. 1993 Grand Prix (2) Peter Ebdon6–9 Runner-up 3. 1994 UK Championship Stephen Hendry5–10 Runner-up 4. 1995 German Open John Higgins3–9 Runner-up 5. 1996 Thailand Open Alan McManus8–9 Winner 2. 1997 World Snooker Championship Stephen Hendry18–12 Runner-up 6. 1998 World Snooker Championship John Higgins12–18 Winner 3. 2000 Malta Grand Prix 
Mark Williams9–3 Winner 4. 2001 Welsh Open (2) Paul Hunter9–2 Winner 5. 2001 Thailand Masters Stephen Hendry9–3 Runner-up 7. 2001 Scottish Open Peter Ebdon7–9 Runner-up 8. 2001 UK Championship (2) Ronnie O'Sullivan1–10 Runner-up 9. 2002 Welsh Open Paul Hunter7–9 Runner-up 10. 2002 UK Championship (3) Mark Williams9–10 Runner-up 11. 2003 World Snooker Championship (2) Mark Williams16–18 Winner 6. 2006 Malta Cup John Higgins9–8 Non-ranking wins
- Benson & Hedges Championship: 1991
- Scottish Masters: 1993, 1994
- Premier League Snooker: 1996, 1998
- Malta Grand Prix: 1997
- Irish Masters: 1998
- Irish Professional Championships: 1993, 2006, 2007
- Pot Black: 2007
- Irish Classic: 2008
Other Wins
- Pro Challenge Series – Event 2: 2009
Amateur wins
- IBSF World Amateur Championship: 1989
- IBSF World Under 21 Championship: 1989
Performance timeline
Tournament 1990/
19911991/
19921992/
19931993/
19941994/
19951995/
19961996/
19971997/
19981998/
19991999/
20002000/
20012001/
20022002/
20032003/
20042004/
20052005/
20062006/
20072007/
20082008/
20092009/
20102010/
2011World Championship 1R LQ LQ QF 1R 2R W F QF 2R QF QF F 1R 2R QF 1R 1R LQ 1R LQ Performance Table Legend LQ Failed to qualify #R Lost in the early rounds QF Lost in the quarter-finals SF Lost in the semi-finals F Lost in the final W Tournament winner A Did not participate in the tournament NH Tournament was not held References
- ^ "Ken Doherty". Yahoo! UK. 2009. http://uk.yahoo.eurosport.com/snooker/person_prs28953.shtml. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ^ "Profile on Sporting Life 2001/2002". Sporting Life. 2001/2002. http://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/season01-02/profiles/kdoherty/. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ Doherty wins Malta Cup final RTÉ Sport. Published 5 February 2006
- ^ "Doherty fightback stuns Higgins". BBC Sport. 5 February 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/4662738.stm. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ "Classy Fu sends Doherty crashing". BBC Sport. 26 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/snooker/4943096.stm. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Doherty falls to qualifier Allen RTÉ Sport, Published 24 April 2007
- ^ "'Crafty' Ken Doherty reaches Masters semi-finals". Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/snooker/2008/01/18/ken-doherty-reaches-masters-semi-finals-89520-20289603/. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
- ^ "Chris Turners Snooker archive". 2008. http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Centuries.htm. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ^ a b The Ken Doherty Site: FAQ's
- ^ Dillon, Andrew (19 January 2008). "Ken loves his goody cue shoes". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/article703802.ece. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ "Ranelagh man at home with himself, his scar and old cue". The Irish Times. 5 May 1997.
Further reading
- Doherty, Ken (2011). Ken Doherty – Life in the Frame – My Story. Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-8435-8504-6.
External links
- "Ken Doherty". WorldSnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 2007–2010 [copyright date]. "Players Alphabetical" section. http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/PlayersAlphabeticalArticle/0,,13165~2233698,00.html. Retrieved 7 September 2011. Official WPBSA player profile.
- Ken Doherty – results & statistics at CueTracker.net
- Profile at Global Snooker
- Profile at Pro Snooker Blog
World Snooker Champions The early years 1927–1940 Joe DavisPost-War to decline 1946 Joe Davis · 1947 Walter Donaldson · 1948–49 Fred Davis · 1950 Walter Donaldson · 1951 Fred Davis · 1952 Horace LindrumProfessional Matchplay Championship 1952–56 Fred Davis · 1957 John PulmanChallenge matches 1964–68 John PulmanThe modern era (pre-Crucible) The Crucible Theatre 1977 John Spencer · 1978 Ray Reardon · 1979 Terry Griffiths · 1980 Cliff Thorburn · 1981 Steve Davis · 1982 Alex Higgins · 1983–84 Steve Davis · 1985 Dennis Taylor · 1986 Joe Johnson · 1987–89 Steve Davis · 1990 Stephen Hendry · 1991 John Parrott · 1992–96 Stephen Hendry · 1997 Ken Doherty · 1998 John Higgins · 1999 Stephen Hendry · 2000 Mark Williams · 2001 Ronnie O'Sullivan · 2002 Peter Ebdon · 2003 Mark Williams · 2004 Ronnie O'Sullivan · 2005 Shaun Murphy · 2006 Graeme Dott · 2007 John Higgins · 2008 Ronnie O'Sullivan · 2009 John Higgins · 2010 Neil Robertson · 2011 John HigginsCategories:- World snooker champions
- Irish snooker players
- People from County Dublin
- 1969 births
- Living people
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