Snooker News

Doherty Dumped by Defending Champ

Ken Doherty advanced beyond the wildcard round but then suffered a thrashing at the hands of defending champion Mark Williams in the first round of the German Masters in Berlin.

The Dubliner easily saw off home favourite Patrick Einsle this morning 5-1 to safely progress into the last 32 but was clearly off his game in a 5-0 defeat to the Welsh potting machine.

Williams played well in spells and enjoyed a flurry of frame-winning contributions to ease his way into the last 16, where he will meet Stuart Bingham.

Doherty, though, may be deploring the fact that he was one of only two players that were required to play twice on the opening day.

The Germans Masters is an exception on the calendar in that it is played over the course of only five days – although, in saying that, it does boast five usable tables inside the arena.

In this regard, players will be force to play multiple rounds in a single day but it certainly is a kick in the teeth to those that are forced to play an extra round that perhaps should not be there.

Many give off about the wildcard rounds in the first place and often for good reason – this will probably do nothing to silence the doubters.

Doherty wasn’t the only one that had to endure the lengthy day as Adrian Gunnell joined the Irishman in the unlucky pairing.

Unsurprisingly, he was another victim and succumbed to a 5-2 loss at the hands of Stephen Lee having earlier overcome Belgium amateur Peter Bullen.

Australian Open champion Stuart Bingham was made to work hard for his victory, coming from 3-1 behind to beat former world champion Peter Ebdon 5-3 while there were easy wins for John Higgins, Stephen Maguire and Ricky Walden – the latter qualifier upsetting countryman Martin Gould in a surprising 5-1 scoreline.

The closest match of the opening day came in the afternoon session when Shaun Murphy came from one down with two to play to pip Shoot-Out champion Barry Hawkins 5-4.

Meanwhile, the other wildcard encounters this morning were relatively uneventful after all the pros went through with the exception of Mike Dunn.

Dunn, who made a 147 break in qualification for this tournament, was defeated 5-3 by the talented Craig Steadman – who will now meet Matthew Stevens for a place in the last 16.

Click here for the full results and draw.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.