Ken Doherty has captured his maiden title on the World Seniors Snooker Tour after a 4-1 victory over Igor Figueiredo in the final of the UK Seniors Championship in Hull on Thursday.
The Irishman, runner-up to Jimmy White in the same event last season, lost only one frame throughout the competition at the Bonus Arena as the 2018/19 campaign got off to a strong start.
Doherty, who still plies his trade on the Main Tour through one of the invitational tour cards, a loophole that somewhat controversially allows him to compete on the World Seniors Snooker Tour despite the fact that he is still actually a professional player, began at the quarter-final stage where he outplayed countryman Rodney Goggins 3-0.
A second whitewash win followed in the last four when he easily dispatched of Suchakree Poomjaeng, who had previously accounted for the defending champion Jimmy White in an earlier round.
Popular Brazilian Figueiredo reached the final showdown, meanwhile, thanks to a hat-trick of 3-0 triumphs over Joe Johnson, Aaron Canavan, and Leo Fernandez.
In the final, Doherty began that fixture with an excellent 116 century break and, even though he dropped his first frame of the day, he produced a controlled performance to raise the trophy aloft.
The 1997 world champion was a three-time beaten finalist in the prestigious UK Championship throughout his career so he will be able to take small consolation from finally bagging the silverware as a member of the seniors circuit.
Whether the 49 year-old will be back in twelve months time to defend his crown remains to be seen because Doherty is provisionally 58th in the end of the season world rankings, which as a member of the top 64 would of course grant him with a fully renewed tour card for the upcoming campaign.
As it stands, only amateurs over the age of 40 and players who are on the invitational main tour card can compete on the World Seniors Snooker Tour.
Nevertheless, the UK Seniors Championship this year appears to have been another success for all concerned with very decent crowds in to watch the action unfold over the two days.
The majority of the old legends, like White, Stephen Hendry, Cliff Thorburn, and John Parrott, all crashed out in the early stages but Doherty was able to take advantage as he romped to the title.
There are six scheduled events on the World Seniors Snooker Tour this season.
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