The first two rounds of the sixth and final European Players Tour Championship event took place over the last two days – with 32 players moving forward to the Munich Open just after the New Year. Ken Doherty won his two encounters over a pair of amateur opponents to strengthen[Read More…]
Tag: Ken Doherty
Dublin’s Dynamite Duo do it Again
Ken Doherty saw off stern opposition to reach the last 16 of the third Players Tour Championship event of the season at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester. And Fergal O’Brien added gloss to another rare positive day for Irish snooker by winning 12 of his 14 frames to[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: Surviving the Cut
By Fin Ruane The retirement of Stephen Hendry during last season’s World Championship raised quite a few eyebrows. The seven-time world champion stunned the snooker community with his announcement after his quarter-final defeat to Stephen Maguire. Many thought, including myself, that he still had a lot to offer the game[Read More…]
147 for Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty hasn’t been able to stay out of my headlines over the last week and he is the centre of attention once again after making a 147 break at the Paul Hunter Classic earlier today. It’s the Irishman’s first ever maximum in competitive play as well as being the[Read More…]
Irish Duo Flying the Flag
There was a lot of attention made, both here and elsewhere, about the sorry fact that there would be only two Irishmen from south of the border on the Main Tour this season. There were numerous reasons for this unfortunate outcome but the most prominent one was World Snooker’s decision[Read More…]
Irish Duo Through
Ken Doherty and Fergal O’Brien won two matches each to book their place in the last 32 of the Gdynia Open today in Sheffield. A regular Players Tour Championship event, the decision was made to whittle down the normal 128 players – after the preliminary amateur rounds – in England[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: Life on the Tour
By Fin Ruane The first time I watched any of the boys play at a ranking event venue was October 1990 when myself, Ken Doherty and a sizeable contingent from Ilford travelled up to see Stephen Murphy play John Parrott in their pre-televised match of that season’s Rothmans Grand Prix.[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The Professional Years
By Fin Ruane The year was 1990 and the number of registered professional snooker players stood at 128. The governing body WPBSA held all the strings and had the final say on who would and would not be allowed to join their exclusive club. Amateur snooker was thriving and every[Read More…]
Doherty Denies Thepchaiya
Ken Doherty edged into the final round of qualifying for the Shanghai Masters after a 5-4 victory over Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. The veteran Dubliner has enjoyed a decent run of form at the start of this campaign and, despite a strong effort from his inexperienced opponent to force a decider[Read More…]
Fin’s Fables: The London Years
By Fin Ruane England in 1988, and particularly in London, was a hotbed of snooker, some of the world’s finest snooker talent converged there to improve and fine tune their skills. Ilford and Barking Snooker Clubs in Essex were just two of the many gathering points for a new breed[Read More…]