Sport

Ken Doherty rolls back the years with Crucible triumph

Dubliner beats Stuart Bingham 10-5 in first-round clash

Ken Doherty shares a joke with referee Jan Verhaas during his first round match against Stuart Bingham at the World Snooker Championships at The Crucible, Sheffield. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
Ken Doherty shares a joke with referee Jan Verhaas during his first round match against Stuart Bingham at the World Snooker Championships at The Crucible, Sheffield. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
Sun Apr 20 2014 - 13:11

Ken Doherty returned to vintage form and struck a blow for snooker's senior citizens as he enjoyed a first Crucible win in eight years on Sunday.

The Dubliner fought back from 5-3 behind to win 10-5 against Stuart Bingham in the first round of the World Championship, punching the air in delight as he crossed the finishing line.

Doherty, the 1997 world champion, had not won a match at the Crucible since 2006, when he reached the quarter-finals.

In three of the last five years he failed to qualify, spending the tournament on punditry duty with the BBC.

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But after beating last year’s clown prince of the Crucible, Dechawat Poomjaeng, to earn his place in the draw this time, Doherty’s delight was made clear when he kissed the carpet on entering the arena for the start of his clash with Bingham.

The oldest man in the draw this year – for the first time in his career – Doherty came to Sheffield with modest expectations, and when he fell 3-0 behind in Saturday’s opening session he looked to be in trouble.

Yet he stayed in touch with Bingham overnight at 5-4 adrift, and turned on the style when they resumed by making breaks of 55, two runs of 60 and 57 to see off the blunted challenge of an out-of-sorts opponent.