Snooker: Doherty still waiting for Masters trophy

Two-time runner-up Ken Doherty suffered another Benson & Hedges Masters heartbreak when he fell at the first hurdle against fellow Irishman Fergal O'Brien at Wembley.

Doherty - beaten finalist in 1999 and 2000 - went down 6-3 to his pal and practice partner, who avenged a recent defeat at the Welsh Open in Cardiff.

O'Brien, beaten 10-9 in last year's final by Paul Hunter, is through to the quarter-finals and beginning to think this may be his year.

He could easily have lost to Steve Davis in the first round on Sunday morning. Instead, he showed typical grit and determination to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 6-5 victory.

Those qualities were again in evidence, allied with some fluent break building.

The world number 16 from Dublin snatched the first frame on the black after Doherty missed a crucial yellow.

He then made vital runs of 57, 75, and 70 to gain a 4-0 mid-session advantage.

But Doherty, defeated in the final of the Welsh Open by Hunter 10 days ago, then threatened to pull the match out of the fire.

He compiled the highest break of the match - 96 - during a mini recovery which saw him close the gap to 4-3.

O'Brien stonewalled his way to victory in a 36-minute eighth frame and then held his nerve in the ninth when Doherty should have again pulled back to trail by one.

"Even at 4-0, you know Ken isn't going to give it to you," said former British Open champion O'Brien.

"I didn't really have many chances in the frames he won, but it was important to make it 5-3. It gave me some breathing space and stopped his momentum. The last frame is never easy to get, but I got there in the end.

"I'm pleased to beat Ken even in practice so to beat him here in a tournament like this is great."

O'Brien now plays Alan McManus for a place in the semi-finals, while Doherty was again left wondering what might have been.

He said: "I was never at the races all match and if you don't take your chances you will come a cropper."