Snooker: Doherty edges through - full report

Ken Doherty and Peter Ebdon reached the second round of the Embassy World Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre tonight - but in hugely contrasting styles.

While Ebdon moved through the gears as he turned a 5-4 lead over Michael Judge into a 10-4 triumph, Doherty could not shake off Stuart Bingham until he finally crossed the finishing line a 10-8 winner.

Bingham had missed out on a maximum 147 break last night when he rattled the pink in the jaws of a pocket but battled back bravely to lead 5-4.

He stuck like a limpet to the 1997 world champion tonight and still had a chance at 9-8 down, but Doherty then rattled in a 105, his second ton of the evening, to edge through.

‘‘It was a really tough game,’’ said the Dubliner, who secured a meeting with Mark King on Friday.

‘‘Stuart played well all the way through. I thought he might buckle but he held on really strongly. I didn’t want it to go to a deciding frame.’’

Doherty had sympathy for Bingham, having suffered a similar 147 experience at the 2000 Masters when he missed the black off its spot.

‘‘It was pretty hard for him and I tried to console him, but what do you say? It was a tremendous break and I enjoyed it as much as anyone,’’ said the 32-year-old.

‘‘He said ’it will haunt me, won’t it?’ and I said ’you’re telling the right person’!

‘‘The money’s nice (Bingham would have earned £147,000) but only four players have done it at the Crucible and that’s history. You can’t put a price on that.’’

Bingham believed the heartbreak may have cost him the match as he took time to recover while getting his head straight.

‘‘I only got an hour’s sleep afterwards thinking about the money,’’ said the 25-year-old from Basildon, who beat Stephen Hendry in the first round two years ago.

‘‘It’s not like I had the money and then lost it but it’s still hard to take in.

‘‘A bloke came up to me and said ’you cost me £20 by not potting that pink’. How does he think I feel?

‘‘I think it cost me the match. I was in awe for two frames afterwards. But Ken’s a great player and he took full advantage.’’

Ebdon looked like he was in for a fight when Judge pegged him back to 5-4 at the end of the first session, roared on by a strong contingent from Dublin who had come over to support him and Doherty.

But he offered little resistance tonight and made just one half-century break as his 31-year-old opponent knocked in breaks of 102 and 101.

‘‘I thought it would be tough because Michael is a very good player,’’ said Ebdon, who meets Joe Perry on Friday for a place in the quarter-finals.

‘‘He punished me when I attempted a couple of risky shots this morning. But I felt focused tonight and I’m pleased to have got through.’’

Judge is now planning a trip to the World Cup to cheer on the Republic of Ireland and offered few excuses for his defeat.

‘‘I could have done with a less tough draw,’’ said the 26-year-old, who beat John Parrott at the Crucible last year.

‘‘I missed a few easy pots, which the top players punish and you end up going home. But Peter’s a great player and I’ve no complaints there’s only myself to blame.’’

Earlier, Jimmy White, nicknamed the ’Whirlwind’ due to his speed at the table, had his opening session of this year’s event ended early because the match was too slow.

The six-time runner-up at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre was playing Dominic Dale of Wales in the first round and although the popular Londoner took control, he was a long way below his flamboyant best.

Both players were struggling and after White, who will celebrate his 40th birthday later in the tournament, had moved 6-2 ahead, the contest was halted so the table could be prepared for the evening’s action.

Two of the frames lasted well over half an hour and the highest break was a mere 58, which suggests the duo are in for a late night when the match concludes tomorrow unless they raise their game considerably.

Ironically, the match on the other table involved Chris Small, the sedate Scot who has been involved in more than his fair share of marathons at the Crucible over the years.

When the White and Dale match was pulled, Small and Stephen Lee had just started the final frame of their session and the decision to go ahead with it soon began to look questionable.

It proved even more of a battle of attrition than any of the previous eight and after 32 minutes of toil, with the evening audience queuing up outside, Lee conceded as soon as he needed snookers to have his lead cut to 5-4.

Stephen Hendry needed much less time to stroll into the second round with an emphatic 10-4 victory over 19-year-old Shaun Murphy.

Winner of the game’s most prestigious tournament a record seven times, the Scot staked his claim

for an eighth title with an assured display against a rising star who lacks nothing in confidence on or off the table.

Hendry was pleased he had progressed in straightforward fashion against an opponent he expects to have a bright future.

‘‘Shaun’s got a lot of talent and strikes the ball very well. But you need more than just talent to get to the top,’’ said 33-year-old Hendry, who will face Alan McManus or Anthony Davies on Saturday.

‘‘Any first-round match here can be tough it depends what you let yourself get drawn into. I just played my own game.

‘‘This tournament is all about pacing yourself, and the longer you stay in it the more you improve. I believe I can still win it.’’

World number 169 Murphy, from Northamptonshire, thoroughly enjoyed his first Crucible appearance and admitted he was eager to return.

‘‘I’m very pleased with the way I played and I think I conducted myself properly,’’ said last season’s Newcomer of the Year.

‘‘I’ve a lot of respect for Stephen and he went about his job so professionally.

‘‘I was nervous when I walked through the famous curtain into the arena. But playing at the Crucible is like visiting a nice restaurant you have a good meal and you want to go back.’’