Doherty left with it all to do

Paul Hunter moved to within two frames of reaching his first Embassy World Championship final despite showing signs of nerves in the third session of his semi-final with Ken Doherty at The Crucible.

The 24-year-old from Leeds opened up a 15-9 lead in the best-of-33 encounter after sharing the eight frames with 1997 champion Doherty.

Hunter has consistently scored heavily throughout the last fortnight, but suddenly started to miss the kind of opportunities he has taken with consummate ease.

Doherty threatened to put the young Yorkshireman under pressure, particularly after taking the first two frames after the mid-session interval to reduce his deficit to 13-9.

But Hunter managed to hold his game together when it was needed most and pulled out half-century breaks in the final two frames to leave Doherty with a mountain to climb in the final session tomorrow afternoon.

Hunter has been showing remarkable mental stamina in this 17-day marathon, considering he had previously only won one match at the Sheffield theatre.

And Doherty knew he had to make early inroads if he was to have a realistic chance.

The 33-year-old former champion had the confidence to quickly break open the pack as he strung together an impressive 92.

The Irishman also struck first in the next with a 59 break. But Hunter, who had knocked out defending world champion Peter Ebdon in the previous round, produced a splendid long red and kept his nerve to compile a 75 clearance.

Hunter broke down on 29 in the next after failing to cut in a black, but Doherty responded with a 37 and made a splendid escape after being snookered on the final green on his way to sealing the frame.

The final frame ahead of the interval ebbed and flowed, with both players guilty of squandering good opportunities before Hunter cleared from brown to pink to stretch his advantage to six frames.

It was still feasible for Hunter to win with a session to spare if he triumphed in the final four frames of the evening.

But that possibility was eradicated when Doherty triumphed in frame 21 with the help of an opening 34.

The next was a nerve-tingling affair, with the pair failing to capitalise on the kind of opportunities they would normally grab with both hands.

Hunter, when leading 56-47, eventually left the final yellow over the pocket to let in Doherty to cut his deficit to 13-9.

The Yorkshireman re-asserted his authority in frame 23 with an impressive run of 74 and then a 54 in the last of the evening gave him the advantage.

Doherty had a chance to nick the frame, but after reaching 34 he ran out of position on the final yellow and eventually Hunter cleared the colours to the black.

In the other semi-final, Mark Williams remains favourite to reach his third world final despite not being at his best in the second session of his clash with Stephen Lee.

Williams had been in dazzling form in racing into a 7-1 lead on Thursday, but he was off the boil when play resumed and he lost the first four frames to Lee even though his opponents’ highest break in that spell was 56.

The Welshman redressed the situation after the interval by taking the first three frames with the help of runs of 64 and 78.

The 14th frame may prove to be a pivotal moment as Williams recovered from a 59 break by Lee to win on the final black.

Lee’s 82 in the last earned him a 5-3 session victory, but at 10-6 down overall he still has a mountain to climb to beat the 2000 world champion and reach the final.