Doherty edges past Greene

Ken Doherty moved a step closer to retaining the vcpoker.ie Irish Professional Championship by beating Gerard Greene 6-2 to reach the final in Dublin today.

Doherty, who beat Michael Judge 9-4 to win the title last year, had advanced to the last four without dropping a frame.

But the 38-year-old former world champion encountered far more resistance early on from Greene, a Kent-based Northern Irishman who had beaten him three times in their six previous meetings.

The contest looked set to go the distance when Greene won the fifth frame to trail only 3-2 but Doherty enjoyed a huge slice of good fortune in the sixth.

The Dubliner was deep in trouble when snookered on the last red but fluked it before clearing up to re-establish his two-frame lead.

And Doherty then finished off with breaks of 72 and 115 to reach the Irish final for a fourth time.

“I was lucky in that frame but fortune comes and goes and you have to make the most of it when it comes your way,” he said.

“It’s great to be in the final again. Hopefully, there will be a good crowd and a great atmosphere.”

Doherty, the 1997 world champion, first won the Irish title in 1993 – after which it went into abeyance until it was revived in 2005, when Joe Swail beat him in the final.