It is not uncommon to see legends make way to the Crucible Theatre with little or no hassles. These folks are usually pitted against amateurs who have barely had playing time in any competitive game or its qualifiers. However, that was not the testimony of Ken Doherty this time around.

The 1997 world champion was drawn with former Northern Ireland Open, Mark King, who robbed him of a chance to play in this year’s World Championship. King took Doherty out with a 6-3 scoreline to deny the 50-year-old any chances of playing at the Crucible alongside the likes of McManus.

Doherty must have been gutted by losing to King despite claiming the first frame. However, it isn’t the first time the 50-year-old would start on the front foot, only to trail off later. Doherty had not featured in the Crucible Theatre since 2014 when he was thumped 13-8 by McManus in the round-of-16.

After hitting an impressive break of 58, he let himself be handled by world number 41, King. King’s game reeked of style, class, and brilliance. He won the second and third frames to pick up 2-1 advantages, before pushing a 125 break to go two frames ahead before the mid-session interval.

Little did Doherty know that his woes were just getting started from thereon. Although he opened the fifth frame with a break of 60, King hit 73 to claim the frame.

King wasn’t done just yet. The former Northern Ireland Open winner ran in a break of 61 to establish a four-frame lead over the 1997 world champion.

The world number 69 then tried to drag himself back into the game, responding with breaks of 80 and 51, but it was too late to salvage the game. King did a closing run of 97 to finish off the game at 6-3.

King has not made way to the Theatre since 2013 and will now have to climb one more hurdle to make it there. He is poised to take on world number 80, Ian Burns, in a best of 19 frames. This matchup is slated for Wednesday.

Written by: Roland Arum