Ken Doherty rediscovered the winning touch to capture the Regal Welsh Open in Cardiff last night, completing a 9-2 victory over Paul Hunter in a one-sided final. Doherty's form has been decidedly patchy since he won the Rothmans Malta Grand Prix last February and on arrival in Cardiff there was nothing to suggest an imminent return to the winner's circle.
"I was looking no further than my first match to be honest," admitted Doherty, who recovered from 2-0 down to beat Dominic Dale 5-3 and went from strength to strength.
"Finding consistency has always been a big problem for me," said Doherty, the 1997 world champion and the first player from the Republic to win a world ranking tournament when he broke through to capture the 1993 Regal Welsh.
"It's been eight years since I had this trophy on my mantelpiece and it's great to have it back there. It's superb to be back on the winner's rostrum again."
Doherty, whose last tournament win arrived at the Rothmans Malta Grand Prix in February, has also climbed from eighth to fifth in the provisional world rankings - but the title meant much more to him.
"The most important thing for me is that I know I can win when it matters and I can walk out of here as champion. The rankings look after themselves if you're playing well and getting positive results.
"Now it's all about finding some consistency and playing well most of the time. You've got to do that week in, week out to compete with the big boys."
At 2-2, Hunter was matching Doherty blow for blow and looked more than capable of repeating his triumph in the 1998 Regal Welsh Open. But Doherty potted blue, doubled the pink and stroked in the black to move 3-2 ahead and launch a seven frame winning charge to the line that was highlighted by breaks of 41, 125, 43, 56 and 69.
Doherty, who claimed that his fragile confidence had been immeasurably boosted by beating Stephen Hendry 5-3 in the quarter-finals and world number one Mark Williams 6-3 in the last four, will now be hoping for a repeat at the Benson and Hedges Masters.
The circuit's most lucrative invitation tournament - which this year carries a total prize fund of £650,000 - gets underway at Wembley Conference Centre on Sunday. Doherty begins his challenge for the £175,000 first prize against Nottingham's Anthony Hamilton.
Filed by Seán Folan
