Ken Doherty reached the final of the UK Championship for the second time last night with a 9-7 victory over Stephen Lee in York. The Irishman had an outrageous fluke on the pink to thank for his success as he staved off a fine comeback from his opponent.
World number four Doherty had the better of the afternoon session and opened up a 5-3 lead, capitalising on a disappointing performance from Lee. When the contest resumed last night, the Dubliner immediately edged further ahead but then Lee suddenly got his act together and levelled at 6-6.
Doherty regrouped and put himself on the brink of the final by taking the next two frames, rattling in the only century break of the match, a 106 but Lee stayed alive by winning a scrappy frame 15. It could have gone either way on the colours, with Lee hoping to force a decider, but Doherty had his nose in front and when the pink bounced off three cushions and rolled into a baulk pocket, it was all over.
“The luck of the Irish must have been shining on me,” Doherty said. “It was incredibly tense and I think the only way I was going to pot the pink was by fluking it. It's hard on Stephen to lose to a fluke - it doesn't seem fair. But luck plays its part in the game and that's the way it goes. I should have won 9-6 but there was so much tension and I found it very difficult to get over the line.”
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
