Ken Doherty brought the first round to a close this evening with a 5-1 victory over Stuart Bingham at the CityWest Irish Masters in Dublin.
The former world champion's season has been disappointing but he finished with a flourish to set up a meeting with Scottish Open champion David Gray.
Doherty delighted his home crowd with breaks of 97 and 99 at the end of a game of contrasting fortunes. The first four frames took one hour and 57 minutes to complete with Doherty's top effort just 27. The final couple of frames were over in 16 minutes as the world number six narrowly missed a couple of centuries.
"There was a lot of pressure out there, particularly after my results in the last few tournaments," agreed Doherty. "Those first four frames were so scrappy and I much prefer winning them like I did at the end. It was great to win with a flourish."
Filed by Barry J Whyte
