Local favourite Ken Doherty was denied a place in the Citywest Irish Masters final after England's Mark King beat him 6-2 in their afternoon semi-final.
In a scrappy match, with only three breaks topping 50, King took control after a tentative start. Doherty and King were neck-a-neck after the early frames and reached the interval level at 2-2.
However, Doherty's nerves seemed to get the better of him and he never really found his rhythm after the restart, allowing King to win four straight frames and book his place in the final.
Afterwards, the disappointed Irishman said: "I made crucial mistakes at crucial times and that's what swayed the match for him. I've got to look at the week as a whole and try to take out the positives, but this was a good chance to get to the final."
King meanwhile, is fully focused on his first ranking final since losing to Stephen Hendry in the 1997 Welsh Open. "This time I'm going into the final to win it, not just to enjoy it. It was a scrappy match and you could see from the start we were both nervous," he said.
Filed by Rob Wright
