World Championship: Ken Doherty rolls back the years for first Crucible win since 2006
Last Updated: 17/07/14 11:17am
Former world champion Ken Doherty came from 5-4 down overnight to beat Stuart Bingham 10-5 in the opening round of the World Championship, his first victory at the Crucible for eight years.
At 44, the Dubliner is the oldest man in the draw this year and was quickly under pressure on Saturday when Bingham raced into a 3-0 lead.
Yet he rallied to stay in touch at the end of the first session and turned on the style when play resumed on Sunday, making breaks of 55, two runs of 60 and 57 to see off the blunted challenge of an out-of-sorts opponent.
He's 'Crafty Ken' for a reason. He can see your weaknesses and exploit them.
Stuart Bingham
"I'm here to enjoy myself, but I'm not here to make up the numbers," said 1997 winner Doherty. "I've had a lot of special memories out there and they come flooding back when you're out there in the heat of the battle.
"Sometimes they can inspire you, so I'm trying to draw on all that great experience and just try to stay in the moment and be as calm as possible."
Tactics
Doherty will face four-time world champion John Higgins or Alan McManus in the last 16 and he added: "It certainly doesn't get any easier.
"I didn't play at my best and I still think I can play a lot better. We all can't play like Ronnie O'Sullivan, so when you're not scoring sometimes you have to match it up with a good B game and that's what I'm going to try to do - get back to the old 'Crafty Ken'."
Bingham, who lost the last seven frames of the match, was baffled by his own capitulation.
He said: "I was shocking to be fair. Ken did a number on me. He's a good player and he just stopped me really.
"He'll have to improve maybe 20 per cent to have any chance of going further. But he's 'Crafty Ken' for a reason. He can see your weaknesses and exploit them."
Ali Carter, a two-time finalist at the Crucible, came through 10-8 in a tight battle with Chinese qualifier Xiao Guodong.
The Englishman led 5-4 overnight but Guodong took the first two on Sunday afternoon and there was never more than a frame between them until, from 8-8, Carter made his move with an 80 break and closed out the win in the next without Guodong scoring a point.
Maguire out
On Sunday evening, Welshman Ryan Day finally saw off Scotland's Stephen Maguire in a deciding frame after surrendering a 9-6 lead.
Maguire had runs of 56, 134, 58, 74 and 91 as he powered back from 8-4 behind to take the best-of-19 contest all the way - only for Day to come good just in time.
Maguire said: "I wish I got beaten 10-4 now, I could be in the pub! But, obviously, I'm going to fight to the death because it's the Worlds.
"I'm actually glad the season's finished, it's been a season from hell for me. I'll forget about this in half an hour."
Day said: "I enjoyed it all the way to the end. In the decider I managed to keep control of the cue ball and my emotions, more importantly, to finish it off.
"I'm over the moon, I thought it was a tremendous match."
Ding leads
Earlier in the day, world No 2 Ding Junhui claimed a 6-3 advantage over England's Michael Wasley in his first-round match.
Ding, who has already won a record-equalling five ranking events this season, trailed 3-2 before reeling off the final four frames of the opening session, including a 136 clearance.
And Hamilton's Jamie Burnett is also 6-3 ahead against Cambridgeshire cueman Joe Perry, finishing off with a break of 94.
Sunday results:
Ken Doherty (Ire) 10-5 Stuart Bingham (Eng)
Allister Carter (Eng) 10-8 Xiao Guodong (Chn)
Ryan Day (Wal) 10-9 Stephen Maguire (Sco)
Shaun Murphy (Eng) 10-9 Jamie Cope (Eng)
