Ken Doherty dropped in for a chat on Wednesday with Off The Ball and told us the story of his second-best ever game at The Crucible.
In a parallel universe, the World Snooker Championships are starting on Saturday - unfortunately, not in this one. To compensate, the BBC are showing some of the most memorable matches from years gone by.
Doherty's second-favourite match somehow saw him get to the 2003 final from a seemingly-impossible position against someone who seemed destined to be world champion.
The late Paul Hunter was in opposition and, at the time, looked to have one foot in the final. Hunter died from cancer just three years later.
"That was the second-greatest match I played in at the Crucible, without a doubt," recalls the 1997 World Champion.
"15-9 down to Paul Hunter, he only needed two frames out of the possible nine that we were going to play that afternoon.
"15-9 ahead, you need 17 to get into the final and I clawed it all the way back to beat him 17-16," remembers Doherty with satisfaction.
Impossible position
Doherty talked through his thought process as he stared elimination in the face: "I went out with the intention that, I’m not going to give it to him easy. You’re sort of in an impossible position, I had to win eight of the nine frames, you know!
"The way Paul Hunter was playing I was a 250, 500/1 outsider to do that.
"When you go out there as a professional, you have a lot of pride at stake. I just said to myself just go out and don’t make it easy for him.
"Try and win that first frame, try and win the second frame. See what happens when you get to the first interval.
"I won the first four frames and I could see the tension building on Paul and it gave me a little bit of confidence.
"That spirit, drive and determination, that’s really what sport is all about and also that you never give up.
"Even from impossible positions, you always have to give 100%.
"It just fell for me the last few frames, I got a little bit lucky but you need a little bit of luck in any game.
"After winning the World Championship, that was my greatest ever victory."
Beckham of the Baize
Ken Doherty was beaten in the final 18-16 by Mark Williams after playing 132 frames in all, a modern record. Hunter never got another chance and 2003 looked to be his best opportunity.
"Unfortunately for Paul that was probably his best chance of winning a World Championship, as he was taken from us not long after that," remembers Doherty
"He suffered from cancer and died when he was only 27. It was terribly sad and a terrible loss for Snooker and sport generally.
"He was called the 'Beckham of the Baize,' he had the looks, he had the game and he was a big-time player.
"He won three Masters finals, beat Fergal O’Brien, beat Ronnie O’Sullivan, beat Mark Williams 10-9 down in London. He was a big-time player and he loved the attention.
Doherty has no doubt Hunter would have been World Champion: "he loved the big stage and there’s no doubt, he would have won a World Championship but it wasn’t to be that year.
"It’s one of those matches that lots of people remember, there have been great comebacks at the crucible.
"The one thing about Paul, he would have been gutted, absolutely devastated. Everybody thought for certain he was in the final.
"He said to be you played great, best of luck in the final I hope you go and win it, at the end of the match. It was so graceful, I’ll never forget those words.
Ken Doherty was touched by the classiness of Hunter in defeat: "You wouldn’t be able to speak for a week after that, but that was the kind of guy he was.
"That was the kind of gentleman and sportsman that he was. I’ll never forget what he said to me after that match."
As a Virgin Media TV customer you can now enjoy classic weekends of sport, packed with some of the most memorable wins, losses, triumphs and upsets all on Virgin Media Sport.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the
Play Store &
App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us
on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
for the latest sporting news and content.
