Latest news with #KenDoherty
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
World's youngest ever snooker star, 14, secures first pro win on same day legends with combined age of 118 do battle
A 14-YEAR-OLD snooker player secured the first win of his professional career on day one of the Saudi Arabia Masters. And at the other end of the age scale, Ken Doherty won the Battle of the Baize Oldies as he eliminated Jimmy White from the Jeddah tournament. 2 Polish teenager Michal Szubarczyk hit back-to-back breaks of 68 and 56 as he celebrated a 4-2 victory over English amateur Ryan Davies. It is a career milestone, one he will remember forever, given he only received his two-year Tour Card at the start of this season. In round two in the desert nation, Szubarczyk will play Hungarian world No.79 Bulcsu Revesz on Saturday. And the winner of that clash will then take on Essex cueist Stuart Bingham, who was champion of the world 10 years ago. The Eastern European – whose highest official break is 126 – took the 2025 European Championships in Turkey by storm, winning the under-16s and under-18s events before reaching the final of the open-age event. Mark Williams, the three-time world champion, watched that tournament live and said Szubarczyk was 'one of the best 14-year-olds I've ever seen in my life'. The Welsh sporting legend added: 'He's up there with Ronnie O'Sullivan at that age. 'Maybe not as good, but not far away. Every time I watched him he was knocking in 80s, 90s, 100s. It was frightening.' In April, dad Kamil told SunSport that his son modelled his game on seven-time world champion O'Sullivan. Kamil said: 'One of Michal's special skills is his ability to play with the audience and the cameras. Snooker fans baffled as star who's not won a match all year knocks in staggering 147 break 'Normal teenagers are tense and stressed. He is more motivated. 'He loves playing when he has an audience, and so I know that anything can happen during this tournament. 'From the first time Michał saw snooker on TV, his hero was Ronnie. It was also my idol. This hasn't been changed. 'And for both of us whenever Ronnie got knocked out of a tournament, we stopped watching it. 'That man played a key role in creating Michal's playing style. Mike was fascinated by how offensive Ronnie played all of his games. But he wants to be more than just offensive. 'Ronnie is still motivating Michal to be better and better.' On Friday evening in the Kingdom, two veterans of the sport took to the baize, though disappointingly only a few people bothered to watch from the stands at the Green Halls. Former world champion Doherty, 55, took on White, 63, and he prevailed 4-1, hitting a 96 break in frame two. They had rekindled a rivalry that began in 1991 and saw them battle it out at the World Championships and Masters. The duo, who have a combined age of 118, are nowhere near their best these days but it is commendable and shows their genuine love for the sport that they are continuing to play professionally. Doherty, who now plays Latvian Zizins Artemijs in round two on Saturday evening, has now won 17 of their 30 meetings. Elite players such as Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson will enter the competition – which has a £500,000 top prize – in round five on Tuesday. List of all-time Snooker World Champions BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year. The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport. The first World Championships ran from 1927 - with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport. Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period. Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each. 1969 - John Spencer 1970 - Ray Reardon 1971 - John Spencer 1972 - Alex Higgins 1973 - Ray Reardon (2) 1974 - Ray Reardon (3) 1975 - Ray Reardon (4) 1976 - Ray Reardon (5) 1977 - John Spencer (2) 1978 - Ray Reardon (6) 1979 - Terry Griffiths 1980 - Cliff Thorburn 1981 - Steve Davis 1982 - Alex Higgins (2) 1983 - Steve Davis (2) 1984 - Steve Davis (3) 1985 - Dennis Taylor 1986 - Joe Johnson 1987 - Steve Davis (4) 1988 - Steve Davis (5) 1989 - Steve Davis (6) 1990 - Stephen Hendry 1991 - John Parrott 1992 - Stephen Hendry (2) 1993 - Stephen Hendry (3) 1994 - Stephen Hendry (4) 1995 - Stephen Hendry (5) 1996 - Stephen Hendry (6) 1997 - Ken Doherty 1998 - John Higgins 1999 - Stephen Hendry (7) 2000 - Mark Williams 2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan 2002 - Peter Ebdon 2003 - Mark Williams (2) 2004 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) 2005 - Shaun Murphy 2006 - Graeme Dott 2007 - John Higgins (2) 2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) 2009 - John Higgins (3) 2010 - Neil Robertson 2011 - John Higgins (4) 2012 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (4) 2013 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (5) 2014 - Mark Selby 2015 - Stuart Bingham 2016 - Mark Selby (2) 2017 - Mark Selby (3) 2018 - Mark Williams (3) 2019 - Judd Trump 2020 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (6) 2021 - Mark Selby (4) 2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan (7) 2023 - Luca Brecel 2024 - Kyren Wilson 2025 - Zhao Xintong 7 - Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan 6 - Ray Reardon, Steve Davis 4 - John Higgins, Mark Selby 3 - John Spencer, Mark Williams 2 - Alex Higgins
Arab News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Arab News
Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation unveils new logo ahead of world masters championship
JEDDAH: The Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation has launched its new logo ahead of the World Masters Snooker Championship — one of the sport's four major global tournaments — scheduled from Aug. 8 to 16. The launch took place on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the Roundtable Conference at the Media Center in the Green Halls of Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City in Jeddah. The unveiling ceremony brought together the federation's President Naif Al-Jaweini, World Snooker Tour CEO Simon Brownell, former world champion Ken Doherty, and Saudi Arabia national team player Ziyad Al-Qabbani. The logo features a modern, stylized aesthetic with symbolic elements, including a depiction of Saudi Arabia's map, reflecting the federation's national identity and its alignment with future strategic goals. Al-Jaweini said the new logo represents a pivotal milestone in the federation's journey to build a distinctive visual identity that embodies its ambitions. He said the timing of the launch coincides with the Kingdom's hosting of the World Masters Snooker Championship, one of the sport's most prestigious tournaments.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
‘You'd think a bomb went off' – Ken Doherty reveals snooker legend's nightmare dressing room before becoming close pals
KEN DOHERTY has claimed pal and rival Jimmy White used to leave his dressing room in a mess back in the early days of his career. Doherty, 55, and White, 63, will roll back the years this week when they face off in their opening clash at the Saudi Arabia Masters. 2 2 It will be over 34 years since they first did battle at the Mercantile Credit Classic in Bournemouth, showing just how impressive it is that the pair are still potting their way to victories. Doherty, who last beat White back in 2015, has been reminiscing on where their relationship began. The Irishman hasn't always been a friend and opponent for White, and instead used to be tasked with cleaning his dressing room as a 14-year-old kid. Doherty, who worked at legendary Irish venue Goffs, told Metro: "I remember when I worked at Goffs as a 14-year-old, I used to have to clean out his dressing room at times. "That was part of my job, as well as being an usher and getting Alex Higgins a vodka and orange juice when he would ask for an orange juice, you know?" Pressed on what the state of White's dressing room was like back in the day, Doherty revealed: "Oh, well…that's another story. You wouldn't know! "You could go in there and it would look like it wouldn't have been touched and you'd go in another day and you'd think a bomb went off." Doherty has admitted that White was his hero back in the day, but the pair grew close when they started playing on the tour together. Now Doherty wishes he didn't have to face off against his pal to try and advance past the first round in a bid to land the Saudi Masters' mega prize pot of £500,000. He said: "He's a good pal of mine so I would have rather played somebody else, but you can't help but get excited about playing someone like him. "We've had some wonderful matches over the years and it's a match that gets the juices flowing."
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Snooker legends meet seaside care home residents
Residents at a seaside care home have been treated to a visit from two former snooker world champions. Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty visited Eversley Lodge Nursing Home in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to play snooker and share memories with residents. Their visit came 40 years after Taylor's big win in a memorable black-ball final at the 1985 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. "Here we are still loving every minute of it... It's a great bit of fun," Taylor said. Both players said they were not sure what they were in for when they headed to the home. "We didn't know what we were coming to, really. When we turned up we were so surprised... What a beautiful place," Taylor said. Doherty said: "It's brilliant... We haven't done many exhibitions in care homes before. "A lot of people here would have watched snooker over the years and really enjoyed it, so it's great to see them in such a wonderful environment." The 1997 world champion reminisced about the last time he visited Norfolk's coastline. "It's been over 40 years since I was last here playing in the Home Junior International in Hemsby... I've always really enjoyed it here," he said. The care home's manager, Danielle Bullent, said a lot of work went into setting up the home for the exhibition. She said it took staff four hours to get the snooker table ready. Speaking about the anniversary of his championship win, Taylor, famous for his unique "upside-down" glasses, said he was glad people still talked about it. "Forty years on and people still turn their glasses upside down, raise an imaginary cue above their head and wag their finger at me," he said. "I hope they keep doing it for many more years to come." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More related stories Disabled snooker player 'blown away' by donations 'Snooker really saved my life' Snooker hopes to secure Paralympics return for 2032
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Snooker champions meet Great Yarmouth care home residents
Residents at a seaside care home have been treated to a visit from two former snooker world champions. Dennis Taylor and Ken Doherty visited Eversley Lodge Nursing Home in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to play snooker and share memories with residents. Their visit came 40 years after Taylor's big win in a memorable black-ball final at the 1985 World Snooker Championship in Sheffield."Here we are still loving every minute of it... It's a great bit of fun," Taylor said. Both players said they were not sure what they were in for when they headed to the home. "We didn't know what we were coming to, really. When we turned up we were so surprised... What a beautiful place," Taylor said. Doherty said: "It's brilliant... We haven't done many exhibitions in care homes before."A lot of people here would have watched snooker over the years and really enjoyed it, so it's great to see them in such a wonderful environment."The 1997 world champion reminisced about the last time he visited Norfolk's coastline. "It's been over 40 years since I was last here playing in the Home Junior International in Hemsby... I've always really enjoyed it here," he said. The care home's manager, Danielle Bullent, said a lot of work went into setting up the home for the exhibition. She said it took staff four hours to get the snooker table ready. Speaking about the anniversary of his championship win, Taylor, famous for his unique "upside-down" glasses, said he was glad people still talked about it. "Forty years on and people still turn their glasses upside down, raise an imaginary cue above their head and wag their finger at me," he said."I hope they keep doing it for many more years to come." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
