Doherty, O’Brien in last eight in Thailand

Defending champion Ken Doherty and fellow Dubliner Fergal O'Brien are through to the quarter-finals of the Thailand Masters in…

Defending champion Ken Doherty and fellow Dubliner Fergal O'Brien are through to the quarter-finals of the Thailand Masters in Bangkok.

Doherty went 2-0 down in his match with Dave Harold but rallied superbly, knocking in a break of 101 in the third frame to get his challenge back on track.

The world number four then took the next four frames in succession to seal a 5-2 victory. Doherty will face Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals.

"The first couple of frames were scrappy – Dave is a good safety player and he puts you in a lot of trouble," said Dohert. "But I knew I was cueing well and after the fifth frame I was able to relax and make a couple of good breaks."

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Fergal O’Brien’s win was even more emphatic, crushing Peter Ebdon 5-1.

O’Brien, who celebrates his 30th birthday tomorrow, never gave Ebdon a look-in and will play world number one Mark Williams for a place in the semi-finals.

"You can play as well as you like in practice but it's only winning matches like this that give you a real boost," said O'Brien. "If you score well like I did it just makes the job easier and takes pressure off yourself",