Ken Doherty won five frames in a row to take a 6-2 overnight lead on fellow Dubliner Fergal O'Brien in their third-round match in the UK Championship in Bournemouth last night.
Doherty never looked back after O'Brien missed the final black in frame four for a 3-1 lead. Doherty pinched the frame 66-58 to level at 2-2 and reeled off the next four to stamp his authority on the match.
Doherty and O'Brien are friends, team-mates and rivals. They were team-mates in the 1996 World Cup and will be on the same side in January for the inaugural Nations Cup in Newcastle.
O'Brien, the world number 20, has caused problems for Doherty before and scored a memorable win in the quarter-finals of last season's Scottish Open. But Doherty gained the sweetest possible revenge with a 6-1 triumph at the Benson and Hedges Irish Masters a month later.
The winner will play Dave Harold in the semi-finals. The underrated Harold confounded the critics again by reaching his third successive quarter-final of the season with a 9-4 win over Mark Williams, the world number five.
After two near misses, Harold is desperate to land a major title. "I know people don't rate me and I know the bookmakers don't rate me," said the 1993 Asian Open title holder. "But I don't mind being the underdog. I know my game is as good as anyone's when I'm playing well."
Harold lost in the Grand Prix semi-finals after being 4-1 up on Stephen Lee and then, from 6-3 ahead against teenager David Gray, suffered a 9-6 beating in the recent Benson and Hedges Championship final.
Meanwhile, John Parrott defeated Bristol's Gary Ponting 9-6 to qualify for his 10th UK quarterfinal in 16 years.
It was a brave effort by Ponting, the world number 75 from Bristol. Last Saturday he was hospitalised and advised not to compete because of a bronchial infection.
Ponting, an asthmatic, spent three hours on a breathing machine and was prescribed a course of tablets. "Had it been a lesser tournament I would have pulled out. "I felt tired and lethargic throughout the match but at least I didn't let myself down," he said.
English youngster Paul Hunter is already in the quarter-finals at the expense of another tournament favourite Jimmy White. Hunter gave White a 9-2 drubbing.
It was a mixed day for the Whirlwind, who got his lines crossed after signing a lucrative sponsorship deal with Southport based mobile phone company, the Phone People.
They have promised White a £25,000 bonus for winning any of this season's remaining eight ranking events, though the world championship carries a £100,000 incentive for the People's Champion.
