KEN DOHERTY laid down the foundations of an historic victory here at The Crucible in Sheffield last night when, after two sessions of eight frames each, he went to be leading by 11 frames to five with a further 19 frames to be faced today.

It was one of the most satisfying performances by an Irish sportsperson as Doherty forced the bookmakers to cut the odds against him drastically as he faced up to Stephen Hendry who has already won this title six times and is attempting to make it six championships in a row.

There can be no doubt about Doherty's ability to face up to this kind of a challenge and from the start to finish yesterday he emerged the most impressive of the two players.

Even when things were not going well for him, he remained calm and positive. Even though Hendry was quite clearly the favourite of The Crucible crowd, Doherty earned the applause and respect of everyone as he put together a performance of considerable quality.

This world championship will be decided over 35 frames, 16 of which have now been completed. That means that Doherty has a cushion of six frames while Hendry, by far the most successful snooker player up until this stage, must make an impression this afternoon at an early stage to stay in the race.

Eight further frames will be played today, starting at 2 p.m., and a further 11 are scheduled this evening, starting at 7.30 p.m. However, there is now every reason to suppose that Doherty may claim the extra seven frames long before the match is due to finish.

In a brief interview yesterday, he said he was delighted with events. "I could not possibly hope for a better situation. I am delighted that I settled down early on and, although I was extremely nervous, I realised that I was playing well and the momentum built up.

"I am now loving it and, apart from the nervousness of my first match, I am having a very good time. I certainly will sleep tonight and maybe into tomorrow morning but I know that I can do it.

"I know that the people at home in Dublin and many of them who have come here are putting their faith in me and that is a great honour but it is also a pressure.

"Without any question I have every ambition to win this now. Leading by six frames I have no intention of slackening off and I am looking forward to winning the title although I know very well that Steve Hendry is the hardest man to beat in snooker at the moment."

With Doherty leading 5-3 after the early session Hendry came back to win the ninth but Doherty was again in command as he took the next two.

In the 12th frame, it appeared that Hendry was about to make a comeback but a good break of 38 put Doherty in control once more at 8-4 ahead and he went on to add the next two frames to run up an astonishing 10-4 lead with a convincing break of 85 in the 14th frame.

Hendry came back in the 15th frame, with breaks of 44 and 26, but it was Doherty who had the last word in the 16th frame when an initial break of 52, put him in control - a control which Hendry was unable to upset.

Even a player com commentator as distinguished as Dennis Taylor was surprised by the situation which existed after the first eight frames yesterday afternoon.

When Hendry scored three centuries and Doherty not even one it seemed extraordinary that Hendry was two frames adrift at the break.

"I think Doherty has played very well, very consistently, without being brilliant, and he deserves great credit for the way he has handled all of this and I believe he has every chance of taking the title if he continues to play his normal game," said Taylor.

Those views were widespread wherever snooker was being discussed in Sheffield at that stage of the proceedings yesterday evening. The dramatic implications were growing all the time and Irish supporters for Doherty seemed to be drifting in on every bus and train.

As he started out on his bid to make snooker history, Doherty seemed as distant and as relaxed as ever if that is not a contradiction. It was not surprising that the opening frame of the afternoon was a tense affair and when Hendry conceded a foul, Doherty got in to record breaks of 35 and 27 to put the frame out of Hendry's reach to record a score of 67 to 7.

Hendry's reply was sharp and emphatic when, in spite of another foul, he ran up 117 to level the scores - the first century break of this final.

Hendry then wiped out Doherty's attempts in the third frame with a second century break of 106 consisting of 10 blacks, two blues and a pink to win the frame by 106-0 and put himself in the lead.

Doherty, to his credit, refused to allow this flamboyance by Hendry to have any effect on him and breaks, modest although they were of 40 and 14, took him level once again.

A break of 69, two blacks six pinks and a brown, gave him a 3-2 lead on frames and the Dubliner's superiority continued in the next frame when a clearance of 32 put him into a frame lead of 4-2.

The seventh frame of the afternoon gave Doherty another opportunity. Hendry had started with a break of 11 but when Doherty got back to the table, he managed to rack up a break of 59, which gave him the frame on a score of 69 to 11 and a lead at that stage of 5-2.

Few if any doubted at this stage Hendry's ability to strike back and he did this most impressively with a break of 122 without reply, his third century of the session.

What appeared to everybody at this stage was that we were in for a long haul insofar as this match is concerned.

Meanwhile Darren Morgan was hit by fresh tragedy yesterday when his father, Morgan Morgan, died suddenly at his home in Cwmfelinfach, Gwent.

Mr Morgan, who watched his son compete in the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield this week, was 62. The cause of death is not yet known.