White denied by Doherty's blitz

The six-time Crucible finalist lost 10-3 to former champion Ken Doherty at the English Institute of Sport last night in the penultimate qualifying round before next month's televised stages.

Doherty next faces Joe Swail on Monday with the winner progressing to The Crucible.

The 1997 champion was never in real trouble against White, racing into a 5-1 lead before the 'Whirlwind 'restored some respectability back to the scoreline as they finished the morning session 6-3.

But White, whose match with Mark Boyle had dragged on beyond midnight the previous evening, had no answer when they returned last night as Doherty – who remains the only non-British player other than Cliff Thorburn to lift the famous trophy – reeled off the first four frames of the evening. The early signs were not good for White, Doherty having breaks of 88, 67, 55 and 64 with a solitary reply of 54 as the Irishman moved 5-1 ahead.

White then revived his fortunes with a break of a 103 and took a scrappy eighth frame before Doherty re-established his three-frame buffer.

But the evening blitz ended White's dream of one more Crucible adventure as Doherty looks to make amends after losing to Gerard Greene in last year's qualifiers.