Playing Style
Despite being most renowned as a clever tactician, he is a heavy scorer when in around the balls at close quarters and is one of only six players who have compiled over 300 centuries. This relatively cautious approach has led to the nickname "Crafty Ken".
Doherty's early career had begun with practice in Jason's of Ranelagh, Dublin, where he used to play handicap snooker tournaments on Saturday mornings before moving on to national level. This club closed in 2006 and he now practises in a Dublin hotel. In his first national event, an U-16 ranking tournament, Doherty lost in the final but would come back a month later and beat the man who had beaten him in the Irish U-16 National Championships.
Doherty has played his entire career with a warped cue randomly selected from the cue rack in his local snooker club, Jason's. Doherty humorously revealed that the club manager originally wanted £5 for it but Doherty haggled him down to £2. Ken Doherty explains, "It's warped. I must be one of the few professionals playing with a warped cue, but I wouldn't dream of changing it. I have got used to holding it in a certain way, with my eye trained on a piece of grain.
Read more about this topic: Ken Doherty
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or style:
“When you take a light perspective, it’s easier to step back and relax when your child doesn’t walk until fifteen months, . . . is not interested in playing ball, wants to be a cheerleader, doesn’t want to be a cheerleader, has clothes strewn in the bedroom, has difficulty making friends, hates piano lessons, is awkward and shy, reads books while you are driving through the Grand Canyon, gets caught shoplifting, flunks Spanish, has orange and purple hair, or is lesbian or gay.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)
“One never tires of what is well written, style is life! It is the very blood of thought!”
—Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880)