By Elliott West
Introduction
The rumour mill is already turning as news is expected during the World Championship when various governing board meetings take place, that Ken Doherty and Stephen Hendry will be reissued with two-year invitational tour wildcards for their years of contribution to snooker. This is a controversial subject and frankly splits the snooker community. I personally believe one deserves this probable decision and the other doesn’t. You don’t have to be Columbo to work out which player is which. One plays tirelessly in tournaments, exhibitions and promoting the game and the other turns up when there is a gap in his diary and frankly can’t play to his former exceptional standard, choosing cigar smoking and playing golf as better options.
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty is a friend of mine and I always enjoy it when we meet up. He is cut from the same cloth as Jimmy White, a player who just loves snooker and I honestly can see him playing until he can’t. A jovial spirit and someone who loves the craic, Ken continues to produce some of his former magic and remains a dangerous opponent. Now 52, Doherty or the ‘Darling of Dublin’ as he has become to be known, lost to Rory McLeod in the qualifiers in a late-night exit. Despite conceding that it was becoming tough on the tour, Ken never publicly shows his disappointment and always displays a warm and friendly grin that along with his cracking personality has made him highly popular as both a player and commentator.
I hugely admire Ken prior to knowing him and still to this day. He is hugely supportive of my writing and always approaches me at any tournament or exhibition I attend. Perhaps he may decide to put away his professional cue when this card expires again but this definitely won’t be the last you see of this true gentleman of snooker. His impeccable dress sense and an endless supply of colourful socks that are constantly posted across Instagram, just brighten up your day and bring a smile to my face and many others.
Stephen Hendry
This canny Scot or the ‘Golden Bairn’, frankly doesn’t have anything to prove and has won everything that snooker has challenged him with over the years. A ruthless and relentless player in his prime, now 53, looks a shadow of his former self. A professional from 1985 to 2012, Hendry decided to retire when his game went into a steep decline and it was thought that he wouldn’t return. However, in 2020, the Scot made the shock decision to return to the snooker fray and set himself a task of just seeing if he could compete on a major stage again.
Frankly, my gut feeling was that this relief from retirement boredom was a rash decision and wouldn’t bear fruition. Working with SightRight, Stephen attempted to iron out his imperfections and try to rebuild a small element of his once snooker machine. Having seen him play in various World Seniors events, I knew that wasn’t going to be easy as his practice time was almost non-existent and he was prone to missing so many elementary pots.
This seven-time world champion has only played a handful of times since rejoining the main tour, winning only 3 in 11 matches, played over two years and has dropped to 107 in the rankings. He failed to enter the Gibraltar Open and the World Championship qualifiers and still prefers to be a pundit and commentator rather than a player.
Afterthoughts
Ken Doherty deserves any card offered to him and frankly, Stephen Hendry doesn’t. One is committed and the other is fickle, somehow thinking that his opinions on snooker should be listened to just because of his achievements in snooker. Issue the card to Ken but please don’t to Stephen. This place could easily be awarded to a budding young amateur player, someone who has years to prove themselves and win trophies in a future era of the game.
Had Stephen Hendry turned up and actually interacted, then maybe I would have given him another chance but he hasn’t and has frankly let the side down. Perhaps a controversial opinion but as a snooker writer, I am entitled to say what I feel. I know this may split opinions but that’s how I feel at the end of the day. The grafter wins and the half baked opponent doesn’t cut the mustard.
