Snooker champion won Crucible with £2 cue using money he borrowed from his mum

 

Ken Doherty became a national hero in Ireland when he won the World Snooker Championship in 1997 – and he did it all with a £2 cue he paid for with the help of his mum

Ken Doherty was still using his beloved cue until recently

Snooker icon Ken Doherty soared to the top of the game with a £2 cue paid for by his mum. The Dublin potter became Crucible king in 1997 after toppling Stephen Hendry, the dominant player of the 1990s, in the final.

He almost retained the crown - and broke the still-standing 'Crucible curse' - only to lose to John Higgins in the 1998 final. And he did it with the cheapest of cues, which he found in a club in the Irish capital. After being originally quoted £5, a 10-year-old Doherty cheekily managed to drive the price down.

He told ITV Sport at the recent Tour Championship: "I still have the cue. I changed cue just recently, just to try it out. But I've had my £2 cue since 1981. I've had it since about 10 years of age.

"I picked it up off the pool rack, I played with it after somebody had left it behind. I said to the manager, 'If nobody comes back, can I keep this cue?' In his broad Dublin accent, he said, 'Give us a fiver for it'.

"I got a fiver off my mother. I put £2 in this pocket, £3 in this pocket and went back. I said my mother couldn't afford the £5, that she only had £2. I put my hand in this pocket and took out the £2. He looked at the cue, he looked at the £2 and he says, 'Give me the £2'.

"I won the World Junior Championship, I won the World Amateur Championship and I won the World Professional Championship with a £2 cue. I think it was good value! Thankfully no one came back to collect the cue."

Doherty with his £2 cue during his World Championship-winning year (Image: Getty)

Doherty, 55, who is working for the BBC at the current World Championship, was rewarded with an open-top bus tour around Dublin after winning the Crucible title. He recalled to the Daily Star last year: "There were huge crowds outside, people lining the streets with flags and banners saying 'welcome home champ'.

"Those type of homecomings are only granted to Olympic champions or the national football team, so I was quite honoured and humbled by it. I didn't think it would have such an impact on the country. It was wonderful, what dreams are made of."

Doherty celebrating with the World Championship trophy and a pint of Guinness(Image: PA)

It was a different story the following year, though, after he lost to Higgins. He said: “I got all the way to the final and I just missed out to John Higgins. After having all the adulation the year before, after losing just one match, I came back to Dublin airport and had to get a taxi home!

“That shows you the difference between winning and being runner-up. But I had a wonderful time as champion and no matter where I go, people remember when I won it. It was something I dreamed of as an eight-year-old when I first saw [Alex] Higgins play and got a snooker table from Santa.”