Doherty squeaks through

Doherty will play Mark King in the semi-finals

Ken Doherty scraped into the semi-finals of the Irish Masters after edging out Anthony Hamilton 6-5 in what he admitted was "a war of attrition".

The Dubliner went 2-0 up but Hamilton fought back in a nip-and-tuck affair.

The crucial moment came when Hamilton missed a red when just 39-27 behind in the deciding frame.

That last frame lasted 45 minutes with world number six Doherty finally clinching victory just before midnight to delight his home crowd.

Doherty will now meet Mark King in the semi-finals.

King recorded the highest break of the tournament so far as he secured his first ranking tournament semi-final for three years.

The left-hander became the first player into the last four with a convincing 6-2 victory over Graeme Dott.

The highlight of a scrappy match, that also included the longest frame of the event at 51 minutes, was King's 137 clearance in frame seven.

That put him 5-2 ahead and he clinched victory in the next frame.