Doherty takes it down

The PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge has drawn to a close and it’s snooker that has the bragging rights as Ken Doherty won through against other stars from the world of sport.

37-year old Doherty proved that he had mastered a different kind of table at the recent PartyPoker.com Sports Stars Challenge. The was on cue to sink his fellow sportsmen and chalk up a cool £20,000 pot for his efforts.

After battling through a tough snooker heat that included Steve Davis, boosted by success at the 2006 WSOP, Doherty found himself lining up his shots on a final table that included ex-England football international Ray Parlour, England cricket star Robert Key, current Australian rugby league international Brad Drew, as well as the greatest darts player of all time, Phil “The Power” Taylor.

The thrilling no limit texas hold’em final was played to a high standard and all the sportsmen bantered and tried their hand at bluffing. Eventually, Doherty was heads-up with cricketer Robert Key. A tense match-up saw neither player really giving much away until the final hand which saw Key get snookered and Doherty pocket the title with a pair of jacks.

A delighted Doherty admitted he hadn’t really expected to make the break when the tournament first started, he didn’t quite think he would lose his clothes but he saw himself as an outsider. “At the beginning of the week I didn’t really think I had much of a chance. In fact I had to go out and buy some new clothes because I had not brought a change as I didn’t think I would get this far. I am really over the moon to have won”

“You get a great buzz playing poker and when you get the cards and start bluffing the old heart does start to pound. It can be a little bit like snooker in that way. In snooker, however, you have more control. The fear of the unknown on the poker table gets to you a bit more.”

Aside from the final table, one of the most thrilling heats was that of the darts players where Phil “The Power” Taylor hit bullseye with some quick revenge heads-up with Raymond Van Barneveld, after the Dutchman’s triumph in the recent PDC world championship final.

Taylor however could not take this form into the final as he finished in fourth place. There were high hopes for last year’s champion Austin Healey but the outspoken former England rugby union star was seen off without much rucking by Australian rugby league star Brad Drew.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said, “Ken deserved his win but we are glad he went out and bought some new clothes otherwise his fellow sportsmen might not have been too keen to sit around the table with him. Snooker players appear to be successful at poker. It seems that after they have mastered one table they want to master the other.”

The tournament was exclusively produced by Matchroom Sport and will be aired in the UK later this year, with commentary from Jesse May and Steve Davis.