How Alex Higgins' last Crucible match produced what Ken Doherty still believes is 'one of the greatest lines I've ever heard'
By Desmond Kane
Published 04/06/2026 at 11:38 GMT+1
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Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, one of snooker's most inspirational players yet infamous hell-raisers, never did anything by half-measures on the table. With cue or pint in hand.
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This was particularly true during his 10-6 defeat to Ken Doherty in 1994, a first-round match that would prove to be the 1982's world champion's 14th and final appearance at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Doherty called time on his golden 36-year professional career at the age of 56 on Wednesday, with the Irishman describing himself as "humbled" by the support he has received.
The finest moment of his career came in 1997 when he defeated Stephen Hendry 18-12 to claim the sport's greatest prize.
But he was involved in another memorable joust three years earlier after confronting Higgins, who had managed to qualify for the last 32 for the first time in three years after losing 10-5 to Steve James in 1990 amid threats to quit the sport.
It was a match that ended with Higgins, who had remained sat in his chair inside the Crucible sinking several libations, punching a match official before being fined £5,000 and banned for a year.
Then ranked 61 in the world, 'The People's Champion' returned to the scene of his totemic second world triumph in 1982 and that do-or-die run of 69 against Jimmy White in a 16-15 semi-final win.
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Doherty, the 11th seed, had described Higgins as his "hero" and, despite not enjoying the experience of ending the 'Hurricane's' Crucible odyssey, he did recall a hilarious moment as his opponent became embroiled in another stand-off with officialdom.
The no-nonsense figure of John Williams – the retired Welshman who officiated a record 11 world finals, including the celebrated 1985 black-ball drama between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor – was overseeing the match.
He was in no mood to accept a lack of decorum from the Northern Irish sporting icon at snooker's ultimate event.
"I played the late, great Alex Higgins, who was my hero, who inspired me to take up snooker and play at the World Championship," said Doherty.
"He was a little bit inebriated, as you might say. As the match wore on, he got very jittery and argumentative with the referee John Williams.
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"At one stage, he told John Williams to stand on his left-hand side.
"Williams said: 'No Alex, I've been standing here all day. I'm not in your line of sight'. And Higgins replied: "You're not in my line of sight, John, you're in my line of thought.'
"That is one of the greatest lines I've ever heard."
Doherty produced breaks of 119, 83, 79, 68, 63, 62 and 59 against Higgins, whose highest break of 83 was never going to be enough to cause an upset.
”It was a completely hollow victory,” said Doherty. "I didn’t like the match at all because he was at the end of his career and my hero.
"It’s not something I have happy memories about. I am grateful to him. He was an icon and snooker owes him.
"I know he did a lot of bad stuff in his career as well but I loved him for what he did on a snooker table and for giving me the inspiration to become a player.”
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