No other sport in the world takes such a toll on those who are present, spectators and players, as snooker. Even in golf, there is open air and space to allow a withdrawal from the most tense of situations as the crucial putt is addressed.

In snooker the slightest sound - a nail being bitten to the quick, a little tickle in the throat which demands a smothered cough - takes on a tortured importance. When a player bends to line up a vital shot the strain is of fierce intensity. Those were the feelings of many Irish people as Ken Doherty faced up to the biggest challenge of his life in the aptly-named Crucible in Sheffield on May 5th. Even those watching on television felt that the tiniest sound might, even from a distance, affect the player's concentration in the deciding frames of the World Championship final.

After 16 of the scheduled 35 frames Doherty was six clear of Steven Hendry (115). Against an opponent of the calibre of Hendry it was never going to be that easy. Nor was it.

Hendry closed the gap with inexorable determination. He won five frames in a row to trail 12-15, but Doherty, in spite of the worried look on his face, won three frames in-a-row (82-23, 69-19, 71-49) to take the title. In doing so he joined Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor as the only Irishmen to take the world crown.