Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty dumped out of English Open, Stephen Maguire battles through

ByEurosport

Published 07/09/2023 at 22:24 GMT

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry lost 4-0 to evergreen Irishman Fergal O'Brien in the opening round of the English Open in Leicester. Qualifying takes place between September 6-8 with the tournament staged at the Brentwood Centre in Essex from October 2-8, live on Eurosport and discovery+. Mark Selby is the defending champion after his 9-6 win over Luca Brecel in December.

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Snooker icons Stephen Hendry and Ken Doherty endured a day to forget in the qualifying round for the English Open in Leicester on Thursday.

The pair - who contested the 1997 World Championship final with Doherty winning 18-12 - suffered whitewash defeats in exiting the event at the first hurdle.

Seven-time world champion Hendry went down 4-0 to Fergal O'Brien, who produced breaks of 63 and 69, while O'Brien's fellow Irishman Doherty lost by the same scoreline to Welsh talent Jackson Page, who top scored with runs of 58 and 56.

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Hendry and O'Brien had first met in the last 64 of the 1993 UK Championship, with Hendry completing a 9-7 win, and their last meeting was in the group stage of the 2006 Grand Prix, won 3-2 by O'Brien.

But their latest duel saw Hendry manage to muster only 94 points.

Former UK champion Stephen Maguire found some vintage form of his own to down Daniel Wells 4-3 in a high-quality tussle at the Morningside Arena.

Maguire compiled 130 in the second frame, but trailed 3-2 with Wells making 76 and 52 before finishing knocks of 65 and 131 saw Maguire secure his last-64 spot.

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Elsewhere, Thai speed merchant Thepchaiya Un-Nooh suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat to former world seniors holder David Lilley, who lost the first frame but won the next four, including timely closing efforts of 50 and 61.

Qualifying takes place between September 6-8 in Leicester.

Mark Selby is the defending English champion after his 9-6 win over Luca Brecel in December and will play his opening match at the venue alongside the world's top 16.