Snooker:Ken Doherty and world champion John Higgins will contest the first of this year's Malta Cup semi-finals after both overcame their opponents earlier today.
Higgins was the first player through to the knockout phase with his 5-1 victory over Cambridgeshire cueman Joe Perry.
And Irishman Doherty joined him in the semis after he beat Australian Neil Robertson 5-1 at the Hilton Conference Centre to secure his safe passage.
"It was good to win the first couple of frames because it relaxed me, they were good frames to win," reflected Doherty.
"Once I'd won the third frame, it was just a bit of fun. I was through and he couldn't qualify, so it was nice to have a little bit of fun.
"We're trying our heart to win, but it was nice to have a bit of banter and too involve the crowd.
"Snooker is about entertainment like any sport."
Doherty won two scrappy opening frames to lead 2-0 and then pocketed a 51 break to win the final frame he needed for a place in the next round.
A cool run of 81 followed as the Dubliner powered 4-0 head, before Robertson sunk a 74 break to reduce his arrears.
The last three frames saw both players entertain the crowd with some exhibition shots, with Doherty winning the final frame for his fourth win on the spin.
Defending champion Shaun Murphy is the third player through to
the semi-finals of this year's Malta Cup.
The Rotherham potter needed to win three frames against
Stephen Hendry in their qualifying group decider tonight.
And he did just that with a comprehensive 5-1 win at the
Hilton Conference Centre.