FORMER World Champion Ken Doherty is off to The Shipley Club for a snooker exhibition this Saturday, and though he is there to entertain, he says professional pride is at stake.

Mark Williams, Steve Davis and Doherty himself have all been to different Bradford snooker clubs over the last few years to play members there, all organised by Gilstead snooker aficionado Keith Walker.

Irishman Doherty told the T&A: “I’ve known Keith for a long time, and he always puts on good nights at clubs in and around Shipley.

“I did one for him a few years ago and it was a great laugh. I played some club members, told a few stories and it was a very good night.

“Keith and his wife love snooker, they’ve been coming to the Crucible for years, so I was happy to come over this weekend.

“It’s been difficult for everyone over lockdown, so it’s nice for people to get out for the night and enjoy it.”

The likes of Barry Hearn have turned snooker into a global phenomenon, but asked how vital people such as Walker are to keeping it alive at local level, Doherty said: “People like Keith are very important to the game.

“He’s always trying to popularise and promote it and just keep snooker in Shipley alive by having club members stay interested.

“He’s generated a lot of money from these events, which allows him to bring different players like myself, Mark and Steve down.”

Williams won all of his games at a Walker-organised exhibition in 2018, with Davis losing one in 2019.

Asked if it was a source of pride to win all the frames he plays on Saturday, Doherty said: “The important thing is to have a good time, because when people see you on TV, snooker there is like a business, as you’re playing for your Tour card.

“There is still pride there, especially because everybody is expecting you to play well, and they want to see things like you making a century break.

“But you also want to be engaging people with stories and banter and that’s just as important.

“An exhibition isn’t really about winning or losing, but yes there’s a bit of pride and wanting to do well.”

As for life on the professional circuit, 1997 Crucible champion Doherty said: “I’m in my twilight years as a pro and I’m still enjoying it, even if I’m not taking it as seriously as when I was younger.

“I’m still competing a lot on the regular professional tour, but the few seniors events I feature in are fantastic too, getting to play at the likes of the Crucible and Alexandra Palace.

“It’s a good set up they’ve got now for the over 40s.”

Saturday’s exhibition, starring Doherty at The Shipley Club on Bradford Road, starts at 7:30pm, with Doherty playing eight normal frames against club members, with a ninth frame to be raffled off.

Tickets are sold out.