A RELIEVED Paul Hunter has moved into the televised rounds of the Travis Perkins UK Snooker Championship, but Irish star Ken Doherty, beaten finalist in the last two UK tournaments in York, is on his way home after suffering a shock early exit.

The Leeds idol's big army of fans saw him pull off a battling 9-7 second round win over Scot Stephen Maguire last night at the Barbican Centre, clinching his place in the last 16 with a 119 break in the final frame.

From 4-1 up with breaks of 132 and 129 in the third and fourth frames the world number eight was pegged back to 4-4 going into last night's session. He moved 6-4 ahead but Maguire levelled at 7-7.

"I am so pleased to win my first match and get through to the televised stages," Hunter said afterwards. "The first match is always the hardest to win."

His next match is against Romford's Mark King, starting on Sunday night and finishing on Monday afternoon. King beat world number 12 David Gray 9-8 last night.

Doherty, the world number six, was beaten 9-7 in the second round by world number 40 Nigel Bond in the major upset of yesterday's 16 matches, eight completing the first round and the first eight of the second round.

The Derbyshire man, runner-up in the world championship eight years ago, led 5-3 at the end of the afternoon session but Doherty took the first three frames of the evening session, including a 96 break in the eleventh, to lead 6-5.

The key frame was the twelfth, which Bond won on black after having trailed 59-23. Doherty won the next frame but Bond then took three in a row for victory.

"That's my biggest result since I got to the Regal Scottish semi-finals in Aberdeen two years ago," Bond said after claiming his second scalp in two days, his first round victim having been Robert Milkins.

"It is nice to win a couple of matches, especially at the UK, and to get through to the televised stages.

"My safety play tonight was very good and you have to be able to play well against Ken. The twelfth frame was a massive one to win. There is no better feeling than winning a tough match."

Doherty, clearly upset by his defeat in his opening match in this year's championship, said: "I am very disappointed to go out. The tournament has just started and I have gone.

"To go out in my first match in snooker's second biggest tournament is very hard to accept. It is just not happening for me."

Doherty reached the LG Cup semi-finals last month but lost the Gerard Greene in the first round of the British Open in Brighton last week, so last night's defeat was a big blow for him.

As world number six he was not happy about having to play in a pre-televised round and in a panelled off row of five matches in progress.

"It is difficult to play in boxes and without being on television," he said.

"I think it's unfair not to have the top 16 players being on television. I have to accept that's the way it is, but it's a graveyard out there."

Updated: 11:21 Thursday, November 20, 2003