ACCRINGTON's Shokat Ali bowed out of the Liverpool Victoria UK championship at Preston Guild Hall.

Ali, the 27-year-old world No 59, was beaten 9-6 by Grimsby's Dean Reynolds in a match which almost broke a world record.

It lasted 542 minutes, the second longest on record over the best of 17 frames distance and only six minutes short of the time it took Jack Fitzmaurice to beat Mario Morra 9-7 in a qualifying round of the 1982 Embassy World championship.

Three frames took over 50 minutes to play and four more over 40 minutes as the contest tested the staying powers of the two players - and referee John Williams.

Ali, who had opened with a break of 103, led 3-1 but once Reynolds had drawn level, the Accrington professional played catch up for the rest of the match.

Reynolds, who figured in the top 16 in the 1980s but is now ranked at No 51, went on to lead 7-4 and 8-5 and that always looked to be too big a leeway for Ali to eat into.

The Pakistani World Cup captain whose other top breaks included a 96 and 41, won only two of the seven frames played yesterday and failed to find the fluency he had shown in the earlier frames.

His best breaks were modest ones, 30, 29 and 23 with Reynolds responsible for an 81, 63 and 36.

Blackburn's Dennis Taylor, who has never won the event, suffered a 9-3 defeat at the hands of Welshman Mark Williams. Meanwhile Ken Doherty will be viewing the rest of the championship from his armchair instead of having the best seat in the house.

But just how long he can stomach watching his rivals continue their assault on snooker's second most important ranking event remains to be seen.

World champion Doherty is just one of nine top 16 ranked professionals knocked out before the cameras are installed during the next couple of days.

Irishman Doherty suffered a heart-breaking 9-4 defeat by 34-year-old Londoner Neal Foulds.

"Sport is something you can never get to grips with and this is one of those results that prove that," said Doherty.

"I thought I'd turned a corner after winning in Malta recently but obviously not. I wish I knew what the problem is but I don't."

"I'm not looking for excuses though and just because I'm world champion doesn't mean I'm feeling any extra pressure. It was a terrible performance and I played very badly from start to finish.

"It's a tough defeat to accept because this is such an important tournament," added Doherty, who will be on duty again at the Guild Hall tomorrow - chosen as one of the players to help raise money for Children in Need.

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