TV pundit reveals he smuggled fan into Ronnie O’Sullivan’s Saudi World Masters snooker final clash vs Luca Brecel

KEN DOHERTY smuggled a fan into the final of the World Masters of Snooker.

The TV pundit has revealed he helped a fan watch their hero Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Luca Brecel in Saudi Arabia.

GettyKen Doherty revealed he smuggled a fan into the World Masters of Snooker final[/caption]

GettyRonnie O’Sullivan beat Luca Brecel to claim the title in Riyadh[/caption]

Doherty explained he had bumped into the snooker fanatic outside the Global Theatre in Riyadh.

Appearing on Eurosport’s coverage of the match, he explained: “There was a guy outside, he drove eight hours and he couldn’t get a ticket.

“He tried to buy a ticket, so I let him in with my ticket. I hope Emily doesn’t mind, but he got in to see Ronnie O’Sullivan, his hero.

“To see him win this, he’ll be so chuffed. His eight-hour journey back home won’t be so bad after all.”

The Rocket went on to beat Brecel 5-2 in Wednesday’s final to scoop £250,000 in prize money.

Turki Al-Sheikh, the chair of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, also confirmed O’Sullivan would have a snooker academy named after him.

He becomes the first winner of the new event, which formed part of Riyadh Season festival in Saudi Arabia.

O’Sullivan hit six century breaks on his run to the title but was unable to find a maximum break to unlock a crack at the “golden ball”.

The new 20-point ball was introduced for the tournament but could only be potted once a player had completed a 147 break.

They would then have the chance to pot it and extend their maximum break to 167.

However, Ding Junhui’s 138 proved to the highest break of the tournament, with the golden ball not coming into play.

The tournament is set to return next year, though, with the prize pot doubled to £800,000.