Ken Doherty came agonisingly close to joining the Crucible Theatre maximum break club in Sheffield yesterday. Doherty took blacks with the first 13 reds during frame 12 of his opening round game against Steve James at the World Championship.

The Dubliner could already see pound signs in his eyes as his clearance reached 104. But with a £147,000 prize beckoning Doherty ran out of position on the penultimate red.

He attempted to keep the break going by doubling the ball into a middle pocket, but his luck was out and he had to settle for setting up a round two clash with stablemate Nigel Bond.

"The main thing was to win the match, but it was a great chance," admitted Doherty, world champion in 1997 and runner-up to John Higgins 12 months ago.

"You don't get many opportunities to make a 147, especially at the Crucible. I thought from about the third red it might be on because the balls were all spread nicely.

"I just came too straight on the last black and that forced me out of position. But there are plenty more frames in which to do it."

Ronnie O'Sullivan became the last Crucible maximum man in 1997. His clearance in just 320 seconds against Mick Price remains the fastest in snooker history.

Other players to achieve the feat are: Stephen Hendry (1995), Jimmy White (1992) and Canadian Cliff Thorburn in 1983.

However, there have been seven maximum breaks this season already. Scot Graeme Dott won a car and £5,000 for his effort against David Roe in the recent British Open.

Doherty also made runs of 57, 81, 56, 54 and 65 while James gained one of his three frame successes with a 137 clearance.

"The year has gone by so quickly," added Doherty. "But it feels like coming home.

"I've had a few bad results coming into the tournament but I felt good out there in the last couple of days and I'm looking forward to having another good run here.

"It will be hard against Nigel, but the next round is three sessions and best of 25 frames so you've got plenty of opportunity to get your game right."

James Wattana, often talked about as potentially snooker's second overseas world champion, established a valuable 5-4 overnight lead over Marco Fu, the exciting new challenger from Hong Kong.

Wattana has blown more cold than hot in recent years and seen his hopes of emulating Canada's former world champion, Cliff Thorburn, recede with each season.

But the threat posed by Fu has made world number 15 Wattana determined to stay Asia's number one. Last night's clash was the first all-Far Eastern clash at the championships.

Fu has been in Sheffield for a week, soaking up the atmosphere on his first trip to the Crucible Theatre, and was ready and dressed nearly two hours before the start of the match.

Wattana looked far more at ease in the early stages, as 21-year-old Fu, the second youngest player in the tournament, struggled to come to terms with the tight, unfamiliar surroundings.

They resume with 10 frames to play and every chance the match could go the full distance.

However, the eventual winner has the dubious privilege of meeting sixtime world champion Stephen Hendry or dangerous qualifier Paul Hunter in round two.

John Parrott, only once a first round loser in 15 previous visits to the Crucible, ensured he didn't dent his record with a gritty victory over Northern Ireland qualifier Terry Murphy.

Parrott now plays Scotsman Chris Small for a place in the last eight after his epic 10-8 first round win.

"It was a real struggle and I'm just pleased that I finished strongly," the 1991 champion said.

Matthew Stevens underlined his tag as a qualifier to fear when he ousted 1996 Embassy World Championship runner-up Peter Ebdon 10-7.