Fergal O'Brien and Ken Doherty fail to qualify for Welsh Open

Veterans Fergal O'Brien and Ken Doherty both missed out on a chance to secure spots at next month's Welsh Open in Llandudno on Saturday evening.

O'Brien was taking on local favourite Dylan Emery and started the match brightly, rattling in a break of 73 to take the opener.

But that would be as good as it would get for the Lucan native as 22-year-old Emery rattled off the next four frames, including two centuries, to qualify for his home event.

O'Brien revealed to RTÉ Sport at the end of last year that this will be his final season as a pro. The next event that the 51-year-old can attempt to qualify for will be the big one, the World Championships at the Crucible with qualifiers due to take place in April.

For fellow Dubliner Doherty it was a quick exit as Dave Gilbert wrapped up a 4-0 whitewash, including a high break of 136. The 1997 world champion has already qualified for the German Masters which start tomorrow in Berlin.

Earlier this week Cork's Aaron Hill booked a spot at Venue Cymru with a 4-0 victory over Anton Kazakov.