Ken Doherty has dropped off the Main Tour after a 10-4 defeat to Ben Woollaston at the penultimate stage of World Championship qualifying on Monday.

The Irishman, for whom this year marks the 20th anniversary of his world title glory in 1997, couldn’t find the form to avoid dropping outside the top 64 in the world rankings. A professional since 1990, Doherty also enjoyed a stellar amateur career, winning the World Amateur Championship and the World Under-21 Championship in 1989, as well as two Irish National Championships.

It didn’t take too long for the Dubliner to make his mark on the Main Tour, winning the Benson and Hedges Championship in 1991 to qualify for the Masters for the first time.

That prestigious invitational tournament produced one of Doherty’s career defining moments for all the wrong reasons when, in the 2000 final against Matthew Stevens, he missed a routine final black off the spot for a 147 break - which, at the time, was still a rare feat to accomplish.

The 47 year-old's ability to accept the persistent banter hurled his way over the years since is testament to his affable character and good natured spirit around the circuit.

Taking up membership of the various committees and player forums, Doherty has always been a true ambassador to the sport.

Doherty's maiden ranking event success came in the 1993 Welsh Open and he added five more ranking titles, including the big one in Sheffield in 1997 when he ended Stephen Hendry's long reign of dominance.

He came close to breaking the ''Curse of the Crucible'' the following year, almost becoming the first first-time champion to defend the crown, but lost to John Higgins in the final, and was also defeated in an epic 2003 final by Mark Williams.

Doherty had an opportunity to become the world number one in 2006 but a surprising loss to Marco Fu in the quarter-finals of the World Championship meant he had to settle for second - his highest ever ranking.

Since then, positive results have increasingly become more difficult to come by and he has suffered a steady decline in recent seasons.

What comes next for the ''Darlin' of Dublin'' remains to be seen, with the option of entering Q-School on the horizon if he fancies trying to immediately get back on the tour.

Doherty still loves playing the game but openly admits he doesn't give it as much attention to practice as he used to, focusing more on his increasing radio and TV commitments, which have provided him with a second career.

For Irish snooker, it's a sad day as the man who inspired a generation of snooker players from the country is on the cusp of retirement.