Snooker player Ken Doherty is determined to spend as much quality time with his son, Christian, as he possibly can after losing his own father at just 13 years of age.

The former world champion announced in the summer that he was stepping away from competing on professional snooker’s main tour after 36 years.

While snooker remains a major part of his life, retirement has given him something just as valuable, something money can’t buy… more time with his only son.

Christian has just turned 18 and is beginning an exciting chapter of his own, having started college in Nottingham, where he is studying business.

Laughing, Ken tells EVOKE that Christian is a year behind Ronnie O’Sullivan’s son, Ronnie Junior, in the same college, so we can be certain there is a fight for the snooker table at lunch!

For Ken, watching his son become a young man has brought home just how quickly the years have passed and stirred memories of his own dad, who died when the Dubliner was the same age Christian was when he first moved to the UK.

‘The time has flown by so quickly,’ Ken said. ‘My father died when I was only 13, so that sort of resonates with me with him a lot… I want to try and spend quality time with him and enjoy life.’

Christian is now just 40 minutes away from his dad, who lives in Sheffield, and Ken is keen to take advantage of their closeness as he adjusts to life away from the professional tour.

He admits retirement has actually come as something of a relief after years of relentless practice and competition, allowing him more freedom to travel, play golf and spend time with Christian.

And there is no hiding the pride in his voice when he talks about the young man Christian has become.

‘He’s just a genuine young man. He’s very honest,’ Ken said. ‘He’s very lovable, and he’s very caring and thoughtful.’

The sporting gene has certainly been passed down too. Tennis is Christian’s main sport, and he has joined his college team, but he has also signed up for the pool and snooker team, much to the amusement of his former world champion father.

But as one chapter of his career closes and his son’s adult life begins, Ken’s priority is simple: enjoying the time together that he knows, from painful personal experience, should never be taken for granted.

Ken, meanwhile, is far from putting his cue away completely. Ken is getting set to take on one of his good friends and former world champion Dennis Taylor at St Helen’s Hotel in Dublin. Ken is opening his private practice room for a special live exhibition match against Denis Taylor on October 14. For more tickets and more information, click here.