By Dan Warren BBC Sport at The Crucible

The sort of look that Paul Hunter can only aspire to...

After Ken Doherty's heroics on Saturday afternoon, the evening session proved to be something of an anticlimax.

Not for Mark Williams, of course, who secured his place in the final - but the speed of his victory, achieved in just 20 minutes, left the Embassy organisers with a full auditorium expecting some form of entertainment.

Time for the old-timers to take centre stage again.

The Crucible crowd were treated to an exhibition match between Cliff Thorburn and Tony Knowles - two players from the top drawer of '80s snooker.

And, it is my pleasure to report, the stars of yesteryear have still got it.

The quality of snooker was, genuinely, not that much lower than that on display earlier in the day.

And, with all due respect to Paul Hunter, the quality of hairstyles was much higher.

Mark Williams is firm favourite with the bookies to lift his second World Championship crown in the final.

Labrokes have installed him at 1-3 to beat Ken Doherty, who is rated no more than a 9-4 shot.

Williams' quality snooker during the tournament justifies the decision to make him favourite - but some are wondering whether Doherty's knack for the great escape means he is fated to lift the trophy.

Either way, the bookies are expecting a close-ish contest, with Williams winning by three or four frames.

Given Ken's propensity for late drama, however, a fiver on him to win 18-17 at 12-1 is a pretty attractive proposition for this diary compiler.

Paul Hunter won many fans with his laid-back response to his amazing defeat to Ken Doherty.

Despite losing eight of the last nine frames to crash out 16-17, he was graciousness personified.

"I really hope Ken goes on and wins it - the best man won on the day," he admitted.

Mind you, his plans for the summer would lift even the most heavy heart.

With no snooker on the agenda, Hunter has a nice little diary for June through August.

"I'll just chill out, have a few beers with my mates, socialise, and get really seriously drunk," he said.

If there's a space in your party for one more Paul...