I played Stephen Hendry at his peak and knew how to annoy him — this is how he would've faired in modern snooker

Ken Doherty won the 1997 World Championship and was a regular rival of Hendry's throughout their careers

Ken Doherty has revealed how he used to wind up Scots great Stephen Hendry at the table.

The Irishman memorably defeated Hendry in the 1997 World Championship final, before almost defeating the Crucible Curse 12 months later - only to fall to John Higgins at the last hurdle.

Now the pair are a fixture on TV screens as two of snooker's most well-respected pundits, and will team up once again when the BBC coverage of the World Championship gets underway from April 19.

But on the eve of action at the Crucible getting started, Doherty has explained how he used to get in Hendry's head at the table.

Speaking exclusively to Record Sport, courtesy of Betway, he said: "We had some great matches against each other and were great rivals, but it was a friendly rivalry, there was never any sledging or anything like that between us.

"We had a mutual respect and played different games. He always used to comment on the velvet suit I used to wear, and he hated it.

"I used to wear it on purpose to p*** Stephen off. We were different characters but at the same time, we get on and are still different characters and don’t always agree with each other.

"Stephen has a different perspective in commentary to me, but I respect what he does. He can be quite critical, quite harsh but he speaks his mind and that’s good as a pundit. I like to speak my mind too but do it in a different way.

"We have a good laugh doing it. Snooker is our life, it’s what we have always done and always will do. Being a pundit comes second nature to us because we love watching it and talking about the sport."

A recent TNT Sport poll saw Ronnie O'Sullivan named the greatest player of all time by 75 percent of fans, but Hendry's record remains hard to beat for Doherty - who believes he would've dominated the modern era if he was still playing.

He added: "He still would’ve been at the top with the way he played. Stephen brought a new level to the game and inspired lots of new players.

"Stephen would still be at the top of the game, and I said that to him during the YouTube recording we did on his channel. There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the best players of all time and would be knocking in centuries just as easy today as he ever did.

"Don’t forget, his record was seven World Championships in 10 years. As great as Ronnie O’Sullivan is, he has won seven in 30 years, so it gives you an idea of how dominant he was because he dominated throughout the 1990s."