DENNIS Taylor has hit vintage form in the Royal Liver UK Snooker Championships in Preston.

The Blackburn-based former world champion believes he is now playing as proficiently as when he toppled a then invincible Steve Davis in "the black ball final" at The Crucible in 1985.

That spells bad news for fellow Irishman Ken Doherty whom Taylor faces in the third round on Monday when the tournament reaches its televised stages.

Taylor rallied from 8-5 down in his second round match to defeat world number eight Darren Morgan, resurrecting memories of his comeback defeat of Davis.

And he issued a warning to today's young stars that, at 47, he is still a force to be reckoned with.

"As somebody said to me recently, 'There's dog in the old life yet'!" said Taylor.

"I'm playing as well now as I was during the mid-80s when I won my first ranking event and then, of course, the world championship. "It's a young man's game but there's no reason why you can't compete at this level into your 40s or 50s.

"It's not a physical sport in the sense that boxing or athletics is.

"The most difficult aspect now is the practice - I find it hard to put the hours in these days.

"But the priority here, and for some time yet, I hope, is to keep myself out of the commentary box as long as possible!"

Taylor will join the BBC's commentary team in Preston as soon as he is eliminated from the tournament.

His track record at Preston is unimpressive with just one semi-final appearance in 20 starts.

But he is confident that he can overcome the ghost of failures past and mount a serious challenge on this year's championship.

"I've never played Ken competitively and it's a clash I'm looking forward to," he said.

"I can't explain why I've not got all that good a record at Preston - maybe I've tried too hard in the past. But I'm relaxed and delighted with my game at the moment and I hope to progress as far as I can here."

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