"He's got the game and he's got the temperament, " was Hendry's verdict.
The last of Hendry's 36 ranking tournament victories came in the Malta Cup in February last year.
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"I thought Stephen Hendry's idea of moving it every year to different places was quite good, " said Holt.
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Mr Findlay also labelled Councillor Hendry's assertion that there may be "no future for SPT" as "blatant electioneering tactics".
O'Sullivan made 77 for 7-5, and Hendry's 72 restored the one-frame difference before a tight 14th which eventually fell to O'Sullivan.
Dott's fellow Scot Stephen Hendry started well, beating Mark Selby 3-2.
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It was also Hendry's 1000th frame played at The Crucible.
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World number two Stephen Hendry faces Finland's Robin Hull, Paul Hunter is pitted against Malta's Tony Drago and John Higgins opens his campaign against local boy Michael Judge.
But former Motherwell manager Eric Black or former Scotland defender Colin Hendry will be Brown's assistant.
In front of a packed and enthralled Crucible audience, both had chances in the night's opener and an unlucky in-off enabled Hendry to win the frame after a magnificent yellow.
BBC: SPORT | Other sport... | Snooker | High-flying Hendry sees off Ding
Hendry will need to beat Murphy in Friday's final best-of-six round-robin match, while a draw would be good enough for Murphy.
Earlier this year, Mr Hendry put a third of the unit trust's money in German bonds because at that point he could not find many stocks that were going up.
The Northern Ireland Trophy runs from August 13 to 20 and will feature the world's top 32 players including Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty, John Higgins and world champion Graeme Dott.
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But seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry lost at the first hurdle, going down 5-4 to Flintshire's Ricky Walden .
Hendry had won 14 of their previous 18 meetings, and each of Ebdon's four victories - including his 18-17 win in the 2002 world final - had come in final-frame deciders.
BBC: Peter Ebdon holds aloft the Maplin UK Championship trophy
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