Habib And Ahmed Get A Break
Habib Subah and Ahmed Ghuloom are set to compete in the upcoming Bahrain Snooker Championship – the first world-ranking tournament to take place in the Middle-East.
The Bahrain duo have respectfully earned their chance to play after becoming victorious in a recent qualifying tournament, organised by the Bahrain Billiards and Snooker Association (BBSA).
Due to their performance – both cue players will enter the Bahrain Championship as wild card entrants. Other entries will represent the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.
World Snooker, the sports governing body allowed the BBSA six wild card entries.
Mohammed Ali, the coach for the International Billiards and Snooker Association (IBSF) recently told the GN,
Habib and Ahmed are two of our top cueists, and they are very deserving of this great opportunity to play amongst the world’s best. Habib is a veteran and he has competed in a few professional tournaments in the past, but he has slipped in form recently, although he has worked very hard to get back to his best.’
Ali wasn’t shy about praising the players but realises the pressures of such a big tournament, ‘taking part in this ranking tournament is already a big achievement for a Bahraini player. They will be competing under enormous pressure, and their opponents who are professional will be very hungry to win points, so they will face an uphill task. But the experience will be good for them, and they can learn a lot that will help them in future events.’
The remaining qualifiers will be part of a 32 man championship.
The recent qualifying rounds were recently held in Prestatyn – Wales, and some of those who made it through are Daniel Wells, Atthasit Hahitti, Peter Lines, Mark Joyce, Robert Stephen, David Morris, Stefan Mazrocis, and Stuart Pettman, amongst others.
The Bahrain Championships will take place at the Bahrain international Exhibition Centre between Nov 8th to 15th. Players will pot it out on the green baize to win a total prize fund of $350,000 (BD132,000).
Amongst the qualifiers already named, the competition will involve some of the most elite snooker players in the world such as, world number one, Ronnie O’ Sullivan, Stephen Maguire, and Shaun Murphy.
Tickets for this event can be purchased on www.boxofficeme.com from November 1st.