| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8–15 November 2008 |
| Venue | Bahrain International Exhibition Centre |
| City | Manama |
| Country | Bahrain |
| Organisation(s) | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £225,500 |
| Winner's share | £35,000 |
| Highest break | 147 |
| Final | |
| Champion | Neil Robertson |
| Runner-up | Matthew Stevens |
| Score | 9–7 |
The 2008 Bahrain Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 8 November and 15 November 2008 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2008/2009 season.
Due to a clash with a previously-arranged Premier League match-day, three leading players (John Higgins, Mark Selby and Ding Junhui) were forced to miss the event. This meant that they earned no ranking points. While Matthew Stevens (#17), Ken Doherty (#18) and Jamie Cope (#19) qualified automatically due to the extra spaces in the draw. Likewise, the players ranked from 33–35 and 49–51 played one qualifier less than usual. Additionally, Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew three days before the tournament for unspecified medical reasons.[1]
Steve Davis was also involved in Premier League action, playing on 13 November, but did not withdraw from the tournament. He played his qualifying match and received a walkover due to O'Sullivan's withdrawal, meaning that he reached the last sixteen. However before his last 16 match he withdrew from the event as an ear infection prevented him from flying to Bahrain.[2]
Neil Robertson ended a run of poor form by taking his third ranking title, defeating Matthew Stevens 9–7.[3]
Contents |
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Winner: £48,000 |
Stage 1 High Break: £500 Stage 1 Maximum Break: £1,000 Total: £271,000 [4] |
This table shows the number of players who reached the final stages (last 32 plus six wildcards), with the total number who attempted to qualify is in parentheses.
| 20 (51): | England | 4 (9): | Scotland | 3 (11): | Wales | - (5): | China PR |
| 2 (5): | Ireland | 1 (1): | Australia | 1 (1): | Hong Kong | 1 (4): | N Ireland |
| – (2): | Thailand | – (1): | India | – (1): | Netherlands | – (1): | New Zealand |
| 2 WC | Bahrain | 1 WC | Qatar | 1 WC | Saudi Arabia | 1 WC | Oman |
| 1 WC | UAE |
* In snooker, as in many other sports, some non-sovereign sub-national entities of the United Kingdom are treated as separate countries for sport governance purposes.
The 6 lowest ranking qualifiers played one wildcard match each. Matches were played at Bahrain International Exhibition Centre on Saturday, 8 November.
| Match | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| WC1 | Robert Milkins | 5–1 | Ahmed Saif |
| WC2 | Barry Pinches | 5–1 | Ahmed Ghuloom |
| WC3 | Mike Dunn | 5–0 | Ahmed Abdulla Asiry |
| WC4 | Marcus Campbell | 5–0 | Ahmed Basheer Al-Khusaibi |
| WC5 | Rod Lawler | 5–1 | Isa Ali Al-Hashmi |
| WC6 | Mark Davis | 5–0 | Habib Subah Habib |
| Final: Best of 17 frames Referee: Eirian Williams Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain, November 15, 2008. |
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| Matthew Stevens (14) Wales |
7–9 | Neil Robertson (8) Australia |
| Afternoon: 0–129(129), 13–117(117), 4–108(96), 69–68(68), 1–75(75), 82(51)-22, 75(70)-0 Evening: 56–70(63), 67–47, 115(71)-0, 32–64, 110(110)-5, 73–48, 61–64, 1–96(53), 8–77 |
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| 110 | Highest break | 129 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 2 |
| 4 | 50+ breaks | 7 |
Qualifying for the tournament will take place in Pontin's Prestatyn, Wales between 27 October and 30 October 2008.[9]
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