2008 Bahrain Championship
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
Neil Robertson
ended a run of poor form by taking his third ranking title, defeating Matthew Stevens
9–7.
Runner Up: £22,500
Semi-Finalists: £12,000
Quarter Finalists: £6,500
Last 16: £4,275
Last 32: £2,750
Last 48: £1,725
Last 64: £1,325
Stage 1 High Break: £500
Stage 2 High Break: £2,000
Stage 1 Maximum Break: £1,000
Stage 2 Maximum Break TV: £20,000
Total: £271,000
* 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.
Prestatyn
, Wales
between 27 October and 30 October 2008.
Snooker world rankings
The snooker world rankings are the official system of ranking professional snooker players to determine automatic qualification and seeding for tournaments on the World Snooker Tour. They are maintained by the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association...
snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
tournament took place between 8 November and 15 November 2008 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama
Manama
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2008/2009 season.
Due to a clash with a previously-arranged Premier League
2008 Premier League Snooker
* 83–34, –4, 133–0, –4, –0 ** 55–68, 93–0, 20–93 , 76–8, 24–93, –0, 6–69 , –4, 4–*** 11–121 , 8–82 , 18–74, 14–, 48–83 , 61–58, 13–, –0, 20–...
match-day, three leading players (John Higgins, Mark Selby
Mark Selby
Mark Anthony Selby is an English professional snooker and pool player. Runner up in the World Snooker Championship 2007, he was the 2006 WEPF World Eight-ball Champion. Selby has won the Masters on two occasions, the Welsh Open and the Shanghai Masters...
and Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui
Ding Junhui is a Chinese professional snooker player. Ding Junhui is China's most successful player ever, having become only the second teenager, after John Higgins, to win three ranking titles...
) were forced to miss the event. This meant that they earned no ranking points. While Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
(#17), Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty
Ken Doherty is an Irish professional snooker player. He is the only player ever to have been world amateur and world professional champion...
(#18) and Jamie Cope
Jamie Cope
-External links:***...
(#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
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
withdrew three days before the tournament for unspecified medical reasons.
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
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.
Neil Robertson
Neil Robertson (snooker player)
Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
ended a run of poor form by taking his third ranking title, defeating Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
9–7.
Prize fund
Winner: £48,000Runner Up: £22,500
Semi-Finalists: £12,000
Quarter Finalists: £6,500
Last 16: £4,275
Last 32: £2,750
Last 48: £1,725
Last 64: £1,325
Stage 1 High Break: £500
Stage 2 High Break: £2,000
Stage 1 Maximum Break: £1,000
Stage 2 Maximum Break TV: £20,000
Total: £271,000
Representation from different countries
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): |  Kingdom of England |
4 (9): |  Kingdom of Scotland |
3 (11): |  Wales |
- (5): | |
| 2 (5): |  Republic of Ireland |
1 (1): |  Australia |
1 (1): |  Hong Kong |
1 (4): | |
| – (2): |  Thailand |
– (1): |  India |
– (1): |  Netherlands |
– (1): |  New Zealand |
| 2 WC |  Bahrain |
1 WC |  Qatar |
1 WC |  Saudi Arabia |
1 WC |  Oman |
| 1 WC |  United Arab Emirates |
* In snooker, as in many other sports, some non-sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
sub-national entities
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
are treated as separate countries
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
for sport governance purposes.
Wildcard round
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 MilkinsRobert Milkins - External links :* * * *... |
5–1 | Ahmed Saif |
| WC2 | Barry Pinches Barry Pinches -External links:**... |
5–1 | Ahmed Ghuloom |
| WC3 | Mike Dunn |
5–0 | Ahmed Abdulla Asiry |
| WC4 |  Marcus CampbellMarcus Campbell Marcus Campbell is a Scottish professional snooker player. He lives in Erskine. He has been ranked within the worlds top 64 for 9 consecutive seasons and is currently ranked at 24.-Career:... |
5–0 | Ahmed Basheer Al-Khusaibi |
| WC5 | Rod Lawler Rod Lawler Rod Lawler is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1990. His best run in a ranking tournament was in 1996, when he reached the final of the International Open, beating World Champion Stephen Hendry 5–3 in the second round, but his run ended in the final where he lost... |
5–1 | Isa Ali Al-Hashmi |
| WC6 | Mark Davis Mark Davis (snooker player) Mark Davis is an English professional snooker player from St. Leonards in Sussex, England. The highlights of his career so far have been winning the Benson & Hedges Championship in 2002 – earning him an appearance at the Masters – and winning the 2009 Six-red World Championship.- Career :Davis... |
5–0 | Habib Subah Habib |
Main draw
Final
| Final: Best of 17 frames Referee: Eirian Williams Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama Manama Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people.Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population... , Bahrain Bahrain ' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is... , November 15, 2008. |
||
| Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005... (14) |
7–9 | Neil Robertson Neil Robertson (snooker player) Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4... (8) |
| 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 |
||
| 110 | Highest break | 129 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 2 |
| 4 | 50+ breaks | 7 |
Qualifying
Qualifying for the tournament will take place in Pontin'sPontin's
Pontins is a British holiday business which was originally founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays with regular entertainment on offer. Accommodation is usually in the form of chalets. The company once grew to be a major operator of...
Prestatyn
Prestatyn
Prestatyn is a seaside resort, town and community in Denbighshire, North Wales. It is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a population of 18,496.-Prehistory:...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
between 27 October and 30 October 2008.
Qualifying stages centuries
- 147, 139, 139, 115 Liang WenboLiang WenboLiang Wenbo is a Chinese professional snooker player. He is left-handed and ranked as China's number 2 player, after Ding Junhui. Liang is based at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield, England, United Kingdom.-Career:...
- 137 Dominic DaleDominic Dale-External links:**...
- 136 Atthasit Mahitthi
- 135 Li HangLi HangLi Hang is a Chinese professional snooker player, who is making his debut on the Main Tour for the 2008/2009 season. He managed to qualify by winning the ACBS Asian Under-21 Championship. He competed in the 2008 Jiangsu Classic, finishing last in his group, although he managed to beat the 2008...
- 131, 126 Rory McLeodRory McLeod (snooker player)Rory McLeod is an English professional snooker player. After ten years on the Challenge Tour he reached the Main Tour professional ranks for the 2001/2002 season, paving the way for a solid journeyman career.-Career:...
- 128 Alan McManusAlan McManusAlan McManus is a Scottish professional snooker player, known for his tactical play and safety shots, giving rise to his nickname "Angles" McManus.-Career:...
- 127 Kuldesh JohalKuldesh JohalKuldesh Johal is a professional snooker player. He has qualified for the main tour for the 2008/2009 season by finishing comfortably ranked number one on the Pontins International Open Series, where he earned a record 1070 points from the eight events. He previously contested the 2002/2003 season...
- 124 Liu ChuangLiu ChuangLiu Chuang is a Chinese professional snooker player.-Early life:Liu grew up in Liaoning province in northeast China. Near his parents' house there was a snooker table and when he was 10 he played on it and liked it a lot...
- 122 Jin LongJin LongJin Long is a Chinese professional snooker player. He has managed to regain a Main Tour place by winning the 2008 Asian Championship, beating Aditya Mehta 7–3 in the final, having had spells on the tour on three previous occasions...
- 122, 114, 103 Judd TrumpJudd TrumpJudd Trump is an English professional snooker player from Bristol. He enjoyed considerable success in youth tournaments before turning professional in 2005. On 3 April 2011, Trump won his first ranking title, beating Mark Selby 10–8 in the final of the China Open...
- 111 Michael HoltMichael Holt (snooker player)Michael Holt is a professional snooker player from Nottingham, England. , he has reached the quarter finals of three ranking tournaments – the 1999 UK Championship, the 2003 LG Cup, and the 2005 Grand Prix.-Career:...
- 110 Scott MacKenzie
- 105, 100 Fergal O'BrienFergal O'BrienFergal O'Brien is an Irish professional snooker player. He has won one ranking title and reached two other major finals, and spent three seasons as a top 16 player.-Career:...
- 105 Robert MilkinsRobert Milkins- External links :* * * *...
- 101 Vincent MuldoonVincent MuldoonVincent Muldoon is an Irish professional snooker player. After being a successful junior player , he became a professional in 2008...
Televised stages centuries
- 147 Marcus CampbellMarcus CampbellMarcus Campbell is a Scottish professional snooker player. He lives in Erskine. He has been ranked within the worlds top 64 for 9 consecutive seasons and is currently ranked at 24.-Career:...
- 139, 132, 113, 111, 106 Stephen HendryStephen HendryStephen Gordon Hendry, MBE is a Scottish professional snooker player. In 1990, he was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion, at the age of 21. He has won the World Championship a record seven times and was snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years between 1990 and 1998, and again...
- 137, 114, 102 Rob MilkinsRobert Milkins- External links :* * * *...
- 129, 117, 116, 100 Neil RobertsonNeil Robertson (snooker player)Neil Robertson is an Australian professional snooker player and the 2010 World Champion and World #4...
- 123 Joe PerryJoe Perry (snooker player)-External links:*...
- 123 Barry HawkinsBarry HawkinsBarry Hawkins is an English professional snooker player. He has reached three ranking semi-finals, and spent five seasons inside the top 32 of the rankings. He has also played in the World Championship the last six years running.-Early career:Before taking up snooker professionally he was an...
- 122 Stephen MaguireStephen MaguireStephen Maguire is a Scottish professional snooker player.-Early career:Maguire almost qualified for the 2000 World Championships, leading eventual semi-finalist Joe Swail 9–6 in the final qualifying round before losing 9–10, but first served notice of his true potential by knocking out Stephen...
- 120 Ricky WaldenRicky Walden-External links:**...
- 120, 116, 110 Matthew StevensMatthew StevensMatthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two occasions, in 2000 and 2005...
- 119, 112, 111, 105 Mark AllenMark Allen (snooker player)Mark Allen is a Northern Irish professional snooker player. He won the World Amateur Championship in 2004. The following year he turned professional and took only three seasons to reach the elite top 16...
- 118 Peter EbdonPeter EbdonPeter "Ebbo" Ebdon is an English professional snooker player and former world champion renowned for his remarkably focused, determined style of play.-Early years:...
- 117 Dave HaroldDave HaroldDavid 'Dave' Harold is an English professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter"...
- 112, 100 Barry PinchesBarry Pinches-External links:**...
- 110 Graeme DottGraeme DottGraeme Dott is a Scottish professional snooker player from Larkhall in Scotland. He won the 2006 World Championship, which was his first ranking title after four previous runner-up spots...
- 105 Michael HoltMichael Holt (snooker player)Michael Holt is a professional snooker player from Nottingham, England. , he has reached the quarter finals of three ranking tournaments – the 1999 UK Championship, the 2003 LG Cup, and the 2005 Grand Prix.-Career:...
- 101 Mike Dunn
- 100 Rod LawlerRod LawlerRod Lawler is an English professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1990. His best run in a ranking tournament was in 1996, when he reached the final of the International Open, beating World Champion Stephen Hendry 5–3 in the second round, but his run ended in the final where he lost...
- 100 Ali CarterAllister CarterAllister "Ali" Carter is an English professional snooker player, who lives in Tiptree. He reached the final of the 2008 World Championship, his first major final. Although he lost heavily to Ronnie O'Sullivan, this run allowed him to reach the top 8 of the rankings for the first time...