2008 Bahrain Championship
The 2008 Bahrain Championship was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 8 and 15 November 2008 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre in Manama, Bahrain. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2008/2009 season.
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| 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 | £271,000 |
| Winner's share | £48,000 |
| Highest break |  |
| Final | |
| Champion | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Runner-up | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Score | 9–7 |
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]
Liang Wenbo made the 65th official maximum break during his qualifying match against Martin Gould. This was Liang's first official 147. Marcus Campbell made the 66th official maximum break during his wildcard round match against Ahmed Basheer Al-Khusaibi. This was Campbell's first official 147.
Neil Robertson won his third ranking title by defeating Matthew Stevens 9–7.[3]
Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[4]
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Wildcard round
The 6 lowest ranking qualifiers played one wildcard match each. Matches were played at Bahrain International Exhibition Centre on Saturday, 8 November.[5][6]
| Match | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| WC1 |  |
5–1 |  |
| WC2 | |
5–1 |  |
| WC3 | |
5–0 |  |
| WC4 | |
5–0 |  |
| WC5 | |
5–1 |  |
| WC6 | |
5–0 | |
Main draw
Final
| Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Eirian Williams. Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, Manama, Bahrain, November 15, 2008.[5][6] | ||
| Matthew Stevens (14) |
7–9 | Neil Robertson (8) |
| Afternoon: 0–129 (129), 13–117 (117), 4–108 (96), 69–68 (Robertson 68), 1–75 (75), 82–22 (51), 75–0 (70) Evening: 56–70 (63), 67–47, 115–0 (71), 32–64, 110–5 (110), 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 took place at Pontins in Prestatyn, Wales between 27 and 30 October 2008.[7]
Century breaks
Qualifying stage centuries
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Televised stage centuries
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See also
References
- Everton, Clive (4 November 2008). "'Run down' O'Sullivan out of Bahrain tournament". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- "Ear infection forces Davis out". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- "Robertson takes title in Bahrain". BBC Sport. 2008-11-15. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- "Prize Money". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- "Bahrain Championship 2008". Global Snooker. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- "Bahrain Championship 2008". Snooker.org. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- "Bahrain Championship 2008 Qualifying Results". Global Snooker Centre. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2013.