Professional Snooker in the Middle East: History, Events, Players, Champions

Sponsored by Dubai Duty Free - who would continue to support the concept throughout professional snooker’s time in the country - the competition was an invitational featuring eight of the world’s top players.

Having ousted Tony Meo 5-4 in the semi-finals, Neal Foulds pipped world champion and world number one Steve Davis 5-4 in the final to collect the title in front of His Highness Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum.

Following this opening success, the tournament - which was renamed to the Dubai Classic - became a full world ranking event open to all professionals the next year, and it remained on the circuit for six consecutive years in total between 1989 to 1994.

Stephen Hendry - who wasn’t at the inaugural showcase in 1988 - won the first two editions of the ranking iteration.

Hendry defeated Doug Mountjoy 9-2 in the 1989 final and then successfully defended the title 12 months later with a dominant run of results at the main venue. The great Scot dropped only three frames from the last 16 onwards, brushing aside Foulds 5-1, Mike Hallett 5-0, Dean Reynolds 6-1 and then Davis 9-1 in the final.

That victory in 1990 for Hendry - who had recently taken over from Davis as the world champion and world number one - was in front of 1,500 people. It was Hendry’s fourth consecutive ranking event triumph and Davis’ heaviest-ever loss in a ranking final.

In 1991, Hendry’s hopes of a hat-trick of Dubai Classic crowns was brought to a sudden and unexpected stop when he lost his opening match in the last 64 to Warren King, 5-3.

World champion at the time, John Parrott - who would gain a reputation as an ‘overseas’ specialist throughout his illustrious career - won the 1991 edition after a 9-3 defeat of Tony Knowles in the final.

Parrott retained the title in 1992, ousting Hendry 9-8 in a thrilling final after Hendry had recovered from 8-5 down.

However, Hendry would be the first to lift the Dubai Classic trophy on three occasions as he returned the next year to reclaim the title, losing just six frames in five matches, culminating in a 9-3 victory against Davis in the final.

The 1993 event also witnessed a very young Ronnie O’Sullivan compile a televised 140 total clearance during his quarter-final win over Peter Ebdon. A few weeks later, O’Sullivan famously claimed the UK Championship.

The final staging of the Dubai Duty Free Classic snooker event took place in 1994 when Alan McManus created personal history by securing his maiden ranking event triumph. McManus saw off defending champion Hendry 6-4 in the last four before denying Ebdon 9-6 in the title match.

The Rise and Fall of the Bahrain Snooker Championship

After a 14-year absence, professional snooker returned to the Middle East region with the new Bahrain Championship that was held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre in Manama in November 2008.

Speculation about an event in the area was raised by Peter Ebdon - who was living in Dubai at the time with his family - when he suggested to Gulf News in 2007 that the World Snooker Championship should move to Dubai.

The Bahrain Championship ranking tournament was confirmed the next year.

However, the new event was announced after the dates for that season’s Premier League were. At the time, the Premier League was held across several Thursday nights with live televised coverage on Sky Sports.

With two matches on each of these nights during the league phase, four players - John Higgins, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Steve Davis - were already scheduled and contracted to play on a matchday during the Bahrain Championship.

Higgins, Selby and Ding all pulled out of Bahrain because of the clash, while Davis - who had qualified for the main venue stages - withdrew later on due to an ear infection which prevented him from flying.

Ronnie O’Sullivan was another big name absentee from the competition as he withdrew a few days before the start due to medical reasons.

These missing stars may have contributed to poor crowd numbers in Manama.

Two maximum 147 breaks were made during the tournament - one from Liang Wenbo in qualifying in Prestatyn, Wales with the other coming from Marcus Campbell at the main venue on the opening day during his preliminary round victory. Campbell’s 147 was the first maximum break to be crafted in a professional event in the Middle East.

Neil Robertson won the title and a first prize of £48,000 after defeating Matthew Stevens 9-7 in the final. Robertson - who collected the third ranking title of his career - began the match with century breaks in each of the opening two frames.

Despite there being talk of the event returning the next year, that was the sole edition of the competition.

The emergence of Saudi Arabia in professional snooker

It was, again, a long time until top level snooker came back to the Middle East, and once more it was a new country that expressed interest.

Provisional communications from the sport’s promotional authorities stated that a 10-year agreement for a new, very big-money ranking event in Saudi Arabia would be inked.

The Covid-19 Pandemic temporarily put this venture on the back burner, but in 2024 the deal was sealed and confirmed, with the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters scheduled for August/September that year.

That was not to be the first professional snooker event in the kingdom, though, as the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker was hosted in March 2024 at the Global Theatre in Boulevard City.

Similar to what had happened in Dubai in the late 1980s, this helped test the waters and pave the way for a full ranking event in the country. An invitational where the world’s top eight players (although this was extended to 10 very late on) were joined by two local wildcards, the 2024 Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker carried a prize fund of £785,000, with £250,000 of that going to the champion. This top prize was the same as that season’s UK Championship, and Masters.

On top of this, there was a $500,000 bonus for the first person to complete a maximum 167 break due to the unique addition of a special ‘Riyadh Season’ gold ball that was placed in the middle of the baulk cushion for each frame.

The only instance a player could legally pot the gold ball - that was worth 20 points - was straight after the final black of a 147. As soon as a maximum 147 could no longer be made in a frame, the gold ball was removed from the table.

No-one had the chance to pot the gold ball, though, with John Higgins’ effort of 120 (where he missed a tricky cut back on the yellow) being the closest to perfection.

As is so often the case for big one-table events such as this, Ronnie O’Sullivan walked away with the title after dropping only three frames in three matches.

O’Sullivan began with a sensational 4-0 blitz of Higgins in the last eight where he constructed three consecutive century breaks and didn’t allow his helpless opponent to pot a single ball throughout the entire match. 

‘The Rocket’ got the better of Judd Trump 4-1 in a scrappy semi-final affair before winning the final four frames in a 5-2 victory against reigning world champion Luca Brecel in the final.

During the trophy presentation, it was announced by HE Advisor Turki Alalshikh that the bonus prize for a 167 will rise to $1 million for the next edition of the World Masters of Snooker. The first Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters - a ranking event and different to the World Masters of Snooker - was held between August 30 to September 7 in 2024.

The entire tournament - which had 144 entries - was held at the venue. With a £2 million-plus prize fund, there was a top prize of £500,000 - the same amount Kyren Wilson received for winning the World Championship a few months earlier.

In one of the most dramatic climaxes to a professional snooker event, ever, Judd Trump produced a remarkable counter clearance in the deciding frame to take the title on the final ball of the tournament.

The second edition of the 167 gold ball event - now renamed to the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship - is set for December 18-20, 2024.

Amateur snooker and other cuesports in the Middle East

Besides professional snooker, the Middle East has already hosted many other international cuesports competitions.

Several IBSF World Amateur Snooker Championships have been held in the region with Jordan, Syria and Qatar hosting. Four of the last eight editions of the tournament have been held in Doha (Qatar).

The continental Asian Snooker Championships have been held in the area and there are established West Asian Billiards and Snooker Championships.

In recent times, the region has worked closely with snooker’s governing body the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to create and develop a Middle East circuit for the Global Q Tour - the sport’s secondary tier with a pathway to the professional World Snooker Tour.

Last season, two players from the region earned pro tour cards via this route (see below). During the 2024/25 campaign, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will each host an event on the Middle East tour.

Away from snooker, the Middle East has a rich heritage in 9-ball pool. Doha hosted the WPA World 9-Ball Pool Championship for ten consecutive years between 2010 to 2019.

In 2024, the opening edition of a ten-year contract for the Championship was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The blue-riband tournament featured a $1 million prize pot, with $250,000 of that going to the champion, Fedor Gorst (USA).

The top snooker players from the Middle East

Iran’s Hossein Vafaei is the most successful snooker player to come out of the Middle East.

Winner of the Asian under-21, world under-21, and world amateur snooker championships, Vafaei has overcome visa/travel issues during his professional career, risen up the ranks, and reached the world’s elite top 16 bracket.

In 2022 he won his first ranking event at the Snooker Shoot Out, and has appeared in six other ranked semi-finals.

Vafaei has completed a maximum 147 break in professional competition and has well over 100 centuries on snooker’s top tier. His country’s first professional player, he was also the first cueist from Iran to play at the Crucible during the 2022 World Championship.

Several other cueists have featured on the professional snooker circuit down the years.

Soheil Vahedi - a compatriot of Vafaei’s - won the world amateur championship and earned promotion to the sport’s premier scene.

In 2024, Amir Sarkhosh (Iran) and Mohammed Shehab (UAE) both emerged from the Global Q Tour Playoffs to win World Snooker Tour cards. For Shehab, it was a return to the pro circuit.

Habib Subah (Bahrain) and Ahmed Saif (Qatar) have also both earned professional status in the past.

Whilst the IBSF World Amateur Snooker Championship hasn't necessarily had the same prestigiousness over the past several years, Qatar's Ali Alobaidli won the title on home soil in 2023, and Sarkhosh reached the final three times in five editions between 2017 to 2022.

In very recent times, the Middle East nearly celebrated its first world 9-ball pool champion.

Kuwait's Omar Al-Shaheen and Syria's Mohammad Soufi reached respective finals in 2021 and 2023 but both were denied the top prize by Albin Ouschan and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.