The inaugural World Snooker Bahrain Championships starts this coming Saturday and will feature four locally based players in the ‘WildCard’ round much akin to the two ranking events in China.
Snooker’s appeal is growing at pace in the middle east and this Championship is an excellent addition to the calendar not only for the extra event for the main tour pro’s but also to grow the World Snooker brand and the chance that it offers players based in the host country.
The in form player of the season has so far without doubt been World number 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan but he has withdrawn from this event through illness. This gives the evergreen Steve Davis a bye through to round two, something he will be delighted with after his performance against Ronnie in the recent Premier League.
Judd Trump has been very bullish about his chances in the media recently and is confident he has the ability to win a ranking title this season. Much has been spoken about this fantastic talent over the last few years as he has emerged onto the world stage and until the Grand Prix he hadn’t not really shown that talent on the biggest stage. The Grand Prix was his coming-of-age tournament and with a bit of luck and a decent draw would be a good pick for Bahrain.
It is also good to see Graeme Dott back after his injury and both Stephen Lee and Mathew Stevens return to centre-stage after both having qualified for this event.
Further Reading:
- Bahrain Championship News (Worldsnooker.com)
- Trump – I Fear No One (Worldsnooker.com)
- O’Sullivan to miss Bahrain event – (BBC Snooker)
- Trump targets Bahrain Snooker title – (BBC Point West – Video)
