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Snooker fans 'cued' up on Sunday to meet former world champion Peter Ebdon at the Bahrain City Centre for autographs.
The star cueist is visiting the island and playing in the Bahrain Snooker Championship which runs until Saturday at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.
Ebdon said: "We have such a huge audience in the Middle East now and we really have a fantastic fan base. I think that the region has a huge potential for expansion and improvement in snooker."
Known as one of the game's grittiest competitors with a fierce will to win, Ebdon has won seven ranking titles including the 2002 World Snooker Championship and is currently ranked number nine by the World Snooker organisation.
Alongside Ebdon, top ranking stars like Stephen Hendry, Ken Doherty and Shaun Murphy have also been competing in Bahrain.
Having lived in Dubai for three years with his wife Deborah and four children, Ebdon hopes this tournament will be a step forward, bringing snooker back to the Middle East.
He said: "We are so delighted to be in Bahrain. It is a bit quieter than Dubai, very clean and certainly the roads are not as busy.
"The people we have met here are very friendly and they have really gone out of their way to look after the professional snooker players. We have been treated extremely well and it's always an honour.
"We are here to promote the game and do the best possible job we can. I also think it is a wonderful opportunity for local players to showcase their talents and play against some of the best players in the world."
Bahraini wild cards Habib Subah Habib and Ahmed Ghuloom have already bowed out of the tournament after their first matches on Saturday.
Habib, 25, was matched up with English professional Mark Davis. Habib went down 5-0 against the world number 58.
Habib said: "It honestly felt good to be a part of this tournament as it's a great tournament to play in.
"I will hopefully participate next year and will continue watching the matches to learn from them. I will practice with the players as well to learn more."
Ahmed, 20, played against world number 50 Barry Pinches who beat him 5-1.
He said: "This was a very good experience for me playing with the professionals. I wasn't expecting to win but I was expecting to play well and I think I did.
"I enjoyed it a lot and feel that I have gained a lot. In fact, the tournament is progressing very well and it has been quite shocking and dramatic. So many brilliant players have been beaten already such as Shaun Murphy who ranks third in the world, number 18 Ken Doherty, and number 14 Marco Fu. We didn't expect them to be out of the tournament so soon.
"All in all, I believe this tournament will be a huge success as it was very well organised."
World Snooker commercial director Miles Pearce felt Habib and Ahmed displayed great talent. He said: "Ahmed and Habib, who are close snooker buddies, were so happy and pleased that they could go in and play in a professional tournament, that's also broadcasted to over 390 million homes at the same time as playing against professionals who they idolise.
"The players around the Middle East in general are coming up and we are having a lot of visitors fly over to our World Snooker Academy in Sheffield where they participate in courses and are taught and trained by some of the professionals.
"The reason why we are here in Bahrain is because we know that people love snooker and have some understanding of the professional game. We are here to promote the game further. Hopefully it will open up the market in the region.
"Right now there are some great players involved such as Dave Harolds and seven times world champion Steven Hendry. I think you will see some great snooker as it is very competitive and there is no saying who will win."
