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BAHRAIN bagged their first GCC Billiards Eight-Ball Championship with a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia at Al Yarmook Club Gym in Kuwait.
The Bahrainis went into their fourth and last match against the Saudis not only needing a victory to lift the title. It was also necessary for the UAE to lose its match to hosts Kuwait.
And that is exactly what happened much to the joy of the Bahrain team on the final day of the fifth annual event.
The UAE went down 1-2 to hosts Kuwait. Thus, the Bahrainis ended on top with six points from four matches, followed by Kuwait who were second overall. UAE took third place, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar in that order.
In the deciding clash against the Saudis, Bahrain won the first best-of-13 frame through Ali Mohammed who defeated Abdulla Al Hamdan 7-2.
But Saudi Arabia levelled the scores through Anas Al Malki who edged out Bahrain's upcoming player Fahad Khalaf 7-4.
However, Bahrain's Omar Ashiq played his best game in the event defeating Saudi Arabia's Abdulla Al Hammodi 7-6 in one of the most exciting matches.
Ashiq started his match well and took a 6-4 lead before his opponent took advantage of some misses to level the scores at 6-6. But a determined Ashiq claimed the 13th and deciding frame in style to give Bahrain a well deserved victory.
In the junior singles, Ibrahim Al Khalfan bagged a bronze medal despite losing his last game against Saudi Arabia's Mishari Abdulmohsin 5-7. Al Khalfan was the tournament's youngest player and was making his international debut.
In the senior singles section, Nawaf Al Amir failed to take a place on the podium after losing to Nayef Al Ja'awini of Saudi Arabia 3-7 for his third defeat in four matches.
The team returned to Bahrain and were welcomed at the airport by Bahrain Billiards and Snooker Association president Shaikh Abdulla bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, and other officials.
