Dubai: Mohammad Shehab defeated Mohammad Al Joker to win the ANC Shaikh Rashid snooker tournament.
Shehab collected Dh8,000 for his win while Al Joker picked up Dh7,500 which included the highest break award for his 101, recorded earlier in the event.
Shehab and Al Joker battled it out over 11 frames in the final.
The final started in lopsided fashion. Al Joker wasted no time to take a 4-0 lead before the interval.
But Shehab won the next frame with a clean run of 88, just missing out on Al Joker's highest break of 101 in the tournament.
Shehab also won the next frame after some deft safety play on the final colours, the gap being reduced to just two frames.
The next two frames were shared but the standard of play was not high as the balls seemed to move into unpottable positions.
Al Joker failed to score in the eighth frame. He struggled in the ninth, and had a great chance to win the match in the 10th frame.
Finding himself 32 behind, Al Joker launched one of his trademark clearances from two reds out and reached as far as the final green.
The target ball rattled agonisingly in the jaws of a middle pocket and two shots later it was five apiece.
The deciding frame yielded one chance apiece for the finalists.
Al Joker was in first with a tremendous long red ball down the side cushion, using the rest to put him in prime position at the top of the table.
Two shots later, however, Al Joker was forced to consider the position of the cue ball in addition to that of the straightforward red he was attempting to hit.
This split in concentration saw the red hitting the jaws, and five minutes later a relieved Shehab was congratulated by Al Joker for winning the final.
