Shehab to meet Joker in snooker final

Young Ahmed Shehab marked his coming of age in the UAE snooker scene when storming into the final of the Emarat Ramadan Championship with a hard-earned semifinals victory over fourth-seeded Obaid Khalifa at the Dubai Snooker Club.

Shehab, who is the cousin of top-seeded Mohammed Mustafa Shehab, the player he ousted in the quarterfinals, won by 5-4.

His opponent in the final, his first every appearance in a title-match, is the UAE No. 2 seed Mohammed Al Joker, who overpowered Salim Al Salim 5-3 in the other semifinals.

Shehab, a student of dentistry, has created a stir with his string of high-quality performances in the Ramadan tournament.

Against Khalifa he also revealed his ability to handle adversity when producing his best form at 4-2 down to win the remaining three frames against his talented rival. None of the wins came easy, particularly in the crucial seventh frame which Shehab won at 66-44.

He maintained the pressure on Khalifa in the remaining two winning 64-42 and 66-44.

Shehab, however, has his work cut out for him when he takes on Al Joker, one of the most experienced players in the UAE who is known to rise to the occasion.

Al Joker warmed up for the match with a reasonably hard-working win over Salim Ali.

The UAE No. 2 secured the advantage from his opponent when he raced to a 4-1 lead with decisive breaks of 45, 91 and 42.

Salim Ali fought back by winning the sixth and seventh frames to cut Al Joker's lead to 4-3, but he appeared to have exhausted himself in doing so and surrendered the eighth frame and match at 32-68.

Results (semifinals):

Ahmed Shehab (-7 handicap) beat Obaid Khalifa (-14 handicap) 5-4 (62-33, 36-71, 28-66, 55-44, 25-62, 33-69, 66-41, 64-42, 66-44).
Mohammed Al Joker (-14 handicap) beat Salim Ali Salim (-14 handicap) 5-3 (70-37, 56-64, 102-6, 61-31, 54-44, 19-73, 34-67, 68-32).