Al-Obaidly reaches last-16 of Qatar 6Red World Cup

Qatar’s Ali al-Obaidli reached the last-16 of the Qatar 6Red World Cup with two dominant wins at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha yesterday.

In his first match, the 26-year-old beat Afghan veteran Saleh Mohammadi 5-1 (3221, 38-31, 38-32, 9-55, 74-0, 22-17).

In his second match, he breezed past Pakistani teenager Haris Tahir. The 18-year-old opened well with a 62-0 win in the first frame, but couldn’t withstand the sustained pressure from al-Obaidli, who won 5-2 (0-62, 39-5, 34-11, 40-7, 8-54, 42-32, 35-25).

Al-Obaidli expressed delight at his wins, adding that it was even more special given the large number of highly-ranked players that are participating in this year’s edition. He said that he is confident of producing better performances in the latter stages of the tournament. Al-Obaidli and Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon stayed unbeaten in Group B and the two players will face off today. As many as 54 players are playing in the tournament that will conclude on January 15.

Talking during the draw ceremony on Friday, International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) president Mubarak alKhayarain said that given the level of the players in the competition, it was too close to call.

He welcomed all the participating delegations to Doha, wishing them a strong showing. He stressed that the organising committee was keen on providing all the facilities necessary for the participants to perform to their potential.

The draw was held under the supervision of head of the technical committee of the championship Shoeib Khan, and head of the competitions committee Ihab Anwar.