Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters 2024 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
White headlines day one in Riyadh (Photo credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo)
Jimmy White headlines the opening day of action in Riyadh, where the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters commences on Friday.
A total of 144 players – including 17 wildcards – have descended upon the Green Halls in the Saudi Arabian capital, where a top prize of £500,000 is up for grabs.
The first of nine rounds will be played on Friday with 64 players in action across four sessions, with White arguably the standout name.
The Whirlwind is embarking on the 45th season of his professional career, and aiming for better fortunes than last term.
White won just two of his 19 matches in 2023-24, but has already got a victory under his belt this season, having beaten Dominic Dale 5-3 at last month’s Wuhan Open qualifiers.
The 62-year-old takes on the United Arab Emirates’ Mohamed Shehab, who recently returned to the tour for his third spell after a 17-year gap.
Fellow veteran and crowd favourite Ken Doherty will also be on display. The 1997 World champion appears in a true battle of youth versus experience against 18-year-old Liam Davies.
There are three former World Women’s champions in action. Reanne Evans – a 12-time champion – plays Simon Blackwell, while Baipat Siripaporn and Mink Nutcharut take on Mohamed Elkhayat and Kusai Hamed respectively.
An eye-catching tie pits 14-year-old local favourite Ziyad Al-Qabbani against 17-year-old Stan Moody, as an all-West Midlands battle sees Mitchell Mann lock horns with Paul Deaville.
Former Shoot Out champion Michael Holt plays Ahmad Abul, while left-handers Oliver Lines and Sunny Akani also face wildcards Faisal Bahashwan and Kreishh Gurbaxani respectively.
Julien Leclercq, a former Shoot Out runner-up, goes up against Dylan Emery, as 2019 German Masters semi-finalist Duane Jones does battle with Khalid Alkamali.
Play gets under way at 12pm BST on Friday with all matches contested over the best of seven frames at the Green Halls in Riyadh.
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Saudi Arabia Masters 2024 Day One Schedule
All times BST (local time +2 hours)
Friday August 30
First Round
12pm
Allan Taylor v Adeel Aqdus
Baipat Siripaporn v Mohamed Elkhayat
Michael Holt v Ahmad Abul
Oliver Lines v Faisal Bahashwan
Robbie McGuigan v Abdulraouf Saigh
Rory Thor v Omar Alajlani
Chris Totten v Haris Tahir
Reanne Evans v Simon Blackwell
1pm
Mink Nutcharut v Kusai Hamed
Farakh Ajaib v Haitham Al Mahri
Julien Leclercq v Dylan Emery
Lei Peifan v Yulu Bai
Artemijs Zizins v Kok Leong Lim
Ben Mertens v Abdullah Alotayyani
Liam Graham v Ali Hussain Ali
Ka Wai Cheung v Joshua Thomond
6pm
Jimmy White v Mohamed Shehab
Huang Jiahao v Ahmed Elsayed
Antoni Kowalski v Habib Sabah
Andrew Pagett v Wang Yuchen
Gong Chenzhi v Ali Jalil Ali
Bulcsu Revesz v Iulian Boiko
Haydon Pinhey v Ayman Alamri
Mitchell Mann v Paul Deaville
7pm
Manasawin Phetmalaikul v Amir Sarkhosh
Stan Moody v Ziyad Alqabbani
Dean Young v Saleh Alamoudi
Duane Jones v Khalid Alkamali
Liam Davies v Ken Doherty
Kreishh Gurbaxani v Sunny Akani
Mostafa Dorgham v Jonas Luz
Zak Surety v Ali Alobaidli