Al Mahari edges out experienced Al Sharif

Young Badar Obaid Al Mahari showed nerves of steel on the opening day of the UAE Ramadan Snooker Championship at the Dubai Snooker Club on Sunday to edge experienced Obaid Al Sharif 3-2. The upset carried the young Al Mahari to the last-48 round where he was scheduled to take on Mohammad Al Shamsi later on Monday at the same venue. In another close encounter on the opening night of the tournament, which offers a total of Dh15,000 in prize money, Abdul Rahman Buf overcame a spirited challenge from Mubarak Suwaidi. Next round Article continues below The match could have gone any way but it was Abdul Rahman who succeeded in marching into the next round where he meets Mohammad Shahbaz tonight. In other matches, Haitham Salah showed no mercy to Abdullah Al Ahbabi during his 3-0 victory, while Fahad Al Hamomi had little trouble in handing a 3-0 loss to Mohammad Al Shamsi. Jamal Abdullah also proved too good for Eyad Al Moraese as he cruised to a 3-0 victory in his first match of the tournament in which a total of 57 players are participating. Four matches of the first round were scheduled at the same venue at 10pm on Monday.