Upsets compatriot Bingham 8-3 in final

HANIF HASSAN

World No. 35 Ricky Walden holds the SangSom 6-red International trophy as he was congratulated by high ranking officials of the Snooker and Billiard Sports Association of Thailand at the Montien Riverside Hotel yesterday.

The historic SangSom 6-red Snooker International came to an end when world No. 21 England's Stuart Bingham threw in the towel to concede his title showdown with compatriot and world No. 35 Ricky Walden 8-3 at the Montien Riverside Hotel yesterday.

Walden, who had been impressive throughout the inaugural event, received the trophy from Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat, and also walked away with the winner's purse of 500,000 baht.

Bingham was rewarded with a cash prize of 250,000 baht for his brilliant effort in the tournament.

Saleh Mohammed of Pakistan added US$2,000 to his earlier haul of almost 70,000 baht as his maximum 75-point break recorded in the first round in just two minutes and 54 seconds proved to be the fastest of the tournament.

Walden, who had dashed the local hopes of seeing their own hero Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm featuring in the final with a 7-6 victory over the Thai in the semi-final on Saturday night, was in fine touch from the start of the match.

Bingham, who entered the final after beating Michael Holt (No. 34) of England in the semi-final, had his chances during the course of the final, but missed crucial pots time and again.

Walden, capitalising on the misery of his rival, had the upper hand throughout the clash, which was witnessed by an overflowing crowd at the venue.

And when Walden, already 7-3 up, was in the process of gunning for the final black, Bingham threw in the towel, which landed on the blue ball spot precisely, signalling an end to his final campaign. The tournament had been a major success from many counts.

SangSom, the title sponsors, have already confirmed to the Billiard Sports Association of Thailand that they would like to sponsor the event for three more years in a row, offering a much bigger purse to the participating players.

A total of 48 players, including 17 Main Tour professionals, from around the world took part in the tournament, which offered total prize money in excess of 1.8 million baht. The big names included reigning world No. 4 Mark Selby and former world professional champions Peter Ebdon and Ken Doherty. The enthusiasm of the international snooker community for the event was not limited to players alone.

For the first time in history, top ranking officials of the World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA), International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) and European, African and Asian bodies all gathered on one platform in Bangkok to attend the tournament.RESULT

Ricky Walden beat Stuart Bingham 8-3 (31-13, 59-8, 0-60, 60(52)-0, 22-42(42), 34-21, 46-17, 71(64)-10, 1-35, 38-1, 43(43)-0)