The total prize money has been increased to USD165,000, the most in the tournament’s history and a significant increase from the previous USD150,000, for the five-day event.
Since its inception in 2001, the Qatar Classic has continued with its tradition of bringing the world’s best squash players together in the battle for the top eight berth ahead of the end-of-season PSA World Series Finals.
The annual international squash tournament, which will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, has consistently maintained its high ratings on the PSA calendar, being one of the richest and strongest tournaments in the series.
In line with Qatar’s tradition of organising the best sporting events, Qatar Classic, the second World Series tournament of the 2017-18 season, has received a boost.
This year, the champion will pocket a cool USD24,225 cash prize, besides the magnificent trophy, while the runner-up will walk away with USD14,820.
The importance of the Qatar Classic, which is organised by the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF), is not only about the unrivalled prize money but significantly, the valuable points it offers the players on the road to the season-ending tournament, something the world’s best players cannot afford to miss.
The tournament offers the players the opportunity of accruing points as they battle for a top-eight finish at the end of the season, which will enable them to qualify for the lucrative PSA World Series Finals next June.
In its 17-year history, only three players, Peter Nicol of England, and the Egyptian duo of Karim Darwish and Mohamed El Shorbagy, have won the tournament on two occasions with no player having recorded a treble in Doha.
Nicol blazed the trail with his superb tie-breaking victory over Australia’s David Palmer at the inaugural edition in 2001, a feat he repeated against the same opponent a year later, before Darwish (2008, 2010) and of late El Shorbagy (2013, 2015) joining the fray as leading winners in Doha.
Palmer has the unenviable record of having the most appearances in the final without a win having played in four finals (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007) without ever lifting the winner’s trophy.
The first four tournaments were won by English players with Nicol, Lee Beachill and James Willstrop lifting the trophies before the Egyptians took control of the next three tournaments.
Darwish, however, avenged the loss in 2010 as he trounced his compatriot Amr Shabana (the 2007 winner) to lift the trophy.
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier of France, the 2011 winner, will be hoping to break the dominance of the Egyptians in his attempt at lifting the trophy for the second time at this year’s tournament while defending champion Karim Abdel Gawad is expected to fight tooth and nail to join the exclusive list of back-to-back champions in Doha.
“Qatar Classic has continued to set the pace in the series and we are not relenting in our efforts in raising the bar as much as possible. Over the years, we’ve kept on improving the tournament and the quality of the field has always been very strong with the world’s best players participating yearly. Qatar is a sport-loving country and squash is widely played here. I wish the players all the best as they enjoy the top-notch hospitality which Qatar is renowned for,” QTSBF president Nasser al-Khelaifi said.
Tournament Director Tariq Zainal said, “We are once again looking forward to welcoming all the players to Doha. The fans are eager to watch them play and the organising committee has put everything in place to ensure a fun-filled five days of squash actions like never before.”
