Dubai Classic

For the golf tournament, see Dubai Desert Classic.

Dubai Classic

Tournament information
Venue	Riverside Montien Hotel
Location	Bangkok
Country	Thailand
Established	1988
Organisation(s)	World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
Format	Ranking event
Final Year	1996
Final champion(s)	Ronnie O’Sullivan

The Dubai Classic was a professional snooker tournament (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Classic for sponsorship and marketing purposes).

History

It began life as the Dubai Masters in 1988, the first major tournament in the Middle East. The following year, renamed the Dubai Classic, it became a ranking event. This was the first ranking event in the Middle-East. During its tenure in Dubai, the tournament was played at the multi-purpose stadium of the Al Nasr Sports Club.

Later the event was moved to Thailand and renamed to Thailand Classic for 1995/96 and Asian Classic for 1996/97, before being dropped from the calendar.

Winners

Year	Winner	Opponent	Final score	Season
Dubai Masters (non-ranking)
1988	Neal Foulds	Steve Davis	5–4	1988/89
Dubai Classic (ranking)
1989	Stephen Hendry	Doug Mountjoy	9–2	1989/90
1990	Stephen Hendry	Steve Davis	9–1	1990/91
1991	John Parrott	Tony Knowles	9–3	1991/92
1992	John Parrott	Stephen Hendry	9–8	1992/93
1993	Stephen Hendry	Steve Davis	9–3	1993/94
1994	Alan McManus	Peter Ebdon	9–6	1994/95
Thailand Classic (ranking)
1995	John Parrott	Nigel Bond	9–6	1995/96
Asian Classic (ranking)
1996	Ronnie O’Sullivan	Brian Morgan	9–8	1996/97

References

• Chris Turner's Snooker Archive: Tournament in the Middle East
• Chris Turner's Snooker Archive: Suntory Asian Classic
• Chris Turner's Snooker Archive: Singha Thailand Classic