Mehta, seeded second from the knockout stage, struggled against his unseeded opponent who strolled into a comfortable 5-1 lead. The two players played a tight game in the first frame but Long managed to take it 65-43.

Mehta was in fine fettle in the second and without giving his opponent any chance, posted a break of 101 and easily won the frame 101-1 to  level the scores. The Chinese, however, hit back in style and he too virtually dominated the third frame and with a break of 105, restored his lead 2-1 with a win of 106-0.

Mehta lost touch after that as Long went on the attack and with small breaks, took the next three frames 70-56, 67-14, 70-1 for a clear 5-1 lead. The Indian, in an attempt to save the match, showed a lot spirited fight in the seventh frame, coming back from 11-27 down to overhaul Long’s lead to move in front by two points.

After a couple of visits, Mehta sank the yellow ball from a difficult position and followed it up with the green for a 39-29 lead. He missed the blue ball at one point but found his touch in the next visit and added the pink to claim the frame 50-27 to cut down the deficit 5-2.

Long won the eighth frame 52-46 and though Mehta responded by taking the next 70-47, the Chinese took the tenth frame 63-28 to win the match and the championship.

In a third-place playoff, meanwhile, Moh Keen Hoo of Malaysia stunned  highly-rated Pankay Advani 3-2 to claim the bronze. Advani, who lost to his compatriot, Aditya Mehta in the semifinals on Friday, was seeded third in the last 16.

The Indian lived up to his seeding in the opening frame when he easily captured it 123-1 posting a break of 76. But the Malaysian came back strongly in the second to level the scores 1-1 after winning 61-14.

Though Advani restored his lead after winning the third frame 71-13, Hoo fought back and with accurate potting easily  scored 108-0 (61 break) to draw level 2-2. He then won the fifth frame, 78-9, to wrap up the match.

Saleh Mohammed of Pakistan , posted the highest break of 147 on the first day of the championship, earning him a cash award of $5,000. With the 147 break standing throughout the championship, he collected Dh5,000 and wrist watch, courtesy of the UAE Billiards and Snooker Association, and $100 from the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports.

The other players, who posted breaks of a century during the championship, were India’s Pankaj Advani (129, 120, 119, Lai Chee Wei (Malaysia) 135; Mohammed Al Joker (UAE) 114; Yasin Merchant (India) 107; Fong Kwok Wai (Hong Kong) 119, 108; Au Chi Wai (Hong Kong) 116; Jin Long (China) 110; A. Bulajaing (China) 113; Moh Keen Hoo (Malaysia) 117, Jin Long (China) 110, 105, Aditya Mehta (India) 101) and E. Boon Aun (Singapore) 106.

The eight-day championship was sponsored by Areeq (Real Estate Development and Investments); Middle East Foundation Group, National Bonds, Kataria Holdings Ltd. Escan, Rosyblue, Nescafe, Pepsi, Technical Printing and Acer.

Results: Final: Jin Long (China) bt Aditya Mehta (India) 7-3 (65-43, 1-101, 106-0, 70-56, 67-14, 70-1, 27-50, 52-46, 47-70, 63-28).

Third-place: Moh Keen Hoo (Malaysia) bt Pankay Advani (India) 3-2 (1-123,  61-14, 13-71, 108-0, 78-9).