Qatar to Host 2012 PSA World Championship!

Nick Matthew has the chance to become the 1st player after Jansher Khan (1996) to win 3 consecutive times (photo: Fritz Borchert)

The 2012 PSA World Squash Championship will be held in Doha in December, following an agreement reached between the Professional Squash Association and the Qatar Squash Federation.

The $300,000 event, the second richest in the sport's history, will take place from 7-14 December. Qatar will be hosting the event formerly known as the 'World Open' for the 3rd time, having previously staged the premier championship on the PSA World Tour in 1998 and 2004.

On the issue of the event's title change, Beachill explained: "The winner is the World Champion – so we decided to drop 'Open' and replace it with 'Championship' for clarity. Most other sports also have a world championship – we feel it's much more understandable."

England's Nick Matthew is the reigning PSA World Champion after becoming the 1st player for 15 years to successfully defend the title last November in Rotterdam.