ACBS-IBSF Asian Tour Snooker second stage

Valika expects Pak cueists to shine

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

KARACHI: The Chairman of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), Ali Asghar Valika, expects Pakistan’s cueists to bring home more laurels as they prepare to leave the shores of the country to participate in the second stage of the ACBS-IBSF Asian Tour Snooker Tournament.

The event is being held under the auspices of the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) with the blessings of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF).

According to the details made available by the PBSA Secretariat, Muhammad Bilal, Babar Masih and Haris Tahir are set to fly out from Lahore to Jinan, China, on Friday (today). The event is being hosted by the Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association (CBSA) from October 28 to 31.

The total prize money of the event is $40,000 with the winner to receive $12,000 and the runner-up to get $6,000.The top 24 cueists, including the IBSF and regional snooker players will participate in this tour, together with the Asian champions of 2018.

The Pakistan players qualified for this event on the basis of their performances in the ACBS events of 2018.Bilal was the losing semi-finalist in the Asian Snooker Championship. Babar was the losing semi-finalist in Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship. Haris was the runner-up in the Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship.

The PBSA chairman said that Bilal, one of the premier cueists of the country, has made Pakistan proud as he triumphed in the opening round of the event, staged at the QBSF Snooker Academy in Doha from September 26 to 29.

“Bilal has got off to a dream start in the Asian Tour Event and he has a golden chance of emulating his feat. He has shown that he can handle the pressure of big matches and here is another opportunity for him to collect a fabulous purse again,” Valika observed in a brief chat here at the Karachi Club on Thursday.

“Bilal’s performance is a source of inspiration to the whole lot. The confidence of Babar and Haris has been boosted by the title win of Bilal in Doha and they can make it count in the Chinese city of Jinan,” the PBSA Chairman said.