National snooker championship to have 56 cueists

KARACHI: A record number of 56 cueists from all over the country will be participating in the Jubilee Insurance 44th National Snooker Championship 2019 to be staged here at the Karachi Gymkhana from March 20 to 30.

The details about the 11-day event, which was originally scheduled to be held last month, were unveiled by Munawwar Hussain Shaikh, Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) President.

It was disclosed that the participants would be divided in eight groups for the preliminary rounds at the end of which the top two cueists from each group would be advancing to the knockout phase, starting from pre-quarter-finals. Both the semi-finals as well as the final are due to be telecast live by Geo Super.

The total prize money will be Rs272,000 with the winner to take home Rs100,000 and the runner-up to collect Rs50,000. The losing semi-finalists will be receiving Rs20,000 each, the losing quarter-finalists Rs10,000 each and the losing pre-quarter-finalists Rs4,000 each.

The highest break of the competition will earn the player a purse of Rs10,000. The PBSA will be paying handsome TA/DA to the outstation participants and the local cueists will also be given daily conveyance allowance. The championship is likely to cost the organizers around Rs3 million.

Jubilee Insurance Managing Director Tahir Ahmed threw light on the decade-long association of his company with the PBSA, recalling that Pakistan’s cueists have done wonders in this period, bringing home the world title, the junior world crown and the world team gold medal. He described snooker as the most popular game among the youth after cricket.

While acknowledging the consistent sponsorship support from Jubilee Insurance over the past 11 years, PBSA co-chairman Alamgir Shaikh spoke about the financial constraints being faced by the body due to non-release of funds by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).

Munawwar revealed that wildcard entries have been awarded to youngsters Mubashir Raza and Muhammad Shahbaz, while the champions of the national under-16, -18 and -21 competitions have also been granted entry.

Karachi Gymkhana president Fawad Malik vowed to continue supporting the cause of cue sports.Babar Masih from Punjab is the top seed for the event while defending champion Muhammad Asif, also from Punjab, is the second seed. Local cueist Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir is seeded third. Fourth seed Majid Ali and fifth seed Muhammad Bilal hail from Punjab, while sixth seed Sharjeel Mahmood is from Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

Seventh seed Shahid Aftab, a former champion, comes from Punjab, while eighth seed Rambail Gul belongs to Khyber Pakthunkhwa.