Chinese rising star Xu Si is among the hundreds of talents expected to showcase their skills at the 1st Asian Billiard Sports Championship which will be held at the Concorde Al-Fujairah Hotel in Al Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates.
In all, a total of 223 entries from 17 countries have been received for this first of its kind Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS)-organised tournament taking place from September 24 to October 2, 2016.
Players will compete in 11 disciplines including English Billiards Men (100 Points Format), Carom One Cushion, Carom Three Cushion, 9 Ball Pool Men, 9 Ball Pool Women, 9 Ball Pool Double and Chinese 8 Ball. Others are Snooker Single Men (15 Reds), Snooker Team Men, Snooker Single Men (6 Reds) and Snooker Single Women (6 Reds).
The participating countries are Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Maldives, Qatar, Vietnam, Yemen, Palestine, Pakistan, Mongolia and the hosts United Arab Emirates.
Si, who became the 2016 IBSF World Under-21 Champion, after a dramatic comeback win over Alexander Ursenbacher in the final in Belgium in August, will compete in the Snooker Single Men (6 Reds) alongside compatriot Chen Zifan, Habib Sabah from Bahrain, India’s Kamal Chawla, Hwang Chulho of South Korea among others.
Qatar’s only professional snooker player, Ahmed Saif, will equally be on parade at the nine-day event where he will be showcasing his skills in the Snooker Single Men (15 Reds) as well as the Snooker Single Men (6 Reds).
Although with no prize money at stake (the tournament is considered and played like multi-sport games), the tournament is aimed at furthering the development of the sport in the continent as well as to help the up and coming talents gathered the needed exposure.
Speaking about the entries, ACBS President Mubarak Hamad al Khayarin said, “The quality of the field is very impressive, which is an indication of the wide acceptance of the tournament. All hands are on deck to ensure a good outing and we hope to further build on its outcome.”
Winners in the different disciplines shall be awarded with medals and trophies.
