The third and final leg of the ACBS Asian Snooker Tour will commence at the Karnataka State Billiards Association here on Monday.
A total of 24 players from 10 countries will compete in this $40,000 prize money 10-red snooker tournament.
Pankaj Advani, Manan Chandra, Laxman Rawat, Kamal Chawla, Aditya Mehta, Sourav Kothari, Sundeep Gulati and Yogesh Kumar are the Indians in action. The field also consists of former professionals like Welsh cueists Darren Morgan, Andrew Pagget and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon of Thailand.
The players will be divided into groups of three, with the top-two progressing to the last-16 knockout round.
Pakistan’s Mohammed Bilal had won the first leg at Doha, while Advani took the title in the second leg held at Jinan (China).
Bilal will not compete in this leg; there are no other entries from Pakistan either.
Asked if players from Pakistan faced visa issues, Michael Al-Khoury, secretary general of the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports (ACBS), replied, “It was not a visa-related problem. They had some personal issues”
Advani, who also dons the role of KSBA honorary joint secretary, stated, “Bengaluru is hosting a 10-red snooker event of this magnitude for the first time. It will be exciting to see what this new format brings.”
Advani tops the Asian Snooker Tour rankings, while Bilal is second. Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka Wai lies third.
