Joeberto Panga secured a thrilling 15-13 victory to claim the inaugural ENOC Billiards Championships, which concluded at the Millennium Avenue late on Wednesday.

The ENOC-sponsored championship, with a total prizemoney of Dh25,000, had attracted 128 players from all over the UAE.

This competition was a UAE Open ranking tournament, held under the auspices of the UAE Billiards and Snooker Association (UAE BSA).

UAE BSA members Jassim Al Rais, Khalid Al Raisi, Khalid Al Hadi from sponsors ENOC and Abdul Salam Al Hammadi, purchasing manager of EPPCO, were among those present at the awards ceremony.

The final was never devoid of action with Panga powering his way to an early 5-2 lead.

"I had my chances to win the first three rucks," Manalo lamented after the final.

But the 21-year-old Panga, an in-house coach at the Millennium Avenue, had the added advantage of playing on home turf.

"I did not make use of the chances that came my way," said a disappointed Manalo, a billiards coach at the Dubai Snooker Club.

The younger Panga was in no mood to relax as he moved away further to a 9-5 lead. The 28-year-old Manalo staged a fantastic comeback to equalise 10-10 and then on to 13-13.

The 27th ruck proved to be the turning point of the encounter as Panga came up with an utterly amazing shot, which sealed the tie in his favour 14-13. He then blitzed his way to victory.

Twelve-year-old Sultan Al Junaibi was given a special award for being the youngest player in the competition.

Earlier in the semifinals, Panga had defeated Hani Al Khoory 13-8, while Manalo had got past Ali Abdul Kareem 13-6.

Panga pocketed the top prize of Dh7,000, while Manalo bagged Dh4,000 for his efforts.