Dubai: Two former champions will be among the hopefuls competing in the Third Dubai Airports 9-Ball Billiards Championships to be held from September 9 to 16.
Defending champion Mohammad Ahmad Bel Qazi from Dubai Airport Customs and 2013 winner Abdullah Mohammad Al Karmastaji will be joined by more than 200 other players for this year’s competition, which was announced on Thursday and is scheduled to be held at two venues.
The preliminary rounds will be at the 8-Ball Billiards Centre in Al Mamzar, while the semi-finals and final will take place at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport.
Al Karmastaji, who skipped defending his crown last year due to a Masters event in Qatar, was confident he will be at his best for the domestic event that has a total prize fund of Dh60,000.
“I’ve definitely got expectations for myself this year, even though I know it will not be easy in a really tough competition,” Al Karmastaji told Gulf News after the announcement of the tournament by Abdullah Al Najjar.
“In billiards at least 20 per cent is luck and the rest is game sense along with focus and concentration. I have been training hard for the past few weeks and that should come in handy during this competition.”
Majid Sultan Al Joker, who lost 11-10 in the final to finish as runner-up last year, was also confident. “One more year and I have more experience. I am feeling confident for sure,” he said.
Tournament Director Al Najjar, who confirmed the participation of defending champion Bel Qazi, expects this year’s edition to be the strongest since the event was launched three years ago.
“All the international players have already confirmed and this bodes well for the competition. This year there is also an international tournament in the region, but these players have opted to participate in Dubai and that means we have established a reputation for our event,” Al Najjar said.
The annual tournament is sponsored by Zabeel Advertising, EBM, AV Concepts, Rapid Stall, O’Brien, Knight Shot and 8-Ball Billiard Club.
