Dubai: Some of the best 9-ball billiards players from the Middle East are expected to be in action when the next edition of the Dubai Airports 9 Ball Championships takes place here from next week.
Held under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Airports and Emirates Group, the second edition of this annual tournament was formally announced at Terminal 3 on Monday in the presence of Tamjid Abdullah from the UAE Billiards and Snooker Association (UAE BSA), Harmeek Singh from title sponsors Plan B and Hesham Al Hendi from organisers Pro 9 Sports.
During its inaugural edition last year, the tournament drew participation from 93 cueists. This year’s competition, which was thrown open to employees of all other airports in the UAE, has been over-subscribed and organisers Pro9 have been forced to keep a cut-off for the first 128 entries.
With a total prize fund of Dh72,000, the preliminary rounds of the competition will get under way at Flamingo Billiards on Oud Metha Road near Al Nasr Club from 1 pm on June 17. The top three players from each group will advance to the knock-out round of 48 after. The semi-finals and final will be held at Terminal 3 on June 23 and 24.
Abdullah Mohammad of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) upset fancied Majid Sultan Al Joker 10-5 in last year’s final while Mohammad Ahmad Bel Qaizi and Rashid Al Khaili took the next two spots.
“We are pleased with the way in which this competition has grown. After the success of last year, we decided to throw the tournament open for employees of all airports including Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah,” Tournament Director Meshari Al Bannai, Vice-President, Human Resources, Dubai Airports, told Gulf News. “The response has been huge and we hope this can lead to an all airports 9 Ball billiards competition for airports from the Middle East in 2015,” he added.
“Just like Dubai has its ambitions as a city, we too at the Dubai Airports want to keep pace with these ambitions. Our goals are set to have this competition as possibly one of the best tournaments in the region in the future.”
