Doha: Qatar Snooker and Billiards Federation (QBSF) will host the 2013 World 9-Ball Championship (W9BC) of the World Pool-Billiard Association from September 2 at the Al Arabi Hall, it was announced here yesterday. The 10-day championship, sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) and the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU), will be held in two stages.
The preliminary stage, which begins on Monday, will be contested by 133 players and will end on September 5.
“Twelve players gain entry for the second stage through the qualifying stage, while the defending champion and the top 24 players in the WPA ranking system are guaranteed spots in the main draw,” Ehab A F Al Salih Technical Secretary of QBSF, said.
“Places in the main draw are also allocated to players based on the players performance in their respective continental federations. The final stage of the event will also include wild card entries,” he added.
The second stage, to be contested by 128 players, will begin on September 7 and will end with the final on September 11.
“There are 128 players in the main event (Stage 2) of the W9BC. In the group round, the players are divided into 16 groups of 8 players each. Four players from each group advance into the ‘Last 64’ final round. Two from winner’s bracket will be seeded into ‘Final Round’ according to their results from group rounds. Two from loser’s bracket will be drawn randomly,” the QBSF official said.
Stage 1 qualifying tournaments will follow the single elimination, race to 7, alternate break format.
The winner of the event will get $36,000 and the runner-up $18,000. The losing semi-finalists will each get $10,000, while fifth to eight place winners will $6,000 each.
The total prize money for the entire tournament is $250,000.
Darren Appelton of England defeated China’s Lee He Wen to win last year’s title in Doha. The QSBF has signed an agreement with WPA by virtue of which Qatar have the right to host the championship till 2017. THE PENINSULA
