The four owners (from left) Liong Wu Ung, Ngu Leh Ming, Lau Cheng Siu and Mark Yeo jointly officiate at the tournament’s opening last Sunday.
SIBU: The inaugural 2016 Sibu Snooker Challenge, organised jointly by four snooker centres here, finally got off to a flying start at Executive 3 Snooker Centre at Medan Commercial Centre last Sunday.
The four centres are Sibu Executive 3 Snooker Centre, Cueball International, Lucky 7 Snooker Club and Central Point Snooker Center.
A total of 32 players, with four representing each centre, will vie for the title.
Tournament director Danny Wong said the top four in the championship would be picked to represent Sibu in the coming Sarawak Closed to be held in Sarikei Cue Repok Center from May 2-7.
Wong, who mooted the idea to stage the tournament a few years back, said the objective was to ensure that the sport stays relevant.
“We want to ensure that local players are provided with a platform and a venue to showcase their abilities and their potting skills. We believe that this will not only help popularise but also upgrade the sport in the long run,” he added in an exclusive interview.
The month-long tournament will be played on a group basis with the opening held at Executive 3.
The closing ceremony will be held at Cueball International at the later stage.
“If the sport can generate keen participation from the local snooker enthusiasts, we may expand the number of participating centres for the next edition.”
The top four players from each group will qualify for the last 16 which would be played on a single knock-out basis from there onwards.
The champion will receive a cash prize of RM800, runner-up (RM400), semi-finalists (RM200 each) and quarter-finalists (RM100 each).
The player achieving the highest break of a minimum of 70 points will also walk away with RM500, sponsored by Mark Yeo, one of Executive 3 Snooker Centre’s owners.
Wong expressed confidence that the new system would help popularise the sport as it comprised players from the respective snooker centers.
“There will be bigger integration of players from the respective snooker centres and this will help foster closer rapport among the players but also push the standard of the sport to a higher level.”