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Sourav kothari

Mumbai, June 27: Royal Strikers will bank on their big catch, Kolkata’s Sourav Kothari, to deliver the goods when they take on Saffron Army in the opening Pool-A match of the Rs 20 lakh prize money inaugural LIC-Snooker Premier League, which will commence at the Garware Club House from Tuesday, June 28, 2016. The match will start at 10.30 am.

Kothari, who is the current National billiards champion and winner of the 2014 Asian billiards title, was picked by Royal Strikers for the highest bid price of Rs 85,000. The Kolkata cueist will now have to lead from the front and with support from teammates, Alok Kumar, a multiple National champion, Hasan Badami, Sunil Jain, Nishant Dossa and Arantxa Sanchis, one of the two women cueists, participating in the tournament, have to work their magic together to try and get the best possible results for the team.

The Saffron Army team comprises of Anuj Uppal, Asutosh Padhy, Pushpender Singh, Zubin Lelinwalla, Karthik Jhaveri and Saumil Karkera, will be no pushovers and could provide quite a challenge and ensure an interesting contest on the morrow.

In other first session matches on the first day, will be played between SPG Dark Knights and UNNICA Challengers in Pool-A and Satrangi Squad versus Ottoman Army in Pool-B. The second session will consist of four matches and will start at 4.00 pm.

The tournament has attracted the cream of Indian cueists, including the likes of former two-time Asian champions Yasin Merchant, Delhi’s Manan Chandra, who has to his credit 13 National titles from snooker 9-ball pool and 8-ball pool, Faizal Khan a Gold medallist at the Asian Snooker Team Championship in 2014 and who has the distinction of making the maximum break of 147 and Kamal Chawla, the current 6-Red Snooker National Champion and a Gold medal winner in the Asian Team Snooker 2014.

Yasin was happy about the entire concept of the tournament. “It’s a great endeavour, a great initiative. I think this is a good platform to popularize the sport, attract more players and spectators and certainly the    sports will grow,” Yasin opined.

“This year is a trial run and there may be some glitches, which we can learn from, but I am confident that this tournament will catch on someday,” he further stated.
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s young talent Ishpreet Singh Chadha, who was the third costliest player in the auction and picked by Mumbai Stars, exuded confidence of giving his best. “This is a unique tournament, which is a team event, and I am looking forward to our first match. I am confident of playing well and hope to contribute towards the success of my team,” said Ishpreet, who is also preparing for the 2016 Indian Open to be held in Hyderabad early next month.

“If I do well and win my matches in the SPL, it would certainly help boost my confidence, added Ishpreet, who will be playing the qualifying round in Hyderabad.

The Snooker Premier League is being conducted by the Billiards and Snooker Association of Maharashtra (BSAM). All matches will be streaming live on www.bsam.in While Garware Club House is the Venue Partner, the other partners to the event are Table Sponsor, Sharma Billiards Accessories, Technology Partner, Videocon and BSAM Sponsors Phondaghat Pharmacy and Wiraka.
A total of 10 franchise-based teams, Shivaji Park Gymkhana Knight Riders; Ottomans; Mumbai Stars; R rockets; Unnica; Frame Masters; Royal Strikers; Satrangi Squad; Saffron Army and The Break Builders are will feature in the Snooker Premier League.
The winners of the Snooker Premier League will stands to gain Rs 8 lakhs, with the runner-up team taking home Rs 6 lakhs. The 3rd placed team will win Rs 3.5 lakhs, with Rs 2.5 lakhs going to the 4th placed team.
Format of the Snooker Premier League