Pro snooker event to be held in March

The event, an endeavour by BSFI to boost the profile of the sport in the country and make it more lucrative, is scheduled to be held from February 27 to March 4, 2012 with the venue yet to be decided.

“We are yet to take a call on the venue,” said BSFI Secretary S Balasubramaniam. “The event involves huge prize money, so the venue will be finalised only after consultations with the sponsors. We might have a venue in mind but the sponsor would want to stage it in a different city for better visibility. It’s all in the early stages and things should fall in place in the next few months.”

The event will offer 2,50,000 pound sterlings as prize money with a total field of 96 players. As the host of the tournament, India will get to field six wild cards which will be decided following a selection trial.  The wild cards will be eligible for prize money but will not get any ranking points.

“Getting a sponsor should not be difficult,” Balasubramaniam said. “We have always excelled in cue sports and looking at the response for such an event in China, sponsors should be obliging. In fact, we are also following the Chinese model.

“We are thinking of hiring a sports management company who could lobby for us but at the same time we would also be trying on our own. I am confident everything will be finalised in the 4-5 months.”