JOIN US“Not many are willing to invest in IBSF; they rather put the money on the pro tour (World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association),” IBSF general secretary Mohammed Kammah told reporters two days ahead of the World Snooker Championship here.
“The quality and standard of the pro tour is much higher than IBSF; top players there consistently clear the table while in IBSF many struggle to string together 20 regularly. Why would one invest here when they get better quality there,” added the Egyptian whose views were also echoed by board member and tournament director Barrie Jones.
“We are just the wings of the pro tour. However, what sets the IBSF apart is that it gives equal opportunities to any player from any part of the world. The WPBSA is a like a limited company where only the cream gets to play. Currently, only the winner of the IBSF championship gets a pro tour berth and we are negotiating with WPBSA to increase the number,” said Jones.
Apart from the World and Asian championship, cueists in India hardly get a chance to compete internationally and Jones said the onus lies on the respective federation. “It all depends on the individual regions and how they are structured. In the Oceania region -- from where I am -- we have 12 ranking tournaments and the players get plenty of competition. I would have thought countries like India, China and other developing nations have a lot of tournaments. The IBSF, presently, do not have any plans to increase the tournaments. The main reason being we just act as a foundation for the affiliated federations and players willing to graduate to the professional tour.”
The Australian praised India for getting the stage ready in quick time. “Had this event not happened, we would’ve lost a chance to nominate a player for the pro tour. As you are aware, India was set to host the World 6-red snooker championship but with Bahrain unable to host the 15-red World Championship and replacement China backing out, we requested India to stage it instead. To be able to conduct an event at such a short notice and the ability to condense the entire event to within six days is amazing. I don’t think anybody else could have done it,” noted Jones.
When asked if the points format was the way forward in billiards, Jones felt time format was the real test and will continue to be.
“I am a purist. I always like the time format and always will. There is strong argument that the points format is the way forward and I buy it to a large extent. But, I would like to see the time format being played at least once every two years or four years. There is an enormous amount of history in the trophies provided for the champions of world billiards. I would not want to see the winner of the points format being presented the same trophy that was won by some of the greats. If you think points format is the way forward, then create a new trophy and have the time once every two or four years. However, this is my personal opinion.”
Damani, Reddy get nod
The Billiards and Snooker Federation announced that Brijesh Damani and Balaji Reddy will replace the two Qataris who pulled out of the tournament due to visa problems.