Pro-Am snooker in May

Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta will participate in the RKG-Khar Gymkhana Snooker Masters 2013, India’s biggest Pro-Am snooker tournament, from May 6 to 13.

The tournament will boast of four top UK professionals, Advani, Mehta, Yasin Merchant and a wild card entrant, a release from the organisers said.

They will be joined by 16 qualifiers from across four venues in India -- Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Pune.

The prize money is the biggest offered in India with the winner’s purse being Rs 5 lakh. Two professionals, Anthony Mcgill and Jamie Jones, have confirmed their participation while Stephen Lee and Nigel Bond have expressed their desire to be a part of this tournament.

The qualifiers for the main championship started on Friday in Chennai with a total participation of 90 players. Each player needs to reach the semifinals to qualify for the main event.

The cueists, who fail to make the main round in the first qualifying event, will get three more chances.