6-red snooker to kick off tomorrow

“The qualification rounds for men will start on Sunday,” said S Balasubramaniam, vice-president of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India, at a press conference here on Friday.

“The rolling trophy is named after OB Agarwal (the first Indian to win the IBSF World Billiards Championship in 1983) and will be sponsored by Om Agarwal Charitable Trust.”

Following the qualification rounds to will be held on a knockout basis, 64 men will be draft-picked into 16 groups, which will each feature one seeded player given direct entry on the basis of the previous National snooker (15-red) performance.

The cueists from the 16 groups will then battle each other on a league basis in the main draw beginning on March 9, with the top two from each group qualifying for the round of 32.
The ladies have been divided into four groups of five each, with the top two qualifying for the quarterfinals.