KARACHI, Aug 28: Mohammad Yousuf who has surged to top slot in the latest national ranking, is drawn to meet 16th seed Rambel Gul in the opener as 16 leading players battle for glory in the 21st Latif Masters’ Snooker Championship, which begins at the Karachi Club on Wednesday.

He is drawn in group ‘A’ alongside his arch-rival Saleh Mohammad. The other players in the group are Khurram Agha, Imtiaz Serwer, Raees Khan, Sohail Shehzad, Mohammad Riaz and Rambel Gul.

Group ‘B’ consist of Abu Saim, Naveen Perwani, Imran Shahzad, Shehram Changezi, Mohammad Nazeer, Vishan Gir, Atif Mughal and Mohammad Shahid.

Yousuf, 55, went down to Shehram Changezi in the 16th Snooker Cup final, the third ranking event of the year, held at Islamabad last month.

“I’m in top form and confident of winning the crown,” the former world amateur champion who ended his title jinx in 10th Style Cup last year, told Dawn on Tuesday.

Defending champion and third seed Naveen Perwani who clinched the maiden national title earlier this year is drawn to face Atif Mughal in his opening match. Naveen has won the Masters four times since its inception.

Saleh Mohammad, a former national champion, lifted the Style Cup following his return to the domestic circuit after being pardoned by the PBSA for violating the code of conduct.

The event carries a total prize money of Rs185,000 with the winner getting a purse of Rs100,000 and runner up Rs55,000.

According to the format, the top two players with maximum points will make it to the best of 11 frames final after league completions. The final is slated for Sept 2.

The league matches will be of the best of six frames. One point will be awarded for each frame won, in addition to one bonus point for a break of 50-99 and two bonus points for a century break.

Meanwhile, Yousuf has criticised the format saying it didn’t suit players.

Wednesday’s fixtures:

Mohammad Yousuf v Rambel Gul, Khurram Agha v Sohail Shehzad, Saleh Mohammad v Mohammad Riaz, Imtiaz Serwer v Raees Khan (10.00am); Abu Saim v Mohammad Shahid, Imran Shahzad v Vishan Gir, Naveen Perwani v Atif Mughal, Shehram Changezi v Mohammad Nazeer (12.00noon); Mohammad Yousuf v Sohail Shehzad, Khurram Agha v Rambel Gul, Saleh Mohammad v Raees Khan, Imtiaz Serwer v Mohammad Riaz (2.00pm); Abu Saim v Vishan Gir, Imran Shahzad v Mohammad Shahid, Naveen Perwani v Mohammad Nazeer, Shehram Changezi v Atif Mughal.