KARACHI: Reigning world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Asif will be on watch when the Jubilee Insurance 38th National snooker championship cues off at the Karachi Gymkhana on Sunday under a new format.

The fraternity of the game is eagerly looking forward to watching Asif, who is also defending champion, for the first time after he reached the zenith in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec 2 last.

The details of the country’s premier snooker championship were announced by president of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF), Alamgir Shaikh, at a news conference at Karachi Gymkhana on Wednesday. Mr. Tahir Ahmed of Jubilee Insurance was also present.

Outlining salient features of the event, the PBSF chief said 40 cueists including finalists of the recently-held national under-21 championship, will vie for honours in the competition which concludes on March 25.

The remaining three ranking events will be contested by 32, 24 and 16 cueists respectively and top eight of the national ranking after the last event will earn direct qualification for next year, he added.

The participants have been equally drawn into eight groups and top two from each will qualify for the pre quarter-finals.

He said the prize money has been increased by Rs51,000 making it to an overall Rs252,000. According to break-up, the winner will earn Rs80,000 while the runner-up gets Rs70,000. A purse of Rs25,000 has been set aside for highest break which include Rs15,000 announced by KG.

Top two players of the event will qualify for 29th Asian snooker championship being held in the city from April 27 to May 3.

At the outset, he thanked the sponsors for sharing the burden by sponsoring couple of events of the domestic and international circuit.

He also gave a resume of the upcoming Asian spectacle and hoped some 20 to 25 countries will feature in the event. Some nations including India, Afghanistan and Iran have already confirmed their participation, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Tahir Ahmed said today he was proud of his association with the PBSF which has produced world champion in Asif.

He assured that Jubilee Insurance will continue to support the game in future also.

Groups: “A”: Mohammad Asif (Punjab), Babar Masih (Punjab), Saqib Bashir (Balochistan), Amir Shahzad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Ishtiaq (Sindh).

“B”: Asjad Iqbal (Punjab), Abu Saim (Punjab), Shafiullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Najeebullah Khan (Balochistan), Amir Rasheed (Punjab).

“C”: Sultan Mohammad (Sindh), Mohammad Yousuf (Punjab), Abdul Majid (Sindh), Farhan Noor (Punjab), Raja Akaash (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

“D”: Sohail Shehzad (Sindh), Umair Alam (Sindh), Hamza Akbar (Punjab), Mohammad Uzair Aziz (Sindh), Qamar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).

“E”: Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab), Mohammad Majid Ali (Punjab), Bahadur Khan (Balochistan), Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Javed Ansari (Sindh).

“F”: Mohammad Javed (Punjab), Abdul Sattar (Sindh), Islamabad No 1, Abdul Rehman (Balochistan), Mohamad Bilal (Punjab).

“G”: Shahid Aftab (Punjab), Vishan Gir (Sindh), Shah Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khizar Aziz (Sindh), Amir Tariq (Punjab).

“H”: Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khurram Agha (Sindh), Naveen Perwani (Sindh), Imran Shehzad (Punjab), Mohsin Amin (Punjab).