The Convener of the maiden Oyo State Pool Champions League, Mr Oluwatosin Odita, says a grand prize of one million Naira will be at stake for competitors.
Odita who disclosed this on Tuesday at a news conference at the Ibadan Recreation Club (IRC) added that he was promising a hitch-free tournament.
He said the five-day tournament would feature players from many parts of the country jostling for the grand prize.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tournament will hold from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 and feature 32 players.
The convener said the best 16 players would move from the opening round to the quarter-finals, before advancing to the semi-finals and final.
“There are games each day of the week, from the preliminaries, quarter-finals and semi-finals, while all matches of the tournament will hold at the Black Nile Lounge in Bodija every day.
“Then, the final will be at the Billionaires Section of Ibadan Recreation club,” he said.
Odita said the real essence of the tournament was to have a community of players first and also identify them as pool players.
He said the new talents would be merged with players from Lagos and then the sport’s umbrella body would partner with international bodies to export the players.
“The tournament will create an academy for the younger ones and catch them young to master the technicality of the game.
“Plans are ongoing to enroll the players on a coaching course in the UK governing body for pool annually.
“The certificate can enable the players become coaches anywhere in the world in the future, thereby giving back to the people by training them,” Odita said.
NAN reports that the tournament’s overall winner will get N1 million and a trophy while the first runners-up will receive N500,000 and the second runners-up N300,000.
This will go with the presentation of certificates to all participants in the league.
Chairman of IRC’s Billiards and Snooker Section, Mr Mbim Okutiyang, said the section was giving Nigerians the opportunity to play with standard tables recognised globally in snooker and pool.
He said the tournament would serve as an opportunity for people to know what IRC is all about and what it offers.
Also, the Chairman, Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Mr Adebowale Falana, said there was the need to engage youths in sports, especially in other sports aside football.
He urged the youths in the country to come out in great numbers to showcase their talents at the tournament.
“The focus is not only based on football, as the agency has been doing a lot in helping youths to discover their talents,” Falana said.
He pledged the agency’s moral and financial support to make the league a memorable one.(NAN).
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