NATIONAL champions Timothy Onida and Alice Chiota will return to the table when they lead Zimbabwe’s finest pool players into the Carling Black Label National Pool Tournament finals in Masvingo on Saturday.
The pair headline a field of 80 finalists who earned their places after coming through regional qualifiers held in 31 regions across the country. The national finals will be played on July 11, with the country’s best men and women competing for the biggest prizes in local pool.
Onida, who impressed with his calm and consistent performances to win last year’s title, is expected to face stiff competition from Liberty Nyika, Godknows Masona, Adrian Shumba and Tinashe Desha.
The women’s competition is equally strong, with Chiota looking to hold off challenges from Christine Sengwe, Perpetual Nyamayaro, Sandra Khumalo and Melody Mupanga.
The winners in both categories will receive US$2,500 and a pool table, while the runners up will take home US$1,500. Third and fourth place finishers will receive US$1,000 and US$500 respectively.
This year’s tournament has continued to grow in popularity, attracting large crowds during the regional qualifiers and bringing business to bars and other traders that hosted the matches.
Delta Beverages Marketing Manager for the Lagers Business Unit, Kundayi Mawema, said the competition continues to improve every year.
“We are proud of the progress we continue to see in the sport. The growth in participation and the elevated level of play reflect the passion and commitment from players across the country. We commend everyone who took part and contributed to making this tournament a success,” Mawema said.
She said one of the biggest achievements of this year’s tournament was the continued increase in the number of women taking part.
Carling Black Label says it will continue investing in grassroots tournaments and community competitions to help discover and develop more players across Zimbabwe.
With national pride, prize money and the championship title at stake, all eyes will be on Masvingo as Zimbabwe’s top cueists battle to be crowned the country’s best.
