Cue sports enthusiasts are certainly going to be treated to some mouth-watering contests as eight teams, comprising of Maharashtra’s top-notch cueists, including iconic billiards players (with a handicap of over -190), will battle for glory in the Rs 10 lakh prize-money 2nd Videocon-Billiards Premier League (BPL) 2015, organized by BSAM (Billiards & Snooker Association of Maharashtra) and to be played in five venues across the city from August 19 to 27, 2015. The BPL 2015 is being ‘Powered by Videocon’ and hosted by Bombay Gymkhana, while NSCI, Garware Club House, P.J. Hindu Gymkhana and Cricket Club of India are the Venue Partners and the Hospitality Partner is ‘UNICCA’.
The teams that will be competing for the winners’ purse of Rs 3.20 lakh are Rajdhani Ke Aryans (owners Rishabh Kumar, Gaurav Goenka & Nakul Arya), SPG Billiardiers (Shivaji Park Gymkhana), Ottoman (Sanjiv Bijlani), Adamo Potters (Atit Agarwal, Rahul Kothari, Kunal Shah & Chirag Parekh), Siddhanth Strikers (Babu Bhai & Siddhanth Rakshe), Mumbai Stars (Sanjay Naik), RRockets (Raajeev Sharma) and Race for Gold (Gurjit Dhingra & Yashmann Pathak).
The opening round of four matches, cue-off simultaneously at the NSCI billiards hall on Wednesday, August 19 from 6.00pm onwards.
Ottomas outfit which comprises of recently crowned Asian Billiards Champion, Dhruv Sitwala (-240 handicap), will cross swords with SPG Billiardiers with former world pro billiards runner-up Devendra Joshi (-190) in the team. The Adamo Potters team which include Siddharth Parikh (-240) will clash with Siddhanth Strikers, who have Arun Agrawal (-190) in their ranks.
In the other two matches, Mumbai Stars who have roped in former Asian Games gold medalists Ashok Shandilaya (-190) are up against Race for Gold who will bank youngster Jaiveer Dhingra (-190) to led them to victory. RRockets, with the lone player from outside Mumbai, Dhvaj Haria (-190) from Gujarat, will face off against Rajdhani Ke Aryans who will have the experience of seasoned pro Nalin Patel (-210) as the core member of the team.
The tournament committee comprises of Devendra Joshi, Ashok Shandilya, Derek Sippy, Manav Panchal and Ronnie Daruwalla.
Each seam consists of a minimum & a maximum of 6 players. A player can play more than 2 frames per match, but he cannot play consecutive frames in a match. Every player in the team has to play 4 frames in the league stage or he shall not be allowed to play in the ties & playoffs. A penalty of 2 points per such player shall be deducted from the total points.
Every player has been given a handicap based on the BSAM Billiard League & the BGPL (as reference). The handicaps will not be revised during the course of the league. Handicaps may however be revised before the playoffs.
Following are the teams and their respective owners: Rajdhani Ke Aryans (Rishabh Kumar, Gaurav Goenka, Nakul Arya), SPG Billiardiers (Shivaji Park Gymkhana), Ottoman (Sanjiv Bijlani), Adamo Potters (Atit Agarwal, Rahul Kothari, Kunal Shah & Chirag Parekh), Siddhanth Strikers (Babu Bhai & Siddhanth Rakshe), Mumbai Stars (Sanjay Naik), R Rockets (Raajeev Sharma), Race for Gold (Gurjit Dhingra & Yashmann Pathak).
The iconic players: Dhruv Sitvala (handicap -240); Siddharth Parikh (240); Nalin Patel (-210); Ashok Shandilya, Devendra Joshi, Jaiveer Dhingra, Arun Agrawal, Dhvaj Haria, all -190.
Format: League Stage (All Frames are 100 Up best of 5)
Order of Frames:
Game 1: 100 Up (Singles).
Game 2: 100 Up (Singles).
Game 3: Double Trouble (Regular Doubles – any combination is allowed).
Game 4: 100 Up (Singles).
Game 5: 100 Up (Singles).
Prize-money break up:
Winners: Rs 3,20,000.
Runners-up: Rs 2,70,000.
Third place: Rs 2,20,000.
Fourth place: Rs 1,70,000.
Event Sponsor: Videocon
Event Host: Bombay Gymkhana
Other Venue Partners: NSCI, Garware Club, P.J.Hindu Gymkhana and CCI.
Hospitality Partner: ‘UNICCA’.
Event Organisers: BSAM.