Mumbai, Mar 25 (IANS): Defending champion and India's most successful sportsperson, Pankaj Advani will certainly aim to continue his winning streak at the upcoming CCI Billiards Classic 2024, set to begin on Tuesday at the Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Sir Wilson Jones Billiards Hall.

With an impressive track record of 27 World Championship titles, Advani has showcased exceptional skills in cue sports, securing three consecutive victories at CCI in the past year. Having claimed the CCI Classic Snooker title in January 2023 and successfully defending it recently, he will now be eyeing another triumph in the upcoming tournament.

However, Advani will face tough competition from top Indian players like, National Champion Dhruv Sitwala, National Championship runner-up Sourav Kothari, and Maharashtra No.1 Mahesh Jagdale, as well as international players, including multiple-time World champion Peter Gilchrist of Singapore and Englishmen David Causier, Peter Sheehan, Chris Taylor, and last year's runner-up Rob Hall.

Former World Champions like Rupesh Shah, Ashok Shandilya, and Devendra Joshi will also be vying for the title, making the tournament a highly competitive event.

With a prize purse of Rs 10.15 lakh, the CCI Billiards Classic 2024, organised by the Cricket Club of India, is one of the most lucrative tournaments in the country. The championship winner will receive Rs 2,50,000 and a trophy, while the runner-up will be awarded Rs 1,50,000. Prize money will be distributed to semifinalists, quarterfinalists, pre-quarterfinalists, and players not advancing to the knockout phase. Additionally, a prize of Rs 25,000 will be given to the player with the highest break.

The tournament format will feature 24 seeded players and eight qualifiers in the main draw, divided into eight groups for round-robin league matches. The top two players from each group will move on to the knockout stage. With top cueists in the fray, the tournament promises high-quality billiards action. Enthusiastic billiards fans can be assured of witnessing exciting and captivating battles for supremacy as players will vie for the prestigious title and cash prizes at the CCI Billiards Classic 2024.

The Groupings:

Group-A: Pankaj Advani, Rayaan Razmi, Devendra Joshi, Rovin D’Souza.

Group-B: Rob Hall (UK), Rupesh Shah, Ashok Shandilya, Nishan Dossa,

Group-C: David Causier (UK), Mahesh Jagdale, Vishal Madan, Aditya Agrawal.

Group-D: Peter Gilchrist (SIN), S. Srikrishna, Nikhil Oootam, Akshay Gogri.

Group-E: Dhruv Sitwala, Shahyan Razmi, Kamal Chawla, Rishabh Thakkar.

Group-F: Sourav Kothari, Alok Kumar, Rohan Jambusaria, Rishabh Kumar.

Group-G: Dhvaj Haria, Peter Sheehan (UK), Loukic Pathare, Rajeev Sharma.

Group-H: Siddharth Parikh, Chris Taylor, Arun Agrawal, Kanishk Jhankharia.