Get ready for another Sonic boom

However, as things stand, the finalists of the Mumbai tourney would be adjusted in the draw accordingly. “We want all the top players to participate. Therefore we don’t mind a little change in the schedule,” explained KSBA secretary T Srinivas.

The senior draw shows 32 players divided into eight groups for the preliminary league phase, with the top two from each group making the knock-out last sixteen.

Sonic Multani, the bespectacled cueist from Gujarat, will try not only to retain his title, but also for the billiards-snooker double. Sonic won the National snooker title in Mumbai earlier this year.

Going by form, Sonic should not face any problems in entering the knockout from Group A. Other top contenders for the title, World professional No 2 Geet Sethi (Group B) and former World Championship runners-up Devendra Joshi (Group E) are also expected to make the grade.

The 31 players in the juniors’ field is led by defending champion and top seed Guarav Anand. The top three would represent the country at the World Under-21 Snooker Championships scheduled to be held at Carlow in the Republic of Ireland.

A whopping Rs 70,000 besides the products of the sponsors — Titan are up for grabs for the winners. The winners in the juniors stand to gain Rs 5,000 (each in snooker and billiards) and runners-up would be richer by half that amount. In the seniors section, the champion would take home Rs 20,000 and the runner-up Rs 10,000.