ABSF African Snooker Championships
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Country | Tunisia |
Established | 1993 |
Organisation(s) | African Billiards & Snooker Federation |
Format | Amateur event |
Recent edition | 2017 |
Current champion(s) | Basem Eltahan |
The ABSF African Snooker Championship is an annual snooker competition and is the highest ranking and most prestigious amateur event in Africa. The event series is sanctioned by the African Billiards & Snooker Federation having been established back in 1993 the winner of the event often becomes the African nomination for the World Snooker Tour. Throughout the tournaments early history the championship was dominated by South African players however at the turn of the millennium Egyptian players became the dominant force in the championship, winning 9 of 12 championships since the year 2000.
The championship is currently held by Basem Eltahan who defeated Wael Talaat 6–5 in the final of the 2017 championship.
Criticism
The ABSF African Snooker Championship has been criticised for being perceived as one of the weakest amateur events in world snooker with the tour card winner from the championship often struggling on the World Snooker Tour. Both 2013 runner-up Khaled Belaid Abumdas and 2015 champion Hatem Yassen failed to win a single match in the two years each of them spent on the world tour. 2012 runner-up Mohamed Khairy also struggled only managing to win two matches during his time on the world tour. The strongest criticism has suggested that in its current guise as a developing region that the tournament doesn't warrant a spot on the professional world tour and denies players of a much higher standard in Europe and Asia joining the world tour.
ABSF president Mohammed Kammah has defended the standard African players stating that finance has always been the biggest obstacle for players, as well as immigration issues that most African players face when competing in UK tournaments during the professional season.
Winners
Year | Venue | Winner | Runner-up | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Unknown | Ismael Teeluck | Unknown | |
1994 | Port Louis, Mauritius | Bernie Jones | Schalk Mouton | 11–10 |
1995 | Unknown | Warren Horsley | Bernie Jones | 11–8 |
1996 | Unknown | Hitesh Naran | Unknown | |
1997-1998 | Unknown | |||
1999[2] | Cairo, Egypt | Warren Horsley | Munier Cassim | 6–5 |
2000[3] | Casablanca, Morocco | Mohamed El Hamy | Sherif Senna | 5–4 |
2001 | Unknown | |||
2002 | Cairo, Egypt | Hesham Abbas | Wael Talaat | 5–2 |
2003-2006 | Unknown | |||
2007[4] | Casablanca, Morocco | Wael Talaat | Mohamed Samy Elkhayat | 5–4 |
2008[5] | Tripoli, Libya | Mohamed El Hamy | Mohamed Samy Elkhayat | 6–2 |
2009[6] | Johannesburg, South Africa | Wael Talaat | Mohamed Samy Elkhayat | 6–0 |
2010 | Cairo, Egypt | Mohamed Samy Elkhayat | Wael Talaat | 6–1 |
2011[7] | Cairo, Egypt | Wael Talaat | Mohamed El Hamy | 6–4 |
2012[8] | Johannesburg, South Africa | Peter Francisco | Mohamed Khairy | 6–2 |
2013[9] | Marrakech, Morocco | Peter Francisco | Khaled Belaid Abumdas | 6–2 |
2014 | Unknown | |||
2015[10] | Tunis, Tunisia | Hatem Yassen | Mohamed Khairy | 6–5 |
2016 | Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt | Peter Francisco | Wael Talaat | 6–1 |
2017 | Hammamet, Tunisia | Basem Eltahhan | Wael Talaat | 6–5 |
Stats
Champions by country
Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|
Egypt | 6 | 9 | 2000 | 2017 |
South Africa | 4 | 7 | 1994 | 2016 |
Mauritius | 1 | 1 | 1993 | 1993 |
See also
References
- ↑ "African Billiards & Snooker Federation". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "1999 ALL AFRICA SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP" (PDF). African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ↑ "2000 African Snooker Championship" (PDF). African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
- ↑ "The African Snooker Championship - Morocco 2007". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "The African Snooker Championship - Libya 2008". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "The 2009 All Africa Snooker Championship". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "The African Snooker Championship 2011". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "2012 ALL AFRICA SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "The African Snooker Championship - Marrakech 2013". African Billiards & Snooker Federation. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ↑ "AMATEUR SNOOKER - 2015 African Snooker Championships". thecueview.com. Retrieved 26 July 2015.