Table break: Pool finals end two-year hiatus

Fungai Muderere
PALACE Hotel, Skittle Inn, Nookies Bar and Dawn will on Saturday play host to the Bulawayo Carling Black Label Regional Pool finals.

Last weekend, the Zimbabwe Pool Association (Zipa) outlined the playing format of the annual tournament which makes a return this year after being put on hold for two years owing to Covid-19.

The regional qualifiers will be staged at 24 centres nationwide and they started last weekend.

They will end on 2 July.

Palace Hotel

The national finals will be held in Harare on 9 July.

“The tournament is still being run as a consumer-based Delta Beverages initiative. The tournament will be played according to the blackball rule. The referee’s decision shall be final in all instances.

“No negotiations shall be entertained except with the referee after which his decision is final,” said Zipa president Ephraim Choto.

In terms of the draw, he said it will be done once and then the king of the table(s) will meet either in the semis or in the finals

“Once the draw has been made and play has started players shall ensure that they are available.

“A player who is not present shall be given three minutes after which the frame is awarded to the player available.

“After six minutes the full game is awarded to the player available if the player does not arrive on the table within six minutes from the start of the game,” said Choto.

Tendai “Inspector” Mubaiwa

With regards to players’ attire Choto reckoned: “No shorts, gumboots, slippers shall be allowed to be worn by players playing on the table. Wearing the above will lead to automatic loss of the game.

“All players shall wear a Delta shirt or t-shirt given during the registration process.”

Delta Beverages is on record saying Carling Black Label is the beer that distinguishes the game of pool as a major passion point for its consumers and that is why the brand has sponsored the Carling Black Label National Pool Tournaments for many years now.

Delta Beverages

The brand has further increased its footprint in pool by sponsoring the Zimbabwe Tertiary Institutions Sports Union pool games.

In 2019, Tendai “Inspector” Mubaiwa and Flatta Moyo were crowned Carling Black Label National Pool champions in Harare.

Mubaiwa, of Hatfield in the capital, beat Benjamin Mabhugu for the title.

Nicknamed “Inspector”, it was the third CBL National Pool Championship win for Mubaiwa in recent years.

He was the best male player at the same competition in 2015 before winning it in Bulawayo in 2018.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *