The World Series of Snooker will stage The Champion of Champions Challenge in the INEC, Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney on Saturday and Sunday, 16th and 17th May.
Televised live by Eurosport, The Champion of Champions Challenge will see professional players John Higgins MBE, Ken Doherty, Shaun Murphy (all former World Champions) as well as former UK and Peoples Champion, Jimmy White MBE, compete for this esteemed title.
Their quarterfinal opponents will be the top four players on the Irish under 19 ranking list, namely Greg Casey and Tony Moore from Cork, Andrew Gray from Waterford and Jason Devaney from Mayo. This event, like all other World Series of Snooker events, will be televised live by Eurosport.
The format of the event is that the four amateurs will each play a professional in the Quarterfinals, best of seven frames, the Semi-finals will be best of nine frames and the Final best of eleven frames. The Quarterfinals will take place on Saturday, the Semi-finals will take place on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon while the final is scheduled for 7.30pm Sunday evening. The head referee for the event will be Jan Verhaas, assisted by Ireland’s own Patricia Murphy.
Quarter Final Draw
Shaun Murphy v Greg Casey
Jimmy White v Jason Devaney
John Higgins v Andrew Gray
Ken Doherty v Tony Moore
There will be a Pre-tournament VIP reception and a post tournament champions reception
Also, a feature of the week-end will be a clinic in the "Snooker-zone", where members of the public will get tips on how to improve their game. The clinic will be hosted by Irelands head snooker coach, PJ Nolan, who will be assisted by the each of the four professionals.
Since its inception, The World Series has gone from strength to strength, having held events in the UK, Germany, Poland, Russia and Portugal. The brainchild of John Higgins MBE and Chief Executive Officer, World Series of Snooker, Pat Mooney, The World Series was created in order to nurture the sport in two ways. Firstly, by providing local players with the opportunity of improving their skills by playing the top players in competitive televised games. Secondly, The World Series gives fans of the sport the chance to watch snooker live, as well as showcasing the sport to new audiences around the world.
Tickets for The World Series of Snooker will be available from the INEC Box Office. Tel 00353 (0)64 6671555 or log onto www.inec.ie
