All is now set for the maiden edition of the Heyball Challenge Tour which is scheduled to hold at the Nicon Town Recreation Center, Lekki on Saturday February 3, 2024 The tour offers a main challenge event which pits Adekunle Adebayo against Ekundayo Sunday in a race to 13 racks contest.
This one day multiple match style event is introduced by the Snooker and Pool Players Alliance (SPPA) to feature 3 matches which is one main event and two supporting matches, all having different prizes for the 2 contending players. All the matches will be played in line with the WPA and the IHPA rules governing Heyball.
The SPPA is creating this new innovation in the annals of competitive Pool in Nigeria, as each match will have both players competing for a pre-determined share of the prize money.
Listed amongst the objectives and benefits of this style of event are spectatorship opportunities, creating fun, excitement and entertainment which all professional sports offer to their fans and audience by creating a platform that offers potential corporate sponsors and partners huge brand marketing value.
The Challenge will also feature events in the following other type of Billiard sports like 8 Ball, 10 Ball Pool, and 9 Ball Pool.
Meanwhile, SPPA is proposing a N4,000,000.00 (Four Million Naira) for her 2024 calendar season with a total of 57 events which comprises Break and Run Shootout Challenge, Challenge Tour Series, Tour 4 Series, Virtual 9Shootout Challenge and Joy Heyball Masters.
President of Snooker and Pool Players Alliance (SPPA) Joachim Idada highlighted the Alliance plan for new and old players ahead of the new season commencing
“We are determined to rebrand and restructure Pool Billiard in Nigeria with a view to attracting better corporate interest in the games as we seek to develop them into major sports that will create empowerment opportunities to many youth who today seems without hope.”
“Pool Billiard has become a big spectator and televise sport with huge followership internationally. It is with this in mind we have structured the Challenge Tour as a day-long family-oriented event that can offer fun, excitement and Entertainment and at the same time be monetarily rewarding to the players as sports gladiators.
“We see our players as sports gladiators who are ready to fight to the death on the table like every other professional in many other major pro sports” he said.
Qualifications for the Alliance’s top events will require players to be ranked amongst the very best in the Break and Run Shootout Challenge, a talent discovery and development program aimed at testing the ability of the players to win racks without giving opponents a turn on the table.
Also, to ensure the players merit the prizes on offer, the Alliance has tied the prize fund to a matrix that takes the Break Point Average (BPAv) as the most critical consideration. The possible reward of the player with the high BPAv shall be used to determine the prize fund to be offered per match.
As a performance incentive, the player with the BPAv will be receiving a secure prize while both players will battle for the balance. As an additional performance incentive, a N10,000 reward shall be given to any players that can achieve 2 Break and Run in an event.
