SHOWCASE OF SA’S POOL ELITE AT THE ARNOLD CLASSIC 2016

It’s the “FA Cup” of the Billiard Premier Leagues (Aka BPL), arguably the most prestigious national title any pool player can win, and it’s live and exclusive to the Arnold Classic 2016..It’s the 2016 BPL Arnold Classic, the final playoff of the Blackball Premier League season 2015/16!

The country’s top 30 pool players from the Premier, First and Second divisions will go head to head in a straight knockout for supremacy.

Each round is a race to two sets, with each set being a race to four frames (games)

Of the thirty men who’ll be chalking up their cues at the Arnold Classic 2016, BPL Tournament Co-Ordinator Grieta Steenkamp believes that Charl Jonck (defending Champion) is going to be a hard man to beat as he will be going for his hat-trick title for this annual event! “Charl set the bar high, winning both the 2014 + 2015 BPL Showdown events at the Rand Show with relative ease.”

Steenkamp singles out four more players she thinks Arnold Classic visitors should keep their eye on. First is Aden Joseph who was ru-up to Charl at the 2015 Showdown and who won the South African Blackball Men’s Singles title at the end of February at Grand West Casino in Cape Town. Nicknamed “the Wonderkid”, Aden is the youngest South African Men’s Singles champion ever, and is the only player to ever hold the U/18 Singles, U/23 Singles and Men’s Singles titles at the same time. He also took Silver at the U/18 World Championships late last year, as well as Silver at the 2014 All African Men’s Pool Championship. “He is no longer pool’s upcoming star, he is now the star!” says Steenkamp.

Then there’s Paul Bennett, who came second at last year’s World Blackball Championship in Scotland in the men’s category, and finished second to Aden Joseph in the February final of the SA Blackball Men’s Singles Championships.

Followed by Yulan Govender the current BPL Premier League Champion and four time South African Blackball Men’s Singles title holder!

And finally there’s Ishmael Mathethwa, the current All African Blackball Men’s Singles champion.

Those are Steenkamp’s picks for the coming Arnold Classic, but as for who’ll end up sinking that final black ball and pocketing the R10 000 prize money? You’ll simply have to come along to the Arnold Classic 2016 to find out…

Tentative Program

For more info:

www.billiardleagues.co.za

www.facebook.com/bplpool/