35 Men and 9 ladies have already booked tickets to the Nile Special National open Grand show piece after qualifying action which has been ongoing for the last 2 months.
This weekend, 18 men from 6 districts will join the party, together with 4 ladies from Kampala.
Here is a breakdown of what you can expect from Action in Northern and Northwestern Uganda.
Gulu
CueBar will take center stage with the first batch of 32 Luo shooters playing off for 3 places available at the venue on Saturday.
Veteran Shooter Emma Ocitti will come under heavy Scrutiny, especially after a long spell in Kampala, close to a decade, as a player with Samona Pool club and the National team.
His semi final finish at the 2013 Grand finale should provide a source of belief in him to do what he done before, again.
He will face tough competition from relatively new but seasoned shooters like Ivan “Rabadaba” Opwonya who is remembered for eliminating Seeded player Joram Nabaasa to reach the last 16, the last time the championship was held in 2018.
Omara Moses and Ojok Geoffrey will be seen as outright competitors for places amongst many others in the Pool crazy city. Robert Onekalit will be hoping rather than expecting.
Lira
Capital pub will be host to another regional qualifying event featuring the 32 finest shooters from in and around Lira.
Most notable of them is the 2017 losing finalist at the grand finale – William Busingye.
A perennial qualifier in the recent past from different locations, he stunned the MTN arena in 2016 after reaching the final having gone past top players like Lubulwa Simon and Habib Ssebuguzi.
He then became a shadow of himself in the one-sided final after losing 8-0 to eventual winner Fahad Ssewankambo.
But William, who also reached and lost the PAU Kampala open final in 2014 to Alfred Gumikiriza will be a hot favorite for qualification from Lira.
He will have Ocen O C, Olanya Deo, and Francis Adega as his closest rivals.
Kitgum
Icon Lounge will welcome a group of genuinely competitive players to play out for positions at the grand finale.
Without a clear favorite, the stand out name is Ivan Anywar, perhaps the best player North of Gulu today, especially after reaching the last 16 at the 2021 PAU grand open championship.
He won’t have it all his way however, expecting the toughest competition from Samuel Ogerwot a player from a family of talented shooters; whose twin brother Moses Omara chose to stay away from Kitgum to risk his chance at CueBar in Gulu on the same day.
Adjumani
Da Lit club has replaced the original regional center – Marakom. A move by one of Gulu’s finest; Walter Odoki further north to qualify from Adjumani could be a master piece as he is the stand out player at the venue.
The best competition towards his quest for a 3rd appearance at the grand finale should come from 2-time qualifier Isaac Anyuzu, and Allan Openyi.
Nebbi
Club Supplex shall host the 32-man qualifying Tournament on Friday, with a clear favorite for the win; Emmanuel Choul.
The Juba-born shooter has been the best product of the sport from West Nile in the last decade, having reached the last 16 of 2 different PAU tournaments, including the 2013 National open.
His closest competition should come from a 2-time qualifier, Jamal Abuyi.
Arua
The West Nile capital shall welcome it’s very best at Comrades club this Friday. A whole new set of players; given the retirement of previous top performers at the grand open, we await to see if Swadiq Aziku will bridge the gap left by fellow top shooters before him.
Ladies category
Meanwhile, the Ladies’ regional qualifiers are into the second week of action with a qualifying tournament at Amigos Pool Arena in Kansanga.
She Pool Cranes Team captain Amina Faith Nganda will be trying to make the grand finale for the second straight year.
Courtesy Photos
