Carom
CAIRO - The new ranking season in Egypt has been launched with a tournament in Cairo. Sameh Sidhom was the winner: he defeated Ihab El Messery in the final 40-34 in 39 innings. Sidhom is the multiple Egyptian champion.
The ranking tournaments, four in total (2 in Cairo, two in Alexandria) will be played with a record number of participants this year: 99.
The system is almost the same at in the World Cups, only the best sixteen Egyptian players are seeded for the main event. After the qualifications, sixteen groups of three players are formed. The two group winners (32 in total) are playing for sixteen spots in the knock-out stage. Then, the sixteen seeded players join the group of qualifiers.
For the top ten players it is important not te be scheduled in the top half where they can meet Sameh Sidhom before the final match. They all want to battle for the second place behind the untouchable Sidhom, because the Egyptian number two can be send to World Cups (with a wildcard) and World championships.
The results of the first ranking tournament:
1 Sameh Sidhom
2 Ihab el Messery
3 Ali Hares
3 Riad Nadi
5 Ragai Henry
6 Magued Elias
7 Ahmed Abdallah and Khaled Erfan.