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Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Pool Association (Zipa) has outlined the playing format of the Carling Black Label pool tournament, which makes a return this year after being frozen for the past two years due to severe strains of Covid-19.

Regional qualifiers that will be staged at 24 centres nationwide start tomorrow and will end on July 2, with the national finals being held in Harare on July 9.

“The tournament is still being run as a consumer-based Delta Beverages initiative, with ZIPA providing technical and administrative support in running the games.

The qualifiers will be played in a race to two or best of three formats.

The tournament will be played according to the blackball rule.

The referee’s decision will be final in all instances.

No negotiations will be entertained except with the referee after which his decision is final,” said Zipa president Ephraim Choto.

He said the draw will be done once and the king of the tables will meet either in the semis or in finals.

“Once the draw has been made and play has started, players shall ensure that they are available.

A player not present will be given three minutes after which the frame is awarded to the player available.

After six minutes the full game is awarded to the player available if the player does not arrive on the table within six minutes from the start of the game,” said Choto.

He said under their dress code, shorts, gumboots or slippers are not allowed and any player that turns up wearing them will automatically lose the game.

In 2019, Tendai “Inspector” Mubaiwa and Flatta Moyo were crowned Carling Black Label National Pool champions in Harare.

Mubaiwa, of Hatfield beat Benjamin Mabhugu for the title.

Nicknamed “Inspector”, it was the third CBL National Pool Championship win for Mubaiwa in recent years.

He was the best male player at the same competition in 2015 and 2018.

Moyo, who hails from Bulawayo, emerged as the champion in the women’s section.

She defeated Jessina Musiiwa in the women’s final while Tariro Vhondo and Christine Sengwe were third and fourth respectively.