daniel chigunwe
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHITUNGWIZA-based Tigers Pool Club were crowned champions of the 2024 National Champions League tournament, which concluded at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo yesterday morning.
Tigers are now recognised as the best pool club in the country, dethroning Nkulumane Pool Club, who entered the end-of-year event as the defending champions, having won the previous edition in Chinhoyi.
Tigers defeated the home side, Queens Pool Academy, in the final to claim the title. They won the race-to-nine final 8-5, rounding off a memorable weekend in the City of Kings and Queens.
In their opening match of the tournament on Saturday, the Tigers secured a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Legends Pool Club in the round of 16 before defeating Soul City 5-2 in a race-to-five last-eight match. In the semi-finals, the eventual champions registered a 6-5 win over Leisure Centre Pool Club to set up a final clash against Queens Pool Academy.
On their way to the final, Queens Pool Academy beat Mega One 5-0 before edging Ellusion 4-3 in the last-eight stage. In the semi-finals, the hosts defeated the Lions 6-3.
With Tigers securing the top spot, followed by Queens Academy, third place went to Lions, who beat Leisure Centre 8-4 in the third-place play-off match.
Tigers received a prize of US$3,000, while Queens pocketed US$2,000 for being runners-up. Third-placed Lions took home US$1,000, while Leisure Centre earned US$500.
Teams finishing in positions five to eight (Ellusion, MSU, and Gweru Snipers) each received US$100.
A representative from Tigers Pool Club, Munashe Silingwani, expressed their delight at being crowned champions, confirming their status as the country’s best pool team.
“As Tigers, we are very happy to have won this tournament. This is the third time we have won it. We won it back-to-back before Nkulumane Pool Club took it in the previous event. But I am glad we managed to win it again, and we have shown the country that this title is ours. We will continue winning it. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us, like Isaac “Zeke” Tichareva,” said Silingwani.
Despite falling short of winning the title on home soil, Queens Pool Academy’s Wisdom “VP” Munenge said they were proud of their second-place finish, which was an improvement on the previous campaign.
“This time around we performed very well, and I think we are getting there as a team. If you look at our previous performance, we were eliminated in the first round, but this time we managed to reach the final, so it’s very good progress and improvement. Soon, we will win this title,” he said.
Zimbabwe Pool Association (ZIPA) president Nickson Mashayahanya was pleased with the event’s outcome, despite a few delays that saw it conclude yesterday instead of Sunday.
“The event went well.
It was successful, but unfortunately we had some delays.
Online Reporter
