Indian Cue Masters League 2017: Players, teams, prize money and tournament dates

After the success of IPL, ISL and other such competitions such as Premier Badminton league, it is time to welcome Indian Cue Masters League, which will witness some top stars battle it out in the inaugural edition.

The first edition of the Indian Cue Masters League that was launched by Billiards and Snooker Federation of India and Sportzlive Entertainment will be hosted in Ahmedabad from August 19-25. Five teams: Gujarat Kings, Chennai Strikers, Hyderabad Hustlers, Bengaluru Buddies and Delhi Dons will contest in the seven-day competition.

All the teams have five players, and one of them is an icon player. There are both Indian and foreign players in the teams, which makes the competition even more exciting. There are 1 icon, 1 female, 3 men in all the teams. A total of 25 players were picked in the draft on Tuesday. India's superstar in cue sports, Pankaj Advani will represent Chennai Strikers. 

With players like Darren Morgan, Andrew Pigget and Vidya Pillai, there should be plenty of entertainment when these stars give it their all to win the title. It is going to be a round robin cum knockout format and it is expected to be fast-paced, with players requiring to take their shots within 15 seconds.

Despite India doing extremely well in cue sports, one does not see the kind of excitement among fans, like other sports. However, one hopes that such kind of franchise-based leagues will play an important role in the upliftment of the sport, which has always produced some great champions.

Advani is excited about the league, and feels the need of changing the sports to a certain level to bring in excitement.

"We have to change with the changing times as it is happening in other sports. Everyone wants results, upsets, quickly. This League offers fast-paced action, and it is equally exciting for all the players too," The Hindu quoted Advani as saying.

Here are some important details of Indian Cue Masters League 2017 

Teams, players and coaches

Gujarat Kings: Andrew Pigget (Icon), Daria Sirotina, Alok Kumar, Sourav Kothari, Brijesh Damani. Coach: Ashok Shandilya.

Chennai Strikers: Pankaj Advani (Icon), Vidya Pillai, Dharminder Lilly, Faisal Khan, E. Pandurangaiah. Coach: G. Kishore Khurana.

Hyderabad Hustlers: Amir Sarkhosh (Icon), Amee Kamani, Kamal Chawla, Lucky Vatnani, Anuj Uppal. Coach: Manoj Kothari.

Bengaluru Buddies: Darren Morgan (Icon), Anastasia Nechaeva, Sundeep Gulati, Varun Madan, Laxman Rawat. Coach: Derek Sippy.

Delhi Dons: Kelly Fisher (Icon), Laura Evans, Pushpender Singh, Manan Chandra, Malkeet Singh. Coach: Tanuj Kohli.

Total Prize money: Rs 50 lakhs

Venue: Ahmedabad

Format: Round robin cum knockout format

Date: August 19 to 25