Local snooker players Darryl Hill and Dollin Mercer travel to the Algarve in Portugal this week to represent the Isle of Man in the EBSA European Team Snooker Championships.  

There’s a new format for this event, with a team of two players competing in a 'scotch doubles' format.  

This is where players play alternate shots rather than visits, so for example one player pots a red and their partner then plays the colour.  

The tournament begins in group stages and will see best-of-five matches played throughout from tomorrow (Friday) until next Thursday. 

This Isle of Man have been drawn against France 1, Poland 1 and Denmark. Their first match is against France at 10am on Sunday and all tables at the event will be live-streamed.  

Hill and Mercer will also be taking part in the shootout which is scheduled for this Saturday. 

WORLD CHAMPS

After Portugal, Hill will then be jetting off to Qatar for the IBSF World Amateur Championship which will again be staged in Doha.  

This event has also adopted a new format, with it being played in two stages. The first stage will see entrants play in two qualifying knockout events to win their place in the final stages, with some players seeded into that final stage.  

Thanks to his performance in the 2023 edition of the tournament, where he lost to eventual champion Ali Alobaidli in the last-16, Hill has been seeded straight into the final last-48 stage which will commence on November 1 and run until November 6. 

For more details on the above events, visit the EBSA.tv and IBSF.info websites. 

MIKE CROOK