Ahmed Aly claimed his fourth United States National Snooker Championship win over the weekend in Brooklyn, New York. The tournament, which has been running since 1991 also saw Aly also equal the record of player Tom Kollins, Vice President of the United States Snooker Association who appeared in seven National Championship finals. Kollins won the inaugural tournament 17 years ago in Oakbrook and then his last final appearance was ten years later in 2001.
Aly, though, won three on the trot from 2009 - 2011. The National Championship has been held four times now in Brooklyn.
He appeared as runner-up in 2015 - 17.
The final was a repeat of the 2017 edition where Aly faced Raymond Fung, who won the 2017 final of the event in Manhattan. Aly made it a comfortable 5 - 2 win at the Prince Snooker Club this year as snooker in the USA continues to grow in the country - but mainly focuses on pool as a cue sport. Fung, the runner-up this year has appeared in three of the finals with scooping just one of them when he claimed the 2017 edition last year.
The Vice-President of the United States Snooker Association and record five-time United States National Snooker Champion, 82-year-old Tom Kollins (center), pictured with the 2018 semifinalists [from left to right] Ajeya Prabhakar, Ahmed Aly Elsayed, Mihai Visovan and Raymond Fung pic.twitter.com/ieT8g5k0dy
— United States Snooker Association (@SnookerUSA) May 28, 2018
Pool hats
American pool player Corey Deuel, who has appeared in some editions of World Snooker's QSchool, competing in a bid to enter the professional snooker arena won the 2013 edition of the amateur event - which also led him to represent the USA in the 2013 IBSF World Amateur Championships hosted in Latvia.
now talented Chinese player Zhou Yuelong won that event at the time. Yuelong recently won a CBSA event. The IBSF World Championships began way back in 1963 in Kolkata, India. It was a Welshman Gary Owen who claimed the first of those.
Snooker in USA
The sport is governed by the United States Snooker Association, based in Berkeley California and was founded in 91 by Michael Collins, British born.
The association is a member of the IBSF - which in recent times has had run-ins with other bodies particularly as the new World Snooker Federation has now dominated and many of the bodies from around the world have joined the Federation where tour cards are now awarded for players. Many pros in the past have been awarded their tour cards via scooping IBSF World Amateur events in categories including U-21 and U-18s.
Kollins, 82, pictured in the tweet above in the middle of the semi-finalists, is Vice President of the USSA and according to Wikipedia, the President is Alan Morris, and the Honorary Life Chairman is the British-born Collins also a director along with a Joseph Mejia. The USSA is also affiliated with the American Cuesports Alliance. The winner, Aly, is one behind the veteran Kollins, who has five USA National Snooker titles.
