Cape Town snooker ace Mutalieb Allie was a cut above the rest of his competitors as he was crowned the 2018 SPAR South African Snooker Championship winner at the Hellenic Hall in Port Elizabeth.
Taking on his good friend and multiple SA champion Tauriq Samsodien in the final, Allie 44, was in a different class as he claimed the win by seven frames to three in a tightly contested showdown on Saturday.
Speaking yesterday, the Goodwood Snooker Club member said he was glad to finally get the win and take the championship.
“There is always a bit of tension playing in a final match, especially considering that this was my fifth time in a final I’ve won every other SA title there is except this one, so this was a big hurdle for me to get over.
“Every year I go to the SAs, and I kept knocking on the door. People kept telling me next year would be my year, so I started feeling like Liverpool, and I am not a Liverpool fan, so I wanted to show people I can do it,” Allie said.
The competition, which is held under the auspices of the South African Confederation of Cue Sports, featured 64 of the best snooker players from around the country.
Players were divided into groups of eight players for the round-robin stages, with the top four players advancing to the knockout rounds.
Allie’s section included former SA champion Kiashen Moodley.
Despite being wary of Moodley’s talents, Allie managed to beat him before going on to end first in his section without dropping a frame.
In the round of 32 last Thursday, Allie overcame Luther Killian 5-1 before beating Mark McGelliwie 5-3 in the round of 16 later that evening.Allie then went up against another good friend, Rafique Limbada, beating him 5-3 in the quarterfinals on Friday to book his place in the final four.
He faced 2005 SA champion Ricardo Tregonning in the semis, winning 6-2 to set up the meeting with Samsodien.
“You always come in thinking you have a chance – that’s why I enter these competitions, with the intention of performing to the best I know I am capable of,” Allie said.
“When you come here, you have expectations, but it can also bring disappointment, so that’s why you must just take it game by game, day by day, until you can hold the trophy.”
Allie, from Lansdowne, who has represented South Africa on a number of occasions over the years, will do so again later this year at the International Billiards and Snooker Federation world championships.