Aug 17: The suspense is finally over. The IBSF World Billiards Championship will indeed be held in Bengaluru from September 1-10.

Following the serial bomb blasts in the city last month, there was speculation that the event may be shifted out of the garden city or even postponed. But the terror attacks did little to dampen the spirit of sport.

Big names like Peter Gilchrist and reigning World Professional Billiards champion Mike Russell are among the 24 cueists from 10 countries who have confirmed their entry. Defending champion and local lad Pankaj Advani and former champion Geet Sethi will spearhead the Indian challenge. The championship will be held in points and time format.

Speaking to this newspaper, S. Balasubramanium, vice president, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India said, "Initially there were a few concerns expressed and we nearly put-off the event, but now we have assured all players of adequate security. The show will go on and we will make it a memorable event."

Meanwhile, the last date for entries, which was August 15, has now been extended to August 22 since there have been no entries from formidable cuesports countries Australia, Pakistan and Myanmar. "Since we had not received entries from these countries we decided to extend the date by a week. Although Pakistani players may not be able to make it as it is quite late for them to go through visa formalities, we are expecting entries from Australia and Myanmar," added Balasubramanium.

The last time Bengaluru hosted this event, in 1990, Manoj Kothari had annexed the title.