Aug. 18: Indian snooker trio — Pankaj Advani, Yasin Merchant and Manan Chandra — on Monday left for Pakistan to participate in the inaugural five-nation six-ball snooker tournament from August 21.

Apart from India and host Pakistan, Bahrain, Thailand and UAE will participate in the three-day event.

The format which is touted as snooker's answer to Twenty20 cricket, was approved by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports during the board meeting earlier this year.

Speaking to this newspaper prior to his departure, Advani said, "I know it is not the ideal way to prepare for the forthcoming World Billiards Championship, but any match practice is good. That is how I'm looking at this tournament. I haven't played this format before, so I'm looking forward to it. Since it is a team event there will be a lot of experimenting in terms of players and strategies."

While all the other participating countries will field one team, the host nation will have two teams in fray.

The teams will be divided into two groups.

After the league matches the group toppers will qualify directly for the final.