A first-of-its-kind league featuring top names and the most promising talents from the world of cue sports, Cue Slam - the latest entrant to the growing league sport format, has generated a lot of buzz and interest from buyers from all across the country.
The league, comprising eight city-based teams from the top metros and semi metro cities, will feature five players each, including a celebrity, who will compete in a six-week long tournament.
The first edition of the league is slated to be held between June to August this year and is being backed by Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), SportzLive and top Indian cue aces like Geet Sethi, Pankaj Advani among others.
The match-up in the league will feature 5 different games ranging from Billiards, Pool and Snooker and will be organised by SportzLive, a Delhi based sports marketing and branding company. The inaugural edition of the league will be a ticket-free event and will be held at leading malls in each of the cities, encouraging greater crowd participation and lending a unique look and feel to the league.
While the financial terms for the franchises are yet to be finalised, it is likely to be around Rs. 3 crore upwards for a three year deal. Cue sports has produced more world champions from India than any other sport in India including Pankaj Advani, Geet Sethi and Michael Ferreira.
It is among the more popular sports in the country with an estimated 4 million people playing some form of the sport, and that coupled with its connect with the youth has encouraged many prospective franchise buyers to participate in the league.
Said, Atul Pande, Chairman, SportzLive, "India gave birth to cue sports, and it will be a sort of home coming for the sport to have a league of its own in India. We have received letters of intent from many buyers from all over the country. We want to be very competitive in pricing and the fact that the matches are being played at crowd friendly locations has further fueled this interest."
"We will soon be finalising the deal with a leading broadcaster," he further added.
