India’s domestic cue calendar is packing a serious September–October punch — and the immediate headline is pool, not the international circuit.
NSCI Open 8-Ball: Delhi’s star-studded 10-day grind
The Delhi Billiards & Snooker Association and the National Sports Club of India are staging the NSCI Open 8-Ball Pool Tournament at the NSCI Club, New Delhi, from 26 September to 5 October, with a reported ₹5 lakh prize purse.
The field is as heavy as anything on the domestic calendar right now. PTI and follow-up reports name Sourav Kothari, Sundeep Gulati (8-ball national champion / former Asian heyball champion), Kamal Chawla, Bengaluru’s Vidya Pillai, and Chitra Magimairaj among the headliners. DBSA secretary Ravi K. Tandon has flagged the event as a draw for the cue fraternity nationwide — and with that cast, you can see why.
No national TV or confirmed livestream has been published yet. Best bet for fans: follow the DBSA / NSCI channels closer to tip-off, and if you’re in Delhi, the action is at the NSCI Club itself.
Delhi State 15-Red: semis take shape under a new format
While the pool tables warm up, snooker has been busy across the capital. At Cue Due Academy in Okhla, Delhi State 6-red champion Abhishek Ahuja booked a last-four spot at the 49th Delhi State 15-Red Snooker Championship, beating Asif Malik 3–0 and Anuj Uppal 3–1. Shoaib Khan (3–0 vs Lalit Dahiya) and Sandeep Gulati (3–1 vs Gurpreet Singh) also advanced.
Context for the wider event: DBSA has split the championship into four zones this season (top four from each zone into a 16-player main draw), with a ₹3 lakh total prize pot and the main finals staged at Megapool Snooker Academy, Dwarka. South Zone ran mid-September; West Zone followed; East (6–11 Oct) and North (14–18 Oct) are still ahead on the published schedule. The championship is being held in memory of Raja Randhir Singh.
Where it fits on the India map
This is a domestic deep-dive — not a rewrite of the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships preview. That homecoming still lands next in Ahmedabad (7–10 October, Veer Savarkar Sports Complex), with competition days 8–10 Oct across billiards, snooker, heyball, 10-ball and blackball. WCBS/WPA say full broadcast details are still to come; WPA Live carried the 2025 Mauritius edition, so that channel is the one to watch for updates.
Quick glance
- NSCI Open 8-Ball — 26 Sep–5 Oct, NSCI Club, New Delhi; ₹5 lakh purse; Kothari, Gulati, Pillai, Magimairaj et al.
- Delhi State 15-Red — semis underway (Ahuja, Shoaib Khan, Sandeep Gulati); new four-zone format; ₹3 lakh overall.
- Ahmedabad Commonwealth Cue Sports — 7–10 Oct; broadcast package TBC via WCBS/WPA.
Thin week for brand-new India results beyond Delhi — but the capital alone is carrying enough genuine storylines to keep cue fans busy until the Commonwealth circus arrives.
Feature image: Billiards table — Kurt Kaiser / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
