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The first-ever billiards Heineken Cup among amateurs was held in Baku December 22-27.

Fazil Mammadov beat his rival Faig Sadykhov 5:4 in the final of the competition, which was organized by Ideal-L, Dutch brewing company Heineken International’s official distributor in Azerbaijan, with the support of the Azerbaijan Billiards Federation.

A total of 140 youngsters played the games of the free pyramid type. The most successful players were conferred with a diploma of the Federation, a pecuniary award and gifts from Heineken. Thus, the winner received 1,500 manats ($1,875), while the player taking the second place – 700 manats ($875), and two players taking the third place 400 manats ($500) each.

The Azerbaijan Billiards Federation was established in 2000. Its president, Ilham Aslanov, has told AssA-Irada that since the start of its activity, the Federation has trained five international-level billiards professionals, including players who have taken lead places at the world and European championships as well as the A category international tournaments.

The latest European Billiards Cup was held in Baku this May. Russian player Yuri Pashinsky won the tournament, while Azerbaijani player Seyhun Aghayev gained silver.

According to the Federation president, the World Billiards Cup among professionals will be held in Azerbaijan in 2010.*