by elliott west
When you think of countries where snooker is played in the world you wouldn’t think to associate it with Brazil. However, little known to most people outside of the country there is a cue sport played there that is called Sinuca Brassileira. This game is play on a smaller snooker table than the standard size and unlike traditional snooker is played with one red ball instead of fifteen and the coloured balls. This sport is exclusive to Brazil and works on the principle of the single red having to be potted, re-spotted and then potted for a second time before the player can play the sequential colours. If the player misses the initial red then the opponent is awarded a foul of seven points and gets to take a free shot. This would be the next colour, the yellow, however if it is missed, the other player just carries on and no foul is awarded.
Very little was known about this hybrid of snooker until recently. The ill fated Brazil Masters only ran for one year in 2011 and this was won by Shaun Murphy. Perhaps this was killed off due to poor ticket sales and not fully understanding the sport but it did have an added advantage of showcasing Sinuca to the rest of the world as Eurosport did a piece on the Brazilian game during the coverage of the traditional tournament. One such player who first started in Sinuca Brassileira is the professional player Igor Figueiredo. Igor, whose nickname is T-Igor is a promising player and has managed to get deep into some of the tournaments on the main tour. He has reached the last 16 in both the Welsh Open and the Gibraltar open in 2017 to date, a highest break of 137 in the 2014 UK Championship and career earnings of £50,150.
This is a mean feat for a player who transgressed from the 10 foot tables used in Brazil to the 12 foot by 6 foot used on the main tour. His other most significant winning run came prior to becoming a professional when he managed to get to the final of the IBSF World Championship and was narrowly defeated 10-8 by Alfie Burden. This however acted as a springboard for Igor as he was offered a wildcard onto the tour for 2010-11 sealing a temporary professional seeding. However, poor performances since have led him to drop off the tour but he has returned to the headlines recently winning the Pan American Snooker Championship in 2019.
Figueiredo managed to smash his previous high break of 137 in this tournament and achieved an impressive 146, with it sealed another crack of the main tour starting next season. The tournament held in Houston, USA, is a flagship of the newly created Pan American Billiards and Snooker Association serving players from North and South America. Igor eased through his section, topping Group A without losing a frame. His subsequent ease to the final squared him up against Chicago’s Renat Denkha. However,this was a step too far for the American and after Igor stamped his authority on the match his opponent lost in a 5-1 drubbing.
It is clear that there is definitely a market for snooker in Brazil and Sinuca has laid the foundations for World Snooker to build on if it ever decides to dip its toe in this South American country again. Players such as Igor have proven that there is at least one skilled player out there and a multitude of undiscovered talent must still exist. Of course such an investment comes with risks and World Snooker may choose to adopt the phrase “once bitten, twice shy” in their vocabulary rather than taking a second risk. Barry Hearn is a shrewd businessman and my gut feeling is that he won’t but even Barry’s door of persuasion is always open ajar.
