The reigning United States National Snooker Champion, Sargon Isaac, leads the American charge once the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championships get underway at the Dedeman Princess Hotel in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia from November 24 to December 2.

The IBSF World Snooker Championships are divided into three events for Men, Ladies and Masters (over 40s), and are the most important Championships in non-professional snooker. The winner of the Men's Event is invited by World Snooker, the governing body of the sport's professional game, to compete on the following season's multimillion dollar World Snooker Main Tour.

As the reigning United States National Snooker Champion, Sargon Isaac won automatic selection by the United States Snooker Association (USSA) alongside this year's runner-up, Ajeya Prabhakar, to represent the United States in the Men's Event. The United States will also have a representative in the Masters' Event, Jeff Szafransky, who is a very experienced and accomplished player, a quarterfinalist in this year's United States National Snooker Championship and he represented the United States in the Men's Event of the 2008 IBSF World Snooker Championships in Austria.

The Dedeman Princess Hotel in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the venue for the 2012 IBSF World Snooker Championships

This year's IBSF World Snooker Championships were originally scheduled to be hosted in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, however on the announcement by the Board of the Egyptian Federation of Billiards Sports that they were no longer able to stage the Championships, the Bulgarian Snooker Federation (BSF) stepped in to take up the opportunity to put on these prestigious Championships.

Now that snooker is becoming increasingly popular in Bulgaria, the BSF are gaining ever more experience in staging large international events as several European Championships have also been played at the host hotel, and last week there was a very successful staging of the Bulgarian Open, the first professional event to be played in the country which was won by the reigning world number one player, Judd Trump.

The Men's Event will consist of 100 players from forty-six nations around the world. The players have been divided up into twenty groups of five, with the top three players from each of the groups advancing into the single elimination Round Of 64 knockout phase of the event - the best four performing group winners will receive a bye, and go through to the Round Of 32.

27-year-old Isaac has been drawn in Group F with Zhu Yinghui of China, Paul Croitoru of Romania, Lim Chun Kiat of Singapore and Kevin Van Hove of Belgium. 41-year-old Prabhakar has been drawn in Group B with Johnny Williams of Ireland, Kim Laaksonen of Finland, Jin Long of China and Kamal Chawla of India.

The full group draws and updated results can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
» Men's Event Groups (External website)

Sargon Isaac (pictured right) with Ajeya Prabhakar after the final of this year's United States National Snooker Championship Photo © SnookerUSA.com

The Masters' Event will consist of 50 players from thirty-two nations around the world. The players have been divided up into ten groups of five, with the top three players from each of the groups advancing into the single elimination Round Of 32 knockout phase of the event - the best two performing group winners will receive a bye, and go through to the Round Of 16.

56-year-old Szafransky has been drawn in Group E with Brendan Cooney of Ireland, Amarjargal Dashdorj of Mongolia, Steve Judd of England and Yakov Shaashua of Israel.

The full group draws and updated results can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
» Masters' Event Groups (External website)

The Ladies' Event will consist of 40 players from eighteen nations around the world. The players have been divided up into eight groups of five, with the top four players from each of the groups advancing into the single elimination Round Of 32 knockout phase of the event.

The full group draws and updated results can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
» Ladies' Event Groups (External website)

The United States players have given their comments about what competing in these Championships means to them.

Isaac, who grew up and learned his snooker in Nottingham, England, though has lived in the United States for over six years and is now an American citizen, said: "I am excited to have succeeded as the 2012 U.S. National Snooker Champion and I feel honored that this title has given me the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the World Championships in Bulgaria.

"I have always been passionate about the sport and I know I will have a wonderful time meeting fellow players from around the world.

"My enthusiasm for snooker is shared by many around the world and I hope that I can further increase interest in the sport amongst Americans. A vast number people have already shown a huge interest since I won the U.S. title."

Isaac concluded: "My father, Banny Isaac, has encouraged me to take part in the sport since a young age and I'm looking forward to sharing this wonderful experience in Bulgaria with him."

Prabhakar, who warmed up nicely for these Championships by winning the recent 2012-13 USSA Tour Event 3, has represented the United States at snooker around the world on several occasions now, and such is his commitment to the development of the sport in his adopted home he now serves as the President of the USSA.

"I am proud to have been representing the U.S. on-and-off for the last twelve years," he said. "And also to be involved in the development of the game in the U.S. with a great team of people at the USSA.

"My goal is to do my best possible in participation, and also to represent snooker in the Americas to the IBSF."

Szafransky makes up a trio of players from California who are traveling to Bulgaria, and he too cannot wait to be there to play.

"I am very happy and proud to be able to represent the U.S. in the Masters division of the World Championships this year," he remarked. "It is a real honor to be able to compete in such a prestigious event.

"I am very pleased to be able to compete against some of the best players in the world in a sport that I really love, especially as I get older - ha-ha. Really, what more could you ask for?

"My goal for this year's Championships is simply to perform the best that I can. To me this means concentrating on my execution, staying in the zone and focused. I hope to be a bit more calm and not as nervous as in previous championships.

"Right at the top, though, is to have fun, enjoy myself, catch up with some of the players that I have met in previous championships, and experience the local culture in Sofia.

"Last, but certainly not least, I will also be there to support the other players from the U.S."

The SnookerUSA.com website will closely follow the progress of United States players, and wish them all a very successful Championships.