The twice former United States National Snooker Champion, Ajeya Prabhakar, posted the first win for the United States on the opening day's play of the 2017 International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championships at the Al-Arabi Sports Complex in Doha, Qatar.

Prabhakar, who was drawn in Group H of the Men's Event of these Championships, faced Amir Abushamsiya in his first match and although he lost the first frame on the black, he took a comfortable 2-1 advantage.

The 24-year-old from Palestine then leveled the tie after frame four, but Prabhakar, who gained his selection for these Championships after reaching the semifinals of this year's United States National Snooker Championship, comfortably sealed the following two frames to wrap up a 4-2 victory.

Prabhakar will also be in action tomorrow, November 19, as he will face Turkey's Enes Bakirci for his second Group H match at 4pm local time (5am Pacific Time / 8am Eastern Time in the United States).

Ahmed Aly Elsayed, who gained automatic selection for Doha after finishing runner-up at this year's United States National Snooker Championship, was also in action today in Group F of the Men's Event against Ko Htet.

The 24-year-old from Myanmar proved to be a very proficient player as he compiled a break of 59 in the first frame to take the early advantage, and he continued to dominate by securing the next frame too.

Aly was unfortunate to lose frame three on the final black, but it just was not his day as he went on to comprehensively lose 0-4 for a disappointing start to his campaign.

Aly will attempt to get his game back together when he goes in his second Group F match tomorrow, November 19, against Yemen's Emad Seif at 1pm local time (2am Pacific Time / 5am Eastern Time in the United States).

Omar Balsara was making his debut for the United States in international competition at these Championships, after being selected for reaching the quarterfinals of this year's United States National Snooker Championship.

Balsara is a former winner of a United States Snooker Association (USSA) Tour event, and competed very well during this year's National Championship at the New York Athletic Club. He put in a very good performance too during his first Group C tie against a tough opponent in Welshman Matthew Roberts, as the 4-2 defeat scoreline did not reflect how closely the frames were contested - the only frame which was decisively won was the fifth frame by Balsara.

Balsara will play his second Group C match tomorrow, November 19, against another accomplished player in Iran's Amir Sarkhosh at 10am local time (11pm Pacific Time / 2am Eastern Time in the United States).

Aly's Men's Event playing schedule:
(start times are stated in local time, +11 hrs PT in the United States)
Group F Match 1: November 18, 10am start - lost to Ko Htet (Myanmar) 0 - 4
Group F Match 2: November 19, 1pm start - vs. Emad Seif (Yemen)
Group F Match 3: November 20, 10am start - vs. Mateusz Baranowski (Poland)
Group F Match 4: November 21, 1pm start - vs. Muhammad Asif (Pakistan)
Group F Match 5: November 22, 10am start - vs. E. Pandurangaiah (India)

Prabhakar's Men's Event playing schedule:
(start times are stated in local time, +11 hrs PT in the United States)
Group H Match 1: November 18, 4pm start - defeated Amir Abushamsiya (Palestine) 4 - 2
Group H Match 2: November 19, 4pm start - vs. Enes Bakirci (Turkey)
Group H Match 3: November 20, 4pm start - vs. Siyavosh Mozayani (Iran)
Group H Match 4: November 21, 1pm start - vs. Ka Wai Cheung (Hong Kong)
Group H Match 5: November 22, 10am start - vs. Mihai Vladu (Romania)

Balsara's Men's Event playing schedule:
(start times are stated in local time, +11 hrs PT in the United States)
Group C Match 1: November 18, 10am start - lost to Matthew Roberts (Wales) 2 - 4
Group C Match 2: November 19, 10am start - vs. Amir Sarkhosh (Iran)
Group C Match 3: November 21, 10am start - vs. Bashar Abdulmajeed (Qatar)
Group C Match 4: November 22, 10am start - vs. Yazan Alhadad (Syria)

SnookerUSA.com will be following the progress of all the United States players, and reporting on all of their matches.