The Pan American Snooker and Billiards Association (PABSA) have announced that the staging of the 2020 Pan American Snooker Championships later this month has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

After the characterization by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the coronavirus was now a pandemic, it was decided by the Board of PABSA to postpone the Championships, which were due to be hosted by The Corner Bank in Toronto, Canada, from March 23 - 29, after a meeting this morning.

PABSA announced that this is being done for the safety of the players, officials and spectators, and that they will be working on refunding the entry fees over the next several weeks.

John White, a board member of PABSA, commented to SnookerUSA.com: "It's unfortunate and bad timing for us along with anyone involved in the industry.

"We've spent a lot of time preparing for the event and are very sad we had to cancel, but it's in the best interest of everyone."

White added: "We will look to reschedule this event once deemed safe to do so and hope to make it bigger and better. Please accept our sincere apologies and stay safe everybody."

For more details please visit the PABSA website: www.pabsa.org