Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere, Zimpapers Sports Hub
BULAWAYO will take centre stage this Saturday as top pool players from across Zimbabwe converge at the ZITF Hall One for the 2025 Carling Black Label National Pool Championships.
The event promises heated matchups in both the men’s and women’s divisions, with some of the country’s sharpest cue masters eyeing glory.
“I predict that this will be a tournament to remember. We are all heading to Bulawayo, a place we are looking forward to having fun and competitive matches. We invite every pool loving person to come to Bulawayo and witness the action,” said Zimbabwe Pool Association (Zipa) president, Isaac Tichareva.
Bulawayo’s own Lindani Gumpo made headlines last year when he clinched the men’s title at the Flamboyant Hotel in Masvingo, the first local to do so since 2014. A product of Pelandaba and a Palace Hotel, Gumpo broke a near decade drought that had seen Harare and Chitungwiza players dominate the scene.
The list of past winners reads like a who’s who of Zimbabwean pool: Pearson “Zozo” Nyasha (2022) from Chitungwiza, three time champion Tendai “Inspector” Mubaiwa from Hatfield and Harare’s Blessing Chatoma in 2016. Obedience Nyaumwe of Chitungwiza won in 2017, further solidifying the province’s strong presence in the sport.
On the women’s side, 2023 brought a historic moment when 53-year-old Patricia Ganya of Tigers Pool Club in Chitungwiza became the first woman from the area to lift the national title. She staged a thrilling comeback against Alice Chihota in a final that capped off a long journey, nearly 30 years of chasing the crown, inspired by her golf playing father.
Before Ganya’s triumph, women from Harare and Chitungwiza had not tasted victory. The previous titleholder, Someya Mlauzi of Kwekwe entered as defending champion in 2023 but was edged out as Ganya “upset the applecart.”
This year, both men’s and women’s champions will walk away with US$2 500 each and a pool table, a significant jump from the US$1 500 prize awarded in 2023.
Past winners snapshot:
2024: Godfrey Masona (Manicaland)
2023: Lindani Gumpo (Bulawayo), Patricia Ganya (Chitungwiza)
2022: Pearson Nyasha (Chitungwiza), Someya Mlauzi (Kwekwe)
2019: Tendai Mubaiwa (Harare), Flatta Moyo (Gwanda)
2018: Tendai Mubaiwa (Harare), Charity Ncube (Kadoma)
2017: Obedience Nyaumwe (Chitungwiza), Priscilla Chisoro (Bulawayo)
2016: Blessing Chatoma (Harare), Charity Ncube (Kadoma)
