Nabil Edgtton and Mithun Mukherjee won the HCL ProAm pairs title with 72 match points in the climax of the 20th HCL International bridge championship here on Monday. The champion pair collected a cheque of Rs. 6 lakh.
Debabrata Majumder and Sudhir Aggarwal finished second and pocketed a cash prize of Rs. 4 lakh. There were prizes up to the 12th spot, from a total purse of Rs. 20 lakh for the ProAm event.
The ProAm is a new concept, attempted in a bid to popularise the game, giving a chance for the amateurs to experience the game with the professionals.
In fact, there was a bidding for the professionals, who were successfully secured for bids ranging from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 50,000.
The presence of many foreign players was a major attraction this time, and that included Zia Mahmood of the USA. Part of the entry fee from the ProAm event goes to junior development fund. Through the fund, support is extended to junior players for training and participation in national and international events.
Zia Mahmood in partnership with Mukund Jagannathan finished 11th, while Michael Whibley and Arjun Sawhny placed ninth, one rung ahead of Kiran Nadar and B Satyanarayana.
The results: Pro-Am pairs: 1. Nabil Edgtton & Mithun Mukherjee 72; 2. Debabrata Majumder & Sudhir Aggarwal 63; 3. Jacek Pszczola & Vikrant Mehta 56; 4. Raju Tolani & Arun Bapat 42; 5. Vladmir Mihov & Kaushik Mukherjee 32; 6. Boye Brogeland & Ashok Goel 30.
