Four previous United States National Snooker Champions will be in the hunt for another title alongside the defending champion Jack Kung, when this year's event gets underway tomorrow at the Embassy Billiards Club in San Gabriel, California.
Kung, from Monterey Park in California, scored a surprising 5-3 victory over the twice champion George Lai in the final last year, and therefore goes into Group A as the number one seed.
Las Vegas resident Lai, winner of this title back in 1997 and 2005, goes into Group B as the number two seed.
The 2006 champion Paul Kimura from California, who was unable to compete last year and defend his title, is seeded number four and goes into Group D.
The two other previous champions in the event are Ajeya Prabhakar from San Jose, California, who won his one title eight years ago, and the five-time champion from Chicago, Tom Kollins.
Making the trip from New York City along with several other competitors is Raymond Fung, the 2004 runner-up when the event was played in his home city.
Based on previous years' results, Fung will be seeded number three and goes into Group C where he will be determined to put up a strong challenge to claim that first national title he desperately seeks.
The Championship will employ an initial round robin group phase, which will all be completed on the first day's play using twelve tables over five sessions.
The top four players from each of the four Groups will advance into Saturday's play and the last-16, when a single elimination knockout format comes into play.
Last-16 matches are played over the best-of-five-frames with the first four matches scheduled to start at 12pm Pacific Time, and the remaining four matches at 2:30pm Pacific Time.
The quarterfinal matches are also played over the best-of-five frames and are all scheduled to start at 5pm Pacific Time.
Should the top four seeded players win their groups, they will be on course to meet each other in the semifinals, played over the best-of-seven-frames, which are scheduled to start at 7:30pm Pacific Time.
The best-of-nine-frames final will commence at 1pm Pacific Time on Sunday, May 25.
Full coverage of the Championship will be on the SnookerUSA.com website.
