Gammon down to see world's best go dice to dice

World champion: Masayuki ‘Mochy’ Mochizuki from Japan will be competing at the Bristol Open backgammon tournament

Current and former world champions will make up the strongest field ever for the Bristol Open backgammon tournament starting tomorrow.

Roland Herrera, the Bristol man coordinating the event, said he and his team were delighted to have gathered so many international top names and double the number of competitors from last year.

A prize fund in the region of £20,000 is expected to be on offer and the public are invited to watch and take part in Britain’s strongest tournament.

“We have this year’s world champion and top players from around the world – American, Japan, Australia, Lithuania, Canadians, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium – it’s quite an international event.

“It’s certainly the strongest event we have put and much stronger than your average UK tournament.”

The event, which starts on Saturday and continues until Sunday evening, is the fourth Bristol Open to be held. Japanese world champion Masayuki ‘Mochy’ Mochizuki will be competing alongside up to 100 other international-class players.

But the event is also open to backgammon players of all abilities, with separate cash-prize competitions for beginner/intermediate and advanced players.

Westbury Park-based Mr Herrera, with his wife Simonetta, organised the tournament together soon after they were married and are both renowned on the world backgammon stage.

Earlier this year, Mr Herrera narrowly missed out on the world title in Monaco when he lost in the semi-finals to reigning champion Lars Trabolt from Denmark.

Mrs Herrera, a cello teacher, reached the last 16 making the couple the top two British competitors. Despite being reluctant to take up the game initially, she is a former Bristol Open champion and wants more women to take up the game.

The public can come to the Artillery Grounds on Whiteladies Road to watch the players show off their skills, which Mr Herrera says can be more exciting than actually playing.

“It’s like watching a football match,” he said. “It’s quite volatile and the game can swing really quickly.”

The event, sponsored by CasinoRip.com, starts at 1pm with entry fees starting at £10 for beginners/intermediates.