Imran Salem and Ali Abdul Kareem were the first UAE national players to book their places in the prestigious Second WPA World 8-Ball Pool Championships to be held in Fujairah next month.

Salem got the better of Saeed Abdullah 9-5, while Abdul Kareem got past Omar Al Serkal 9-6 in the qualifiers last week.

The other two slots will be decided next week. "This is the last chance for the local players to qualify and we are expecting an even bigger field," said tournament director Ahmad Ebrahim.

"We have received a lot of enquiries especially from players who have failed at the World 9-Ball Championships recently."

The main field of 64 players for the Championships is expected to be led by former World Champion, Efrem Bata Reyes from the Philippines, who clinched last year's inaugural title.

According to the format laid down by the World Pool Association (WPA) this year, there are 12 slots for UAE nationals.

The eight top ranked players in the region have earned an automatic entry to the main draw.

For the WPA World 8-Ball Championships in Fujairah, the world body has allocated quotas for continents.