Dubai: A purse of more than $ one million (Dh3.65 million) will be up for grabs at the second Nad Al Sheba Desert Shooting Competition, to be held from February 22-28.

The organisers have confirmed a field of 954 shooters from all across the world for arguably one of the richest purses in the history of shooting. This includes an elite field of 75 in the men’s competition and another 40 in the women.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the top-25 shooters in the men’s section will split a cash purse of $675,000 with the champion receiving $200,000, followed by $100,000 for second and $50,000 for third.

All 40 shooters in the women’s competition will receive cash awards with the winner taking home $50,000 followed by $25,000 and $25,000 for the next two finishers. Besides the two main championships, there will be other competitions to decide the best shooters in the Gulf and in the UAE.

Shooters from the USA had dominated the inaugural edition of the competition last year with Gebben Miles and Anthony Matarese claiming gold and bronze, with Spaniard Jose Manuel Rodriguez taking second place. The women’s competition too was keenly contested with Beatriz Laparra Cuenca of Spain being crowned champion leaving American Desirae Edmunds for second with Italian Martina Maruzzo in third.

“After the success of last year we wanted to do something different. For this year we have managed to successfully invite all the top shooters under one roof making this the richest and also a true test that will give us the champion of champions after four days of competition,” Faisal Al Bastaki, Head of Media Operations, Shaikh Hamdan’s Office, told Gulf News.

“We have made a few alterations to the actual format of the competition so that no one in particular has an advantage. So irrespective of whether you are a skeet or a trap shooter, you stand an even chance of winning as the format of competition is such,” he added.

The competitors will be landing in Dubai from February 22 with the following two days dedicated for training at the Nad Al Sheba shooting site. Actual competition will get under way from February 24.