Ceasar Chandiga and Rashiada Mutesi were on Sunday, 21st December crowned the 2025 Nile Special National Pool Open men and women champion respectively during the sold-out grand finale at the Lugogo arena.
Chandiga, known as the Scorpion in the pool circles, came from two games down to defeat hard-working Rashid Wagaba 9-5 in the final to secure his second title after 2023 triumph when he beat Hazali Lukomwa.
Wagaba made a bright start, racing into a 2-0 lead, but consecutive errors on the black proved costly and opened the door for the 2023 champion.
Chandiga seized the moment and never looked back, conceding just two more frames as he powered through the next nine to seal the title.
He joins other two-time winners Fahad Ssewankambo, Mansoor Bwanika and Jonah Turigye who has three titles to his name.
To storm the final, Chandiga beat current seed one Joseph Kasozi 8-4 at the semis while Wagaba eliminated last year’s finalists Brian Sejjemba.
“I am very happy and grateful to my loved ones and fans. I prepared well and came with confidence to win,” noted Chandigah, who was accompanied by his mother and Zambian fiancée.
In the ladies’ category, Rashida Mutesi finally got her hands on the grand prize after losing two finals. Mutesi beat last year’s winner and seed one Marion Kisakye 7-4 in the epic final to win this year’s title that adds to her pool queen crown.
After taking a 3-0 lead and surviving a mid-match wobble, Mutesi stepped up to deny Kisakye a comeback.
“I am so happy. I prayed hard and I trained massively. I thank my fans for the support, PAU for the organization and Nile Special for the sponsorship,” noted Rashida who dedicated the win to her mum.
Courtesy of sponsors Nile Special, Chandiga went home with UGX 5m while Mutesi got UGX 3m on top of the brand-new cars as the top prize.
Pool Association of Uganda (PAU) Chairman Bob Trubish says that his aims at transforming players’ lives and is happy that nine cars have been issued since 2017.
“I appreciate our 70 members of Clubs, over 5000 players who participated across the country from mini qualifiers to the grand finale as well as our long-term strategic partners Nile breweries through Nile Special who have now sponsored 13 cars being issued out,” noted Trubish.
A total of 160 players took part in the one-day grand finale after nation-wide qualifiers that attracted over 5000 players.
