The online billiards website Play89 will be sponsoring the Israeli amateur snooker player Rona Bareket. Bareket, 22, is currently ranked at number 9 in the world ladies snooker players, the highest ranking an Israeli snooker player has ever got. Play89 sponsorship allows Bareket to concentrate on her training for her upcoming snooker tournaments.

22 years old Rona Bareket has been playing snooker tournaments for the last four years. She has recently made headlines in the world's amateur snooker circle when entered the Knockout Stage at the 2007 IBSF World Ladies Snooker Championship, which took place in November 10-25, 2007 in Korat, Thailand, and by that was automatically included in the world's top 16 women snooker players.

Play89 sponsorship is a sound statement on the relationship between the professional and amateur cue sports and its virtual appearance. "As we see it", states the spokesperson of SkillEmpire, the company that owns and operates Play89, online billiards is no less skillful than off-line billiards. We've put most of our efforts in designing a billiards platform that would appeal the billiards savvy as well as the recreational online gamer".    

"Rona Bareket excellency, consistency and innate talent for the snooker game, makes her the perfect protégé of our billiard site", he adds. And Rona Bareket utters "SkillEmpire has been very helpful by sponsoring my participation in snooker tournaments worldwide. Thanks to their support, when I'm off competition, I don't have to work, I stay with the cue in my hand all day, just practicing and improving my play."

According to Rona Bareket, Play89 has the most realistic billiards software in the market and she is proud to be sponsored by the website. SkillEmpire also runs the online backgammon site Play65, which was recently responsible for providing two of the winners in the doubles event at the 19th City of Venice International Backgammon Tournament.