Collins will be the top seed and according to Simon Magin, a spokesman for the organisers, he's the player to beat. He was in great touch in 2018, cruising through the preliminary rounds before beating Nathan Cox from Club Harrington 3-1 in the final. He took out the first frame 53-41 before Cox fought back to claim the second 54-39. The third frame was the best of the match, Collins securing a tight 43-40 win.

However, Collins showed his dominance in the last round when he won 48-8.

Cox is expected to again be the main threat to Collins this weekend. He'll be the second seed. However, Barry Carlaw, one of the district's leading players, will miss the championship as he's away.

However, a full field of 32 will again be involved, with matches starting around 9am on Saturday.

Semi-finals will be played on Sunday morning with the final scheduled for that afternoon.

As was the case last year, the championship will be limited to players from the Manning and Great Lakes area. Mr Magin said the event was losing support when played under the previous format that saw semi-professional players from throughout NSW taking part.

"Our sponsors were concerned the prizemoney was leaving the area,'' Mr Magin said.

"But last year worked really well and everyone seemed happy with it.''

While Collins will start favourite, Mr Magin said Mark Pennings from Taree is a player capable of causing an upset.

He said all the local snooker clubs - Club Forster, Club Taree, Wingham Services Club and Club Harrington will be represented. There'll be two outsiders, Garry and Rhonda Knight, invited. They both have a long association with the championship.

The champion of champions has a history stretching back to the mid-1980s when it was conducted by Wingham Services Club. Wingham's Terry Simmons dominated the early years.

As is the case now, the initial championships were limited to players from the Manning Great Lakes.