India’s maestro with the cue, Pankaj Advani claimed his 11th World Billiards Championship (150-up format) title on Monday, defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist in the final.
The Indian cueist came out on top six games to three 151 (98)-33, 150 (97)-95, 124-150, 101 (98)-150 (89), 150 (87)-50, 152-37, 86 (86)-150, 151 (110)-104, 150 (88)-15.
Advani had come into the final on the back of a win in the semis against Myanmar’s Aung Htay the same morning. And the Indian kept his nerves when it mattered as an enthralling summit clash eventually his 16th World Billiards title overall.
The Indian began on a bright note, taking the first two games with relative ease only to see the Singapore-based Englishman storm back to close the gap at 4-3 after seven games.
Advani was not his dominant self in those periods. In fact, many might say he was off colour after posting century break points in all the games in his semi-final clash. The final was a different story though and the 31-year-old had to be left satisfied with only short break points to put pressure on Gilchrist.
It was in fact, not until the eighth game of the match that Advani posted a century break of 110. This later turned out to be his only century break. However, this was enough to nearly vanquish hopes of winning the title, giving Advani a decisive 5-3 lead.
