Pankaj Advani is one of the greatest players in cue sports that India has ever produced, winning titles after titles. The 31-year-old Indian player clinched yet another title as he defeated defending champion Peter Gilchrist in the finals to win the World Billiards (150-Up format) Championships and display another magnificent trophy on his sideboard.
This was a dream final for billiards fans, who wanted to see the two players in action for the title-decider at the Karnataka State Billiards Association on Monday.
It was a close contest, with Advani starting in a bright manner, winning the first two frames, but Gilchrist pulled back, winning the next two to make it 2-2. From there on, it was understood that the final was going to be an interesting affair. After some close battle between the two stars, the Indian emerged victorious, winning the ninth frame to make it 6-3, with the match lasting for around five hours. The final scores read 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.
Though both the players could have played much better, the final was a close contest between the two superstars of the sport. It was not a perfect match for Adavani, who also made some errors, but he looked in better form to clinch his 11th World Billiards title.
Advani felt that it was not an easy table in the finals, but both the finalists adjusted with it as the match progressed.
"The table was very tricky. Both of us acknowledged that it was difficult. Peter found the throw of the cushion tough while for me the balls were not splitting as much. Suddenly it came back to normal later on. In India when you talk about a damp pitch everyone understands, but when you talk about bouncy tables and split being less everyone says it's simple errors," espn.in quoted Advani as saying.
Despite the conditions, he emerged victorious to win the title at home.
"I'm extremely relieved to win this title. Given that I've played very little billiards this year and winning it at home is special," Pankaj said.
