The contrast was stark. Last evening Rupesh Shah gave enough chances to Geet Sethi to win the decider but the latter's cue-ball control was not good enough for accomplishing it. On Wednesday, Rupesh put world champ Pankaj Advani through the wringer but found the latter's touch added with a slice of luck taking him through to the semis of the Rs.3.7 Lakh CCI Platinum Jubilee snooker with a 5-3 win. Pankaj takes on Kamal Chawla who shocked Alok Kumar 5-3.

The other semi will pit Yasin Merchant, the conqueror of Manan Chandra 5-4 and Shahbaaz Khan who ended the run of Sandeep Gulati 5-3.

Pankaj, leading 4-3, was down 0-62 with six reds left. He kept clawing back but at every stage Rupesh had the chance to sew the frame up and set up the decider. But Pankaj continued to get chances as when Rupesh left a green on which he took with the rest to win. "I got my confidence after I potted the brown which wobbled," said a relieved Advani. Rupesh said, "When destiny is against you your best efforts end up in failure."

Yasin Merchant has been willing himself to win this jackpot of one Lakh rupees in this event right from the press conference day when he said he would be the man to beat.

He ousted the India No 1 Manan Chandra with a display of his form on old. Still it would not have been possible if Manan had not missed the pink in the4 eighth frame to allow Yasin to win and force the decider. Yasin was not to look a gift horse in the mouth and won the decider with his wonted form.

Merchant's effort overshadowed Shahbaz Khan's impressive 5-3 win over Sandeep Gulati of Delhi for a surprise entry into the semi-finals where he takes on Merchant.

Twice in arrears at 2-3 and 3-4 in the best-of-nine frames quarter-finals, Merchant rolled back the years to rally back into the match at crucial stages against a formidable Chandra. But, as Chandra realized, when you give old foxes like Merchant and Alok Kumar an inch, they take a yard. Merchant capitalized on Chandra's blemishes and the openings that came his way and never looked back. Chandra had his chances in a marathon encounter that could have gone either way, but lost it somewhere in between.

Merchant, who got off to a dream start with a big break of 82 in the opening frame, sounded an early warning of things to come. He followed it with a break of 59 in the third to regain control at a time Chandra was equal to the challenge. Seeded second in the tournament, Chandra replied with a break of 62 in the fourth frame that helped him draw level at 2-2, before taking a 3-2 lead by snatching the fifth frame. Chandra came up with another significant break of 57 in the seventh frame to surge to a 4-3 advantage that kept his hopes alive. But Merchant won a nail-biting eighth frame to force the decider. Trailing 7-20 in the ninth and final frame, Merchant fired the first of two small but significant breaks that took the frame and match away from a helpless Chandra. Merchant constructed a crucial break of 19 that included a brilliant pink pot and enhanced his hopes of a win with another break of 22 soon after to stay ahead and fashion the biggest upset of the competition.

"At this stage, Manan is a better player than I, but I did not hesitate to go for my shots and that proved decisive," explained Merchant. "He's too good a player to allow any leeway. But I managed to put the pressure on him." Said a disappointed Chandra, "I had my chances and could have won 5-3. But I put myself under pressure."