Mumbai :: 14.May.2014

Advani restart billiards campaign with a fluent victory

Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani fashioned a fluent victory to emerge supreme in the billiards competition, in the CCI Classic Billiards & Snooker Tournament 2014.

Advani romped to a comfortable 1425-447 win over twice world runner-up Dhruv Sitwala, who endured high fever since the pre-quarter-finals, in a surprisingly one-sided championship round. But Advani broke the monotony with a slew of entertaining breaks that left the knowledgeable audience at the Wilson Jones billiards room yearning for more.

The ace cueist, who hit the tournament’s highest break of 530, did not disappoint as he warmed up with an early 98 break before firing a delightful 243 and adding 193 to lead by a substantial 787-227 at the half way stage of the four-hour final.

With a lukewarm response from Sitwala, who succumbed to the early pressure, Advani made merry with impressive top-table play as he enjoyed the huge advantage while adding 200 and 196 in the second half. Advani’s stupendous effort left Sitwala way behind as he had no answer to the rampaging Bangalore cueist’s break-building ability.

"Full credit to Dhruv for reaching the final after battling high fever and beating some established players en route. The final was a big occasion but unfortunately he was unwell," reasoned Advani. "Since there was no challenge, I didn’t really enjoy the match. But I am happy with the consistent breaks and heavy scoring throughout the tournament."

Earlier, in the three-hour semi-finals, Advani tamed former world champion Rupesh Shah that included a break of 297, while Sitwala registered a nail-biting 9-point win over Maharashtra state selection champion Arun Agrawal.

Agrawal snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as he frittered away the advantage he enjoyed for most part of the match, bungling a simple red pot and shockingly missing an equally simple cannon that was laid on a platter with two minutes remaining.

Click for Results