Pankaj Advani is World Billiards Champion
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http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/08/stories/2009090856241700.htm
Pankaj Advani is World champion
Geet Sethi
The 24-year-old outclasses Mike Russell in the final
CLASSY CHAMPION: Pankaj Advani played brilliantly to win the World
professional billiards tournament on Sunday.
Leeds: Pankaj Advani is the 2009 World professional billiards champion. In a
surprising one-sided five-hour final, the 24-year-old outclassed the
41-year-old Mike Russell 2031-1253 to end a remarkable domination by the
Englishman, who now lives and represents Qatar.
Russell, who has won the title a record nine times and has been in the
finals 17 times had given early glimpses of not being at his best in the
last two matches.
Against Rupesh Shah, he had struggled for most part of the four-hour match
only to find his touch in the second session in which he scored heavily. In
the quarterfinal against B. Bhaskar as well he had trailed initially only to
come good towards the end.
Punishing run
But on Sunday afternoon he did not have the resolve left to make a comeback
after Advani punished him in the opening hour of the contest with runs of
132, 93, 170, 91, 226, 93 and 101.
Against other lesser-fancied opponents, Russell was never put under this
kind of severe pressure. His deficits were always within 300 points. Visibly
shaken by the ferocious start by his young opponent, Russell succumbed to
the demons in his own mind.
In the last 20 years, never have I seen him so upset and frustrated at his
own inability to reproduce the game which he knows so well. A solitary 193
on the 11th visit revealed his inability to score heavily and also revealed
his fragile state of mind. The mid-match interval saw Advani with a
commanding 1070-418 advantage.
That 600-point lead may not have been decisive but it provided a huge
psychological boost to the Indian.
After losing his league match against Dhruv Sitwala, Advani's progress into
the final had been accomplished with hard, last minute victories against
David Causier in the quarterfinals and against Dhruv Sitwala in the
semifinals.
Deep down he knew that against Russell he would need to dominate the match
from the start and that's what he did. And this has been Advani's greatest
strength.
He paces himself in the big tournaments and manages to save the best for the
last.
On resumption, it was Russell who gave the first indication of a revival of
form. A 100 and 219 on the ninth and 12th visits reduced the deficit
somewhat but Advani replied the 100 with a 97 thus negating most of the
damage. The Indian then launched into three decisive breaks of 136, 147 and
106 in the 16th, 20th and 21st visit to finally seal the match in his
favour.
Phenomenal
Russell's form deteriorated even further after this and from then on it was
just a case of playing out time. With this win, Advani holds the enviable
record of being the current World professional billiards champion, current
IBSF World billiards champion, the Asian Games billiards champion, the Asian
billiards champion and the National billiards champion.
It is a phenomenal achievement to simultaneously hold all titles that the
sport has to offer. And, all this at the age of 24.
Russell was gracious in defeat and said "Pankaj is young and hungry and is a
great potter. He doesn't care where the balls go. He can recover from any
situation."
Indeed, Advani's greatest strength, which is by now well documented, is his
mental strength.
Most of his world titles have been won from precarious situations when he
has produced outstanding billiards to win towards the end.
With this kind of mind and a game to match, and youth on his side, one can
only see him get better.