Legendary cueist Pankaj Advani proved that he remains a formidable force on the circuit as he pocketed a staggering 29th career world title by winning the WBL World Billiards Championship here.
Hall had reached the World Billiards Championship final five times before this without crossing the finish line. For Advani, it was about extending his unparalleled record of world titles in cue sports. Close to the two-hour mark, the finalists were almost equally positioned on the scoreboard. Advani scored another century to take the lead.
The summit match began with Advani scoring a 91 break. Hall took lead with an impressive 203 run. Advani then crafted the most memorable break of the championship, a mammoth 587-break, which was the highest of the world championship this year. Advani defeated compatriot Sourav Kothari 1134-575 in the three-hour quarterfinal earlier and got the better of in-form David Causier 1607-1271 in the last-four stage.
“The second session of the final was billiards from the gods,” the gracious Hall said during the prize ceremony, referring to Advani’s extraordinary comeback and marvellous display of the three-ball game.
The world championship fielded the toughest players from all over the world. Michael Ferreira was the only one not present as he has long retired from competitive billiards.
Advani said Hall was a fine player and his maiden title was around the corner.
