Six-Reds next
Earlier in the semifinal, the Bengaluru boy defeated Hong Kong's Cheung Ka Wai 5-3 (117(53)-9, 65-17, 0-136(136), 42-88, 79-1, 0-113(113), 64(61)-37, 68-14) in the best-of-nine frames tie.
Pankaj will now turn his attention to the Six-Reds World Cup which begins at the same venue from Friday (September 17).
National champion
The ace Indian cueist is the current national champion in the Six-Reds format and will be eyeing a good show along with the other Indian -- Ishpreet Singh -- in the competition which runs till Tuesday (September 21).
This is the first major international event in which Indian cueists are taking part following a 19-month enforced break due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Career Grand Slam
Both the tournaments are sanctioned by the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports (ACBS).
It may be recalled that Pankaj had completed a career Grand Slam in cue sports in 2019 when he clinched the ACBS Asian snooker title which had proved to be elusive for him for a long time.
Records galore
In the 2019 final (also held in Doha), Pankaj had defeated Thailand's Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon 6-3. As a matter of fact, Pankaj is the only cueist to win the Asian and World Championships in all formats and also the only one to do so in two disciplines -- snooker and billiards.
""I'm glad to defend this title and pick up from where I left off before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gap only increased the drive and hunger to compete and do well on return," said Pankaj.