Pankaj Advani storms into the Asian Snooker Tour final
The Bengaluru cueist had notched up impressive wins in the knockout stages to march into the final. The world champion bettered his own performance after he defeated Pakistan's Mohammed Bilal to enter the final. In the first leg of the tournament, which was held in Doha last month, Advani had settled for a bronze, and this time the champion made short work of the experienced Chinese opponent as he clinched gold.
The final, played for best of 11 frames, saw the 19-time world champion wrap up the final, dropping just one frame against the Chinese cueist. The Bengaluru lad took the opening frame 48-35, to set the ball rolling. The 33-year-old won the second frame with ease as he crafted a break a 40 which saw him clinch the frame 67-23.
Punks wins yet another gold, this time on the Asian Snooker Tour. Well done champ! 🥇@PankajAdvani247 @ibsf pic.twitter.com/5f1n62Owvz
— Shree Advani (@ShreeAdvani) October 31, 2018
With two games in the pocket, Advani faced a fightback from the Chinese, a former APTC winner, in the third frame. Reti gave the seasoned Advani a scare as he crafted a break of 60 to bounce back into the game, pocketing the third frame 69-24. But that was all that the Chinese cueist managed against the world champion.
From thereon, it was a one-sided affair as Advani seemed to be in a hurry to finish off the game. Advani won the next four frames on the trot to walk away with the Gold medal in Jinan. En route to his win, India's Golden Boy crafted breaks of 49 and 51 in the fifth frame and a straight break of 94 in the final to ease to victory and all yet another title to his name. Moreover, Advani will now head into the World Billiards and Snooker Championship on a strong note and will hope to defend both the titles.
Results:
Final: Pankaj Advani (India) beat Ju Reti (China) 6-1: 48-35, 67(40)-23, 24-69(60), 63-33, 100(49, 51)-0, 47-19, 94-0
Semifinal: Pankaj Advani (India) beat Mohammed Bilal (Pakistan) 5-1: 93(93)-0, 5-56, 62(58)-1, 42(40)-34, 37-23, 85(84)-4;
Quarterfinal: Pankaj Advani (India) defeated Amir Sarkhosh (Iran) 5-1: 53-18, 53-31, 15-60(47), 75(75)-0, 52-40, 80(80)-17.