Pankaj Advani wins inaugural Asian Snooker Tour title

Bengaluru, April 26: Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani beat Iran's Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 6-4 to claim the inaugural Asian Snooker Tour title at the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) Hall.

Advani, a 21-time world snooker and billiards champion, beat Nezhad 52-40, 66(58)-0, 1-63(62), 78-4, 35-47, 0-51, 47-35, 38-39, 53(49)-35, 51(50)-20 in the final.

The Indian had earlier defeated Aung Phyo of Myanmar (5-2) 50-27, 92(92)-0, 86(86)-15, 12-62, 54-30, 24-70, 79-5 in the semifinal.

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Advani had earlier won the second leg of the Tour in China.

Advani was leading the ranking before the final leg of the Tour in Bengaluru.

The final leg was to determine the overall Asian Tour champion and the local hero did not disappoint with his terrific performance at the KSBA Hall.

"I'm ecstatic to have won the inaugural Asian Snooker Tour and for it to culminate in my hometown is an absolute dream. The success of this event is owed to the organising committee headed by Arvind Savur and was ably supported by those involved in ensuring every aspect of the tournament was managed extremely well," Advani said.

"Ehsan (Nezhad) got my number in the league stages and I knew I had my work cut out in the final. He is a worthy opponent who is one of the most improved players on the circuit. I'm happy to have changed the result in this match when it mattered most," added Advani

(With PTI inputs)