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Pankaj Advani (left) & Rob Hall

Mumbai, April 20: IBSF World Champion Pankaj Advani of Bengaluru was in scintillating form and stole the thunder with an outstanding performance as he humbled Englishman Rob Hall by registering an emphatic 2044-507 point victory in the 4-hour final of the Cricket Club of India organized Rs 10 lakh prize-money CCI Classic Invitation Billiards (time format) Championship 2023 at the CCI Sir Wilson Jones billiards hall on Thursday evening.

The Cricket Club of India is proving to be a happy hunting ground for the Indian who has now completed a grand double. Advani had earlier this year clinched the CCI Classic Snooker crown as he had outclassed another Englishman Stephen Lee 7-2 in the best-of-13-frame final in January.

“It’s really been a tough week of billiards and the way Rob Hall has played and going into the final would be a toss of the coin as to who would win the match so I knew I had to make big breaks in the final and score consistently to keep him (Hall) at bay, but I think Rob (Hall) has been fantastic throughout the week,” an excited Advani stated.

Advani admitted that the first big break was the key to his success. “Sometimes the breaks just come, like the whole week I have had 300 breaks, 200 breaks, I have been feeling good because I have been scoring consistently well and I thought to myself it’s just a matter of time before the big break comes and fortunately for me it in the first visit and that set the tone for my win in the final,” a modest Advani mentioned.

The Indian cueist, the proud winner of 25 World crowns, started in flying fashion constructing a 657 break on his first visit and then added a 131 and went on to grab a mammoth 841-340 lead at the end of the first session.

Advani played flawlessly and in workmanlike fashion hit the balls with precision and also exhibited tremendous focus and concentration during his big breaks building process. His magnificent efforts completely knocked the fight out of his England opponent who was left to sit chilling in his chair and just watch in awe as the genius was busy at work hitting the big ones.

India’s most accomplished cue sports player Advani was meticulous in his approach and managed to play some amazing recovery shots to continue with the big breaks which ensured he won by a whopping margin.

He followed the 657 effort with another century run of 131 in the first period, while Hall’s best was 152 and 108 in this session.

On resumption, Advani continued in the same fashion and rolled in breaks of 155, 93, 540, and 167 to put the issue beyond the England challenger who was not allowed to spend much time on the table.

CCI President Madhumati Lele presented Advani with the handsome crystal ‘Champions’ trophy and a cash award of Rs 2.5 lakh and CCI Vice-President Darius Mehta handed Rob Hall with the runners-up trophy and a cheque of Rs 1.5 lakh. Advani who scored the top break of 657 in the final also claimed a further Rs 50,000 as the prize for the highest break in the tournament.

Result – Final: Pankaj Advani (IND) beat Rob Hall (ENG) 2044[657, 131, 155, 93, 540, 167]-507[152, 108].