Sweet 26: Pankaj Advani on top of world, again

Doha, November 21

Indian cueist Pankaj Advani rallied to win the IBSF World Billiards Championship title here today for a staggering 26th time, beating compatriot Sourav Kothari in the final.

Trailing 26-180 in the first hour, Advani rallied to defeat the 2018 world champion Kothari 1,000–416 in a rematch of last year’s title clash.

Playing back-to-back matches, Kothari took the initial lead and was going strong but faltered on a couple of easy chances to allow Advani recover from the deficit.

Thereon, it got a little scrappy with both players exchanging visits between them and a couple of 150-plus breaks by Advani helped him stretch the lead while Kothari could not fully capitalise on the chances he got.

Advani fired in a break of 214, the highest of the match, and looked unstoppable after that. “I have won before so I know how it feels, but to repeat it year on year is what makes all those hours of work on skill, body and mind totally worth it,” Advani said.