BENGALURU: Pankaj Advani justified his top billing, putting in a magical performance during the National Billiards Championship final, decimating Dhvaj Haria in straight frames at Karnataka State Billiards Association on Monday. He executed his plans perfectly while cruising past the 23-year-old 5-0 (151-0, 152-0, 151-36,151-0, 152-112) to clinch his ninth national billiards title.
The Bengaluru man had a spring in his stride and meant business from the first frame itself. Advani was quick off the blocks, wrapping up the first two frames in just 34 minutes, with a break of 147 and 109 respectively. Haria, with hands to his chin, had to sit in the chair for majority of the first 35 minutes. He could not even open his account, such was Advani’s dominance.
Advani’s finish in the second frame was the highlight as the defending champion won the last 33 points with just the red ball on the green baize. It was pure confidence.
“It is never easy to score off hazards, especially when there are no options left,” Advani said. The story of the third frame was no different though Haria finally managed to pot a few balls before making an error while leading 36-13. The opening was enough for the defending champion to canter towards another century break (138) and secure a healthy 3-0 lead.
Advani knew he was in the driver’s seat after winning the third frame. “I executed my plans perfectly, to start off well because you do not want to let your opponent (Haria) with too many chances in the first 2-3 frames. I was seeing the ball really well. The first three frames were really the key. After 3-0, I knew I had control over the game, but I put everything in the first 3 frames,” added Advani. If the first three frames were good, the fourth from Advani was absolutely magical as he won with a break of 151 points.
Haria came back strong in the fifth, securing his only 50 plus (67) break, but it was still not enough with Advani steamrolling towards victory after the Ahmedabad man missed the red at 112 points. Advani had a brilliant run in the billiards nationals, winning the title without losing a single frame. “This is my best performance in this nationals, glad to not drop a single frame,” Advani said.
Third place playoff results: B Bhaskar (Kar) bt Rupesh Shah (PSPB) 3-2 (150-57, 62-150, 151-116, 26-150, 152 (152) -9). Final standings: 1. Pankaj Advani; 2. Dhvaj Haria; 3. B Bhaskar; 4. Rupesh Shah; 5. Alok Kumar; 6. Siddharth Parikh; 7.Devendra Joshi; 8. Brijesh Damani.