India's Advani crowned champion of 6-Red World Cup Qatar, claims 24th world title in Doha
Indian star player Pankaj Advani claimed his 24th world title and a second successive trophy within a week in Doha after defeating Pakistan's Babar Masih 7-5 in the final match of the IBSF 6-Red Snooker World Cup Qatar at the Al Messila Luxury Resort in Doha yesterday.
Advani, who won his 11th Asian title last week, had stayed unbeaten in the Qatar 6Reds World Cup 2021 as he lifted the coveted trophy with the winners' prize of USD12,000.
The 36-year-old cueist from Pune reached the final after defeating Iran's Amir Sarkhosh, the same opponent he overcame to lift the Asian Championship trophy last Thursday, 6-3, while his opponent Masih knocked out debutant Richard Wienold of Germany 6-4 in the other semifinals match.
"I am living a dream. After being away from the table for so long, these two back-to-back triumphs assure me that my hunger and competitive skills haven't diminished," Advani said.
"Very fortunate to win both as I am aware there is still a lot of work to put into my game once I return. Happy to return home tomorrow with two gold medals for my country."
Like in almost all his games at the two tournaments, Advani was quick off the mark as he started the final with a comfortable 42-13 win in the opening frame. Babar, the 2017 World Team Snooker Champion, drew parity by winning the second 38-14.
In the third frame, "The Prince of India" made a foul that only he knew he had committed. Advani won the third and fourth in quick succession to go 3-1 up.
The Pakistani cueist, who was in no mood to play second fiddle to his worthy opponent, crafted a wonderful 56 break to bridge the gap.
Advani shifted gears and then took the next three to be one frame away from getting his hands on his 24th world winner's trophy.
Not going to go down without a fight, Babar brought the match to a precarious situation by winning the next three frames as a strong response scoring 43-00, 46-12 and 59-15.
The score was 6-5 in favour of Pankaj, and Babar was placing good safety, but when Pankaj got a chance for long red pot, he accumulated few red-black combinations to score a break of 32 points. Although Pankaj committed a foul on the last red, no significant damage, and he sealed the frame in the next visit to win the title.
The presentation ceremony was graced by the IBSF President, Mubarak Al-Khayarin, QBSF President Mohammed Mubarak Al-Ramzani, IBSF Secretary Michael Alkhoury, IBSF Executive Alamgir Shaikh, officials from QBSF and the representatives from the Sponsors Ooredoo and Al-Maha.
The GCC Billiards and Snooker Championship, the last of the trio of tournaments hosted by the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF), will start today until September 28.
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