The prince of Indian cue sports Pankaj Advani of PSPB was in supreme form and showed sublime touch as he made Stephen Lee of England eat humble pie as he waltzed to a stunning 7-2 victory in the best-of-13-frame final of the Cricket Club of India organized Rs 12.1 lakh prize-money CCI Snooker Classic 2023, and played at the CCI’s Sir Wilson Jones billiards hall on Saturday evening.
The 37-year-old Bengaluru-based Advani, the most decorated cueists from the country and winner of 25 world titles, was in full flow. He showed tremendous fluency and precision with his pots and was able to get into excellent positions during break-building process and went on to construct seven substantial breaks of 73 (2nd frame), 82 (3rd), 43 (4th), 87 (5th), 67 (6th), 115 (8th) and 70 (9th) to clinch a deserving 53-101, 73-28, 114-14, 74-30, 87-0, 67-31, 28-60, 115-0, and 106-15 frame scores victory.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Advani had produced another impressive showing and sent India No. 3 and National 6-red champion Ishpreet Singh Chadha crashing out, carving out a disciplined 6-1 (133-0, 99-33, 63-39, 90-40, 29-82, 72-56, and 57-49 ) victory in the best-of-11-frame match.
On an adjacent table, India’s National snooker champion Kamal Chawala squandered a commanding 4-1 lead and went down to Stephen Lee of England 6-4. Lee was unfazed and came roaring back winning five successive frames and signed off with a 76 break to carve out a 28-78, 47-73, 2-60, 81-36, 1-70, 68-20, 69-0, 67-50, 61-42, and 76-14 win.
Results – Semi-finals: Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Ishpreet Singh Chadha (Mah) 6-1 (133(117)-0, 99-33, 63-39, 90-40, 29-82(82), 72-56, 57-49);
Stephen Lee (UK) bt Kamal Chawla (Rlys) 6-4 (28-78, 47-73, 2-60, 81(67)-36, 1-70, 68-20, 69-0, 67-50, 61-42, 76(72)-14).
Finals: Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Stephen Lee (UK) 7-2 (53-101, 73(73)-28, 114(82)-14, 74(43)-30, 87(87)-0, 67(67)-31, 28-60, 115(115)-0, 106(70)-15).