Pankaj Advani lines up grand double

New Delhi: Pankaj Advani held his nerve to edge past David Causier of England in the semi-finals of the World Billiards Championship time format by a mere five points in Leeds on Wednesday.

Eyeing another grand double (points and time format in the same year) after clinching the 150-up short format title last week, Advani led Causier by a comfortable 400 points margin at one stage only to pip last year’s runner-up 1180-1175 at the end.

With Advani making it to the final, it could have been an all-Bengaluru title clash, but Balachandra Bhaskar went down to another Englishman, Robert Hall 978-824. Hall was far too consistent for Bhaskar, who had stunned defending champion Peter Gilchrist in the previous round.Advani, on winning the match narrowly, said, “I just cannot believe how close it got! I had no business relinquishing the lead I enjoyed in the first half but that’s the magnitude of David’s talent. He is a remarkable billiards player and a thorough gentleman. He congratulated me and wished me luck for the finals. A true sportsman.”

On his upcoming match with Hall, who makes his first appearance in a World Championship final, Advani said, “Rob is in fine form and has taken his game to a whole new level. From the time I last saw him in August (in Glasgow at the quadrennial World Team Billiards Championship), his game has grown leaps and bounds.“He has beaten the highly capable Aussie Matthew Bolton earlier this week and took out our own Bhaskar, who was in tremendous form. This will not be an easy match but as always I remain positive.”