Renowned Indian cueist Pankaj Advani secured his fifth grand double by delivering a commanding 5-0 victory over fellow Indian Sourav Kothari in the IBSF World Billiards Championship final in Doha on Friday. This triumph elevated Advani’s world title count to an impressive 27. The 38-year-old demonstrated his dominance over Kothari in a repeat of the world championship final.
Having previously defeated Kothari in the longer 1000-point format, Advani, a five-time champion in this event (2005, 2008, 2014, 2018), added another feather to his cap in the short format, which was a best-of-9 contest of 150-point frames. Although Kothari made a strong start in the first frame, Advani showcased his prowess with a remarkable unfinished break of 144 after being 6-91 down, securing a 1-0 lead.
The subsequent two frames witnessed Advani’s remarkable scoring, including two more century breaks, extending his lead to 3-0. With two frames to go, Advani maintained control. Although the final two frames lacked century breaks, Advani crafted useful breaks of 81 and 77 to clinch both the match and the championship.
Following this victory, Advani is set to return home for 10 days before heading to Chennai for the National Billiards and Snooker Championship.
