He warmed his chair even more in the cold environs of Al Arabi Sports Club’s indoor hall, as Russell went 89-0 in the second frame.
And then it happened. The kick. Russell missed the pot. “It’s the worst thing to happen,” Advani said later.
If a human brain was a see-through mechanical machine, you would have perhaps seen the parts not aligning and working like they should. But it isn’t. And so you believe what Russell tells you later. “I started to worry about my technique.” And that, was bad news for the Englishman.
The tide turned. “Once I took the second frame, I was a lot more comfortable, a lot more relaxed,” Advani told Gulf Times. “And then decided, ‘You know what, today I am just going to play my game’.”
And the 32-year-old from the Indian city of Bengaluru did. Armed with five 100+ breaks, including three breaks of 151 each, Advani won his 11th IBSF world billiards title, which was also his 13th world billiards title.
The title may be Advani’s 17th overall world title, but there was nothing routine about it.
“I still don’t feel that I have won the world title. It has not sunk in yet that I have won such a big title, and I have beaten a great player like Mike for it,” he said.
“I didn’t even think of the title, because you have a formidable opponent in front of you, the last thing you are thinking is about the title because you have got to play six full games, and it could go 6-4, 6-5, because he is equally good and can score equally well. So I just thought let me play frame by frame, and eventually rattled off six games. I couldn’t believe the way I played, really surprised myself,” said Advani, who did a good job of hiding the surprise and the happiness behind his calm demeanour and a smile.
Russell had brushed aside his opening loss to India’s Dhvaj Haria to make it to the final against a formidable and undefeated Advani.
The 155-point break looked like the perfect foundation for yet another world title.
“I didn’t feel my technique was very strong. And that was the problem. When you feel like that, you feel pressure, because you are not confident of your shots. I mean everybody faces pressure, but if you face pressure but trust your technique to be strong, you feel good,” Russell, who has earlier worked with the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation, said.
The Englishman, however, is confident he can brush aside the loss in the Long Up format of the tournament, which began yesterday afternoon.
“It’s another day. You just have to regroup. I have played the game for 32 years. I don’t really worry about these things. I know my game, and I know their game. I just try my best,” he said.
Advani was palpably upbeat.
“I am always expected to win the gold. Of course, rightfully so, because when you represent your country, you want to win nothing less than a gold. I don’t think we should be happy with silvers and bronzes anymore. I think we should aim big, because we work hard for it, we train hard for it, and if we believe in ourselves, we can be the best,” he said.
“But of course, Long Up is a different story, there are many title favourites.
“For now, I just want to enjoy this for a while, and come back in the evening, and slowly get into the groove for the longer format.”
