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Pankaj Advani beats Mike Russell to enter World Billiards Championship final

In a clash of the titans, the might of multiple world title winner Russell wasn't enough to stop India's golden boy. 

Pankaj Advani beats Mike Russell to enter World Billiards Championship final File Image

Mandalay (Myanmar): India's leading cueist Pankaj Advani beat England's Mike Russell 5-2 to seal his place in the final of the IBSF World Billiards Championship here on Saturday.

In a clash of the titans, the might of multiple world title winner Russell wasn't enough to stop India's golden boy. The Brit gave a similar performance last year when he finished with a bronze after losing to eventual runner-up Nay Thway Oo of Myanmar in the semifinal.

Thway Oo, eying his maiden world title, has again made it to the final this year after beating India's Sourav Kothari 5-3 in the last four clash. Advani, vying for his 22nd world title, will take on Thway Oo in a repeat of last year's final.

In Saturday's semifinal, the Indian ace scored three back-to-back centuries, but managed to convert only two of those as Russell took advantage of Advani's error on 142 and made a 150.

The match was evenly poised at two frames apiece and could have gone either way, but Advani appeared to be on a mission as he made breaks of 63 and 123 in the last three frames to race to a 5-2 victory.

When asked about his clinical performance, Advani said, "I'm really pleased to enter the final again a year later. Mike played well, so I knew I had to bring more firepower to the match to give myself a chance to defend my title. This feels like deja vu playing Oo again, that too in the final and in Myanmar two years in a row. Let's hope the outcome is the same too!"

In the other half of the draw, Thway Oo took an early 3-1 lead before Kothari made a spirited comeback to level the contest at 3-3. However, the Myanmar star had other plans. He clinched the final two frames by firing in an unfinished 150 break followed by a 130 break to seal his spot in the final.

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