Walker strolls past Advani
Former champ loses to Welshman 1-7; Chawla falls to Ayouri
Seasoned campaigner Lee Walker and rising sensation Hossein Vafaei Ayouri sparkled like diamonds, bringing the Indian challenge to a screeching halt on the penultimate day of the IBSF World Snooker Championship here on Friday.
Home hope Pankaj Advani and the unheralded Kamal Chawla had earlier in the day raised visions of an all-Indian battle for the top prize in the $16,000 prize money event with contrasting quarterfinals victories.
But it was not to be the case as Walker and Ayouri unleashed a sizzling display of snooker to slam the door on the Indian duo in the semifinals at the KSBA Hall.
While Walker made mincemeat of Advani, handing out a brutal 7-1 (68 (56)-82, 61-41, 69 (32, 36)-39 (39), 115 (115)-0, 85 (85)-42 (35), 67-28, 108 (100)-33, 73 (73)-52 (52)) drubbing to the seven-time world champion, The 17-year-old Ayouri showcased his enormous natural talent with a 7-2 (67 (44)-53, 65-43, 108 (91)-9, 65 (43)-5, 74 (65)-25, 56 (46)-67, 71 (64)-16, 61 (61)-74 (65), 88 (66)-36) destruction of Chawla.
Walker, who has played on the professional circuit at England for 12 years, was completely top notch for the second day in succession. Having nearly booked an early ticket home before scripting a remarkable victory in his round-of-32 clash against Chi Wai Au on Thursday, Walker’s ice-cool composure and ability to bounce to back every time he seemed dead just blew away Advani.
“I should have been out already; anything that I get now is an incentive,” said a delighted Walker, who bears a startling resemblance to the legendary snooker player John Higgins. “To play a home favourite is always a pleasure. It’s not easy for anyone to be playing at home and I believe Pankaj could’ve felt it. I just wanted to play good snooker and I am very happy with my performance today.”
Walker was nothing but brilliant against Advani, the only aberration in an otherwise impeccable performance being the loss of the opening frame. His potting was spot on, understanding of ball positions top notch, and safety play remarkable.
Not once during the five-hour contest did he miss a pot, his only error being in the fifth frame when the black cannoned into the top left pocket while attempting a flamboyant long pot. Every time he got a chance on the green baize, the Welshman kept firing in important breaks, the continuous onslaught too much for even the mentally strong Advani to handle.
The best part about Walker – who smashed two centuries (115, 100) in the match -- was his ability to clear the table when given the slightest of opportunities. He did appear under pressure in the second and third frames, but bailed himself out during the colour ball phase.
Reduced to a mere spectator for the first time in the tournament, Advani did try to put a brake on the Welshman, but with his cue going cold, all he do was watch in desperation as Walker kept racing away.
Meanwhile, playing in his second World Championship event, Ayouri produced an age-defying display of snooker. An aggressive player who goes for anything in his vicinity, the Iranian just mesmerised the audience with his quick-fire potting.
In no time, he raced away to 5-0 lead before losing out the sixth in the black ball game. Chawla did manage to take one more frame, but couldn’t stop the teenager from setting up a cracking final against the classy Walker.
Results: Semifinals (best of 13): Lee Walker (Wal) bt Pankaj Advani (Ind) 7-1 (68 (56)-82, 61-41, 69 (32, 36)-39 (39), 115 (115)-0, 85 (85)-42 (35), 67-28, 108 (100)-33, 73 (73)-52 (52); Hossein Vafaei Ayouri (Ira) bt Kamal Chawla (Ind) 6-2 (67 (44)-53, 65-43, 108 (91)-9, 65 (43)-5, 74 (65)-25, 56 (46)-67, 71 (64)-16, 61 (61)-74 (65), 88 (66)-36).
Quarterfinals (best of 11): P Advani (Ind) bt Peter Bullen (Bel) 6-2 (71 (62)-7, 0-123 (123), 34-75 (64), 92 (62)-21, 67 (47)-60, 70 (63)-9, 69 (55)-60, 80-45); L Walker (Wal) bt Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tha) 6-2 (11-95 (68), 72-64 (64), 67 (67)-25, 60 (54)-72 (46), 68-4, 70-60 (60), 59-55 (55), 62-28); HV Ayouri (Ira) bt Brendan O’Donoghue 6-3 (80-62 (54), 118 (106)-0, 63-73 (66), 86-18, 33-73 (66), 18-83 (46), 85 (58)-1, 71-52, 74-0); K Chawla (Ind) bt Kevin Hove (Bel) 6-5 (3-87 (75), 106 (56, 50)-7, 93 (58)-15, 76 (60)-29, 6-112 (48, 55), 27-86, 46-65 (36), 74-32, 72-5, 27-78, 77-36).
