<p>Seemingly in command, the 25-year-old Indian brushed aside compatriot Devendra Joshi 818-469 to notch up his third straight victory in Group A and seal his place in the last-eight stage.<br /><br />The Bangalorean will face Kolkata’s Sourav Kothari, who crushed Englishman Martin Goodwill 718-262, in the final group battle on Friday that is expected to decide the pool winner. Advani posted a double century break of 209 and two century breaks of 134 and 101.<br /><br />Five-time champion Geet Sethi also maintained a clean slate, prevailing over Rupesh Shah 461-441 in a thrilling Group B encounter. It was Sethi’s third win from as many matches as the veteran looks set for place in the quarterfinals.<br /><br />Earlier on Wednesday, Robert Marshall provided the biggest shock of the day when he upset nine-time champion Mike Russell 614-413. <br /><br />A solid break of 308 was good enough for the Englishman to beat the challenge of Qatari Russell.<br /><br />Results: On Thursday: Group A: Sourav Kothari (Ind): 718 (206, 96, 58, 86) bt Martin Goodwill (Eng): 262 (51); Pankaj Advani (Ind): 818 (134, 95, 209, 101, 56) bt Devendra Joshi (Ind): 469 (105, 84).<br /><br />Group B: Matthew Sutton (Eng): 385 (97, 108, 83) bt Siddharth Parikh (Ind): 351 (111, 87); Geet Sethi (Ind): 461 (63, 65, 82, 128 (unf)) bt Rupesh Shah (Ind): 441 (230).<br />Group C: Phil Mumford (Eng): 730 (63, 92, 71, 93, 65, 66) bt Mark Hirst (Eng): 347 (82); Dhruv Sitwala (Ind): 593 (87, 100, 88, 62, 73) bt David Causier (Eng): 498 (91, 60, 52, 143).<br /><br />Group D: Robert Marshall (Eng): 730 (63, 92, 71, 93, 65, 66) bt Gary Rogers (Eng): 148; Mike Russell (Qat): 719 (66, 100, 106, 222) bt Peter Gilchrist (Sin): 393 (117, 129).<br />On Wednesday: <br /><br />Group A: P Advani: 684 (65, 189, 214, 61, 65) bt M Goodwill: 637 (62, 58, 88, 141, 86); D Joshi: 839 (98, 145, 53, 65) bt Sushrat Pandia (Ind): 299.<br /><br />Group B: R Shah: 618 (194, 115, 102, 50, 75) bt M Sutton: 414 (61, 59, 55); G Sethi: 1223 (131, 98, 452, 73, 52, 74) bt Bem French (Eng): 186.<br /><br />Group C: D Sitwala: 533 (82, 58, 95, 51 (unf)) bt P Mumford: 480 (86, 96); D Causier: 911 (97, 138, 340, 86) bt Ashok Shandilya (Ind): 391 (195).<br /><br />Group D: R Marshall: 614 (308) bt M Russell: 413 (100, 149); P Gilchrist: 961 (94, 117, 204, 60, 86, 57, 87, 60, 50) bt Ian Williamson (Eng): 275 (74, 71).</p>
<p>Seemingly in command, the 25-year-old Indian brushed aside compatriot Devendra Joshi 818-469 to notch up his third straight victory in Group A and seal his place in the last-eight stage.<br /><br />The Bangalorean will face Kolkata’s Sourav Kothari, who crushed Englishman Martin Goodwill 718-262, in the final group battle on Friday that is expected to decide the pool winner. Advani posted a double century break of 209 and two century breaks of 134 and 101.<br /><br />Five-time champion Geet Sethi also maintained a clean slate, prevailing over Rupesh Shah 461-441 in a thrilling Group B encounter. It was Sethi’s third win from as many matches as the veteran looks set for place in the quarterfinals.<br /><br />Earlier on Wednesday, Robert Marshall provided the biggest shock of the day when he upset nine-time champion Mike Russell 614-413. <br /><br />A solid break of 308 was good enough for the Englishman to beat the challenge of Qatari Russell.<br /><br />Results: On Thursday: Group A: Sourav Kothari (Ind): 718 (206, 96, 58, 86) bt Martin Goodwill (Eng): 262 (51); Pankaj Advani (Ind): 818 (134, 95, 209, 101, 56) bt Devendra Joshi (Ind): 469 (105, 84).<br /><br />Group B: Matthew Sutton (Eng): 385 (97, 108, 83) bt Siddharth Parikh (Ind): 351 (111, 87); Geet Sethi (Ind): 461 (63, 65, 82, 128 (unf)) bt Rupesh Shah (Ind): 441 (230).<br />Group C: Phil Mumford (Eng): 730 (63, 92, 71, 93, 65, 66) bt Mark Hirst (Eng): 347 (82); Dhruv Sitwala (Ind): 593 (87, 100, 88, 62, 73) bt David Causier (Eng): 498 (91, 60, 52, 143).<br /><br />Group D: Robert Marshall (Eng): 730 (63, 92, 71, 93, 65, 66) bt Gary Rogers (Eng): 148; Mike Russell (Qat): 719 (66, 100, 106, 222) bt Peter Gilchrist (Sin): 393 (117, 129).<br />On Wednesday: <br /><br />Group A: P Advani: 684 (65, 189, 214, 61, 65) bt M Goodwill: 637 (62, 58, 88, 141, 86); D Joshi: 839 (98, 145, 53, 65) bt Sushrat Pandia (Ind): 299.<br /><br />Group B: R Shah: 618 (194, 115, 102, 50, 75) bt M Sutton: 414 (61, 59, 55); G Sethi: 1223 (131, 98, 452, 73, 52, 74) bt Bem French (Eng): 186.<br /><br />Group C: D Sitwala: 533 (82, 58, 95, 51 (unf)) bt P Mumford: 480 (86, 96); D Causier: 911 (97, 138, 340, 86) bt Ashok Shandilya (Ind): 391 (195).<br /><br />Group D: R Marshall: 614 (308) bt M Russell: 413 (100, 149); P Gilchrist: 961 (94, 117, 204, 60, 86, 57, 87, 60, 50) bt Ian Williamson (Eng): 275 (74, 71).</p>