Advani, Sethi fall in semis

While Sethi went down 1022-1668 to England’s Peter Gilchrist in the first semifinal, Advani lost 1300-1417 to another Englishman Mike Russell in the other last four stage match.

Gilchrist played a composed game of top table billiards, bringing his form to the fore at the right moment to beat the Indian in the four-hour-long battle at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana. Sethi struggled to even cross 200-mark although there was a brief moment when he assumed the lead but that was in the early part of the match.

Sethi was leading by 387 points when Gilchrist got the balls to his liking and then went about assimilating a break that turned crucial at the end. At the stroke of two-hours, the Englishman was on an unfinished break of 597 to take his lead to 210 points, something that Sethi would rue at the end.

In the second session, Gilchrist could not carry on longer with that break as the two-hour rest had taken the rhythm out of him and he ended with 610. Sethi managed just four century breaks — 135, 170, 103 and 143 at a stage when he was expected to pull out something inspiring.

The England-born, Singapore-based Gilchrist followed his 610 and 247 with yet another four-ton break, worth 454, that pretty much ended Sethi’s challenge as the time started ticking ominously. In the other semifinal, Russell, who had beaten Advani in the point-format, again proved his nemesis.

The Englishman showed why he is known as ‘The Greatest’ post-World War cueist as he took over a 650-point lead by the end of the two-hour period. Russell had breaks of 62, 334, 186, 177, 125, 308, while Advani was left struggling with his cue despite coming up with breaks of 231, 255, 185, 317 and 81 to see his title defence in shambles.

Results:

Semifinals: Peter Gilchrist bt Geet Sethi 1668-1022; Mike Russell bt Pankaj Advani 1417-1300.