<p>Pankaj Advani justified his favourite tag as he outlasted Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 6-4 in the final of the third leg of the ACBS Asian Snooker Tour at the KSBA here on Thursday.</p>.<p>The hometown cueist, who also finished overall number one, clinched the marathon final 52-40, 66-0, 1-63, 78-4, 35-47, 0-51, 47-35, 38-39, 53-35, 51-20.</p>.<p>It started off well for Advani as he clinched the first two frames with relative ease, a break of 58 in the second frame being the highlight.</p>.<p>Nezhad, who looked for offensive shots rather than safety, made a 62-point break in the third to make it 2-1 only for his opponent to extend his lead to 3-1 in the fourth with breaks of 45 and 33.</p>.<p>The fifth frame was intensely fought unlike the opening four which was generally lop-sided. Trailing 12-29, Nezhad missed a chance but was given a reprieve to make amends. The Iranian then made a 27-point break to clinch the frame and make it 2-3. Nezhad then conjured a 33-point break in the sixth level the proceedings.</p>.<p>A tight seventh frame followed and Advani, trailing 34-35, played a safety shot and followed it up by sinking the pink and the black to win the frame 47-35 and take back the lead 4-3.</p>.<p>It proved short-lived as the Iranian opponent won the next frame but the ninth frame proved to be the turning point. The Indian ace finally settled into a groove as a key break under pressure of 49 won him the frame 53-35 and he followed that up with 50-point break in the next to clinch the match and the title.</p>.<p>"(I'm) elated. I can't tell you how relieved I am feeling at the moment," said Advani after the victory. "I knew that once I reached the knockout stages, I was going to finish number one overall but to win the leg at my hometown, in front of my friends and supporters, I couldn't have asked for more really."</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Results: Final:</strong></span> Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Ehsan Heydari Nezhad (Irn) 6-4 (52-40, 66-0, 1-63, 78-4, 35-47, 0-51, 47-35, 38-39, 53-35, 51-20).</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Semifinals:</strong></span> Nezhad bt Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon (Tha) 5-3 (56-1, 46-5, 5-85, 1-57, 0-98, 92-0, 53-7, 67-36; Advani bt Aung Phyo (Mym) 5–2 (50-27, 92-00, 86-15, 12-62, 54-30, 24-70, 79-05).</p>
<p>Pankaj Advani justified his favourite tag as he outlasted Ehsan Heydari Nezhad 6-4 in the final of the third leg of the ACBS Asian Snooker Tour at the KSBA here on Thursday.</p>.<p>The hometown cueist, who also finished overall number one, clinched the marathon final 52-40, 66-0, 1-63, 78-4, 35-47, 0-51, 47-35, 38-39, 53-35, 51-20.</p>.<p>It started off well for Advani as he clinched the first two frames with relative ease, a break of 58 in the second frame being the highlight.</p>.<p>Nezhad, who looked for offensive shots rather than safety, made a 62-point break in the third to make it 2-1 only for his opponent to extend his lead to 3-1 in the fourth with breaks of 45 and 33.</p>.<p>The fifth frame was intensely fought unlike the opening four which was generally lop-sided. Trailing 12-29, Nezhad missed a chance but was given a reprieve to make amends. The Iranian then made a 27-point break to clinch the frame and make it 2-3. Nezhad then conjured a 33-point break in the sixth level the proceedings.</p>.<p>A tight seventh frame followed and Advani, trailing 34-35, played a safety shot and followed it up by sinking the pink and the black to win the frame 47-35 and take back the lead 4-3.</p>.<p>It proved short-lived as the Iranian opponent won the next frame but the ninth frame proved to be the turning point. The Indian ace finally settled into a groove as a key break under pressure of 49 won him the frame 53-35 and he followed that up with 50-point break in the next to clinch the match and the title.</p>.<p>"(I'm) elated. I can't tell you how relieved I am feeling at the moment," said Advani after the victory. "I knew that once I reached the knockout stages, I was going to finish number one overall but to win the leg at my hometown, in front of my friends and supporters, I couldn't have asked for more really."</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Results: Final:</strong></span> Pankaj Advani (Ind) bt Ehsan Heydari Nezhad (Irn) 6-4 (52-40, 66-0, 1-63, 78-4, 35-47, 0-51, 47-35, 38-39, 53-35, 51-20).</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>Semifinals:</strong></span> Nezhad bt Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon (Tha) 5-3 (56-1, 46-5, 5-85, 1-57, 0-98, 92-0, 53-7, 67-36; Advani bt Aung Phyo (Mym) 5–2 (50-27, 92-00, 86-15, 12-62, 54-30, 24-70, 79-05).</p>
