Pankaj Advani gave a good account of his tactical and potting skills as he upset world no. 27 Marcus Campbell 4-1 and became the second home cueist after Aditya Mehta to make it to the round of 32 in the Indian Open snooker here on Tuesday.
Advani, ranked 70th in the world, took advantage of Campbell’s mistakes to win the first round match 97-14, 65-49, 59-63, 134-4, 59-19. In the next round, the 28-year-old will meet world no. 11 Mark Allen of Northern Ireland.
Advani was inspired to perform at home and started with a bang by claiming the first frame which was studded with a clearance of 74. The eight-time world billiards champion came up with admirable defensive play in the second frame to match the 41-year-old Scottish player.
Campbell, who missed some easy pots, failed to get the green ball while leading 49-39. With just one red left on the board, Advani made no mistake to complete the formalities and go 2-0 up.
Stronger resolve
A stroke of luck helped Campbell accidentally pot a red and take the third frame. However, Advani returned with a stronger resolve to crack a century break of 134, which witnessed a black pot wobbling before getting into the pocket, and snuff the life out of Campbell’s challenge. The Scot rose to shake hands with Advani when the Indian was leading 59-19 in the final frame.
“Campbell was not in the best of form and was too generous. It helped me,” said Advani. He expected a tougher challenge from Allen, who recently won the Rhur Open recently.
Meanwhile, Mehta will play Bangladesh’s Hammad Miah in the second round.
Seasoned cueist and four-time world champion John Higgins outclassed the promising Joel Walker 4-0, while 49th-ranked Anthony McGill shocked world no. 7 Barry Hawkins 4-1.
Spate of walkovers
Five players — Rod Lawler, Michael White, Robbie Williams, Mark Williams and Marco Fu — got walkovers to reach the second round.
The results:First round: Anthony McGill bt Barry Hawkins 4-1 [69 (62)-0, 132 (123)-0, 77-6, 0-64, 103 (103)-13]; Garry Wilson bt Dominic Dale 4-0 [78 (66)-14, 65-53, 125 (125)-6, 92(72)-39]; Andrew Higginson bt Jamie Burnett 4-2 [75-7, 70-5, 67 (58)-33, 3-58, 0-86, 68-1]; Stephen Maguire bt Paul Davison 4-1 [75(75)-1, 27-42, 88 (83)-16, 76 (68)-3, 73 (72)-2]; John Higgins bt Joel Walker 4-0 [67-10, 68-11, 76 (76)-0, 73 (61)-0]; Fergal O’Brien bt Alex Davies 4-1 [67-47, 78-19, 71 (50)-64, 18-66, 85 (61)-7]; Li Yan bt Jeff Cundy 4-3 [72-45, 57-54, 44-52, 68-22, 32-63, 6-73, 51-8]; Mark Allen bt Nigel Bond 4-1 [63 (55)-61, 62-20, 99 (54)-2, 13-68, 84 (84)-2]; Pankaj Advani bt Marcus Campbell 4-1 [97 (74)-14, 65-49, 59 (52)-63, 134 (134)-4, 59 (52)-19]; Ratchayothin Yotharuck bt James Wattana 4-3 [83-32, 22-72, 51-73 (55), 101 (101)-0, 114 (57, 53)-2, 60 (60)-69, 131 (131)-0]; Tom Ford bt Jamie Jones 4-3 [66-36, 59-50, 49-58, 1-77 (70), 8-72 (71), 74 (73)-19, 61-0]; Mark Selby bt Dharminder Lilly 4-0 [58-37, 88-13, 107 (83)-0, 62-23].
Monday’s results: Mark Davis bt Elliot Slessor 4-2 [35-97 (81), 66-62, 61-70, 89-13, 48-36, 78-8]; Hammad Miah bt Chen Zhe 4-3 [81-1, 97 (65)-11, 29-84, 9-73 (57), 36-71, 68-13, 75-4]; Ding Junhui bt Barry Pinches 4-3 [7-75 (70), 68-44, 70-9, 22-70, 22-60, 70 (51) -19, 89 (88) -4]; Liang Wenbo bt David Morris 4-2 [64-25, 66 (55) -32, 105 (74) -6, 8-86 (61), 33-70 (69), 78 (78) -0].
