Pankaj Advani goes down fighting to Stephen Lee in RKG-Khar Gymkhana Snooker final
Lee pocketed the winner's prize money of Rs 5 lakh while Advani had to be satisfied with half of that as his share of the pool.
Two-time world professional billiards champion Pankaj Advani squandered a 5-3 lead to go down 9-10 to world No 21 Stephen Lee of England in a pulsating final of the Rs 22-lakh prize money RKG-Khar Gymkhana Snooker tournament on Saturday.
Advani took the first four frames to rock his more fancied foreign rival and then grabbed a 5-3 lead at the end of the first session of play in the morning.
A superb break of 137 unfinished, the only century sequence of the summit contest, was the Indian's best effort in this phase.
But Lee came back into his own in the afternoon session to pocket the first five frames and lead 8-5 and then staved off a brilliant fightback from the Indian, when Advani led 9-8, by pocketing the last two frames to emerge triumphant.
Lee pocketed the winner's prize money of Rs 5 lakh while Advani had to be satisfied with half of that as his share of the pool.
Results (Breaks in brackets): S Lee beat P Advani 10-9: 6-62(43), 0-72(72), 0-137(137 unf.), 58-68(50), 74(40)-47(47), 97(76)-0, 56-19, 0-75(75), 72(59)-10, 81-39, 65(51)30, 62-41(40), 73(72)-39(39), 41(41)-60, 1-92(75), 64-66(44), 1-79(54), 78(52)-25, 62-51.