Pankaj Advani secured his 26th title by defeating Sourav Kothari in the IBSF World Billiards Championship final on November 21. This victory marked a rematch of their previous year’s final in Kuala Lumpur, where Advani emerged victorious with a score of 1000416.
The significance of this championship dates back to 2005, when Advani clinched his inaugural global title. Over the years, his dominance in billiards has been evident with nine “long format” championships, eight “point format” championships, and one World Team Billiards Championship.
In the 2023 tournament, Advani triumphed in the semi-final against Rupesh Shah with a scoreline of 900-273. Displaying his prowess, the reigning champion achieved breaks of 259 and 176, while Shah managed a break of 62 in the 900-up format. On the other side of the draw, Kothari secured his spot in the final by defeating Dhruv Sitwala with a score of 900–756, including breaks of 223 and 82.
Advani’s illustrious career extends beyond billiards, encompassing 17 global billiards titles, including 17 IBSF Global Billiards Championship victories and one World Team Billiards Championship. In snooker, he boasts three IBSF World Snooker Championships, two IBSF World Six-Red Championships, one IBSF World Team Cup, and one IBSF World Team Championship, holding the record for the most IBSF world championships titles.
