Geet shows his class as he cruises past former Asian champion Devendra Joshi, Pankaj beats Rupesh Shah in the semifinal

BANGALORE: It is on the table that the quintessential Geet Sethi comes through. On the table there are no compromises, whether in practice or during a world championship and that’s exactly what the veteran cue master of India showcased to cruise past Former Asian Champion Devendra Joshi in a semi final match by winning 5-3 to advance into the finals of the ONGC sponsored 42nd IBSF World Billiards Championship being played at the Karnataka State Billiards Association here on Thursday.

Joshi displayed classic stuff right from the word go as he took a whooping lead with three century breaks ending the first semifinal session with a score of 3-1. But the 41-year-old Joshi had a tougher time in the second session as the three time IBSF World Billiards champion Sethi bounced back by producing an incredible break of 152 on the second visit and went on to give century breaks for the following three frames which left his opponent stranded. Joshi could not come by while Sethi’s breaks of 139(3rd) 152(4th ) and 146 (2nd) unfinished kept his opponent at bay.

On the other hand, World Snooker and Billiards Champion Pankaj Advani dethroned defending champion Rupesh Shah in the semis of 150-up points format to set up a title clash with Geet Sethi. In the best-of-nine frames, Bangalore lad Advani showed his class to score an emphatic 5-3 victory over the Gujarat pro Shah who succumbed to the pressure of defending the title. On asked if he felt the heat as he is the defending champion, Shah said, “Yes, definitely there is a lot of pressure on me but at the same time Pankaj is playing really well.” Winning the first frame in just two visits, the prodigious Indian ace Advani enthralled the evening session spectators with an unfinished break of 151 in the third frame after his opponent ended his first visit scoring only 16 points.

It was a tense battle of wits in the final frame after the two had good breaks and young Advani stopped in his tracks at 105 and could not pot even a single canon while Shah had a very difficult ball position to work his way up. Shah, who had displayed his skills of staying at the table for long picking points in 2s and 3s, fumbled when it mattered most and Advani made it in the next visit to romp home 5-3.