WORLD PROFESSIONAL BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ahmedabad, India (25th - 30th September 1998)
The Players and Seedings
Australia Robert Foldvari (5) England Peter Sheehan Ian Williamson (10) Chris Shutt (15) Bob Close (9) Mike Russell (1) Roxton Chapman (4) Peter Gilchrist (3) David Causier (6) Eire Eugene Hughes (16) India Ishmit Malik Sushrut Pandia Mukesh Rehani Ahsan ul Haque Chandresh Shah Arvind Savur Dhruv Sitwala Arun Agrawal Dinkar Akolkar Satish Amarnath Rupesh Shah Manoj Kothari Adiyta Goenka B. Bhaskar Nalin Patel Michael Ferreira (13) Alok Kumar (14) Subhash Agrawal (11) Ashok Shandilya (8) Devendra Joshi (7) Geet Sethi (2)
The Florsheim World Billiards Championship commenced on Thursday 25th September at the Fortune Landmark Hotel, Ahmedabad. With the draw seeded, the leading eight players were exempt until the third round. The only English representative on the opening day being Peter Sheehan, with the remainder of the line-up involving local competitors.
| I. Malik (India) | 582 | (8.1) | S. Pandia | 250 | (3.5) |
| M. Rehani (India) 97, 80, 70, 57, 50 | 824 | (17.2) | A. ul-Haque (India) | 281 | (5.7) |
| C. Shah (India) 113, 95, 66 | 648 | (14.7) | A. Savur (India) 96 | 519 | (11.8) |
| P. Sheehan (England) 120, 105, 101, 97, 82, 40unf | 794 | (19.4) | D. Sitwala (India) 52 | 348 | (8.3) |
| A. Agrawal (India) 90, 82, 74, 68, 66 | 730 | (17.0) | D. Akolkar (India) | 377 | (8.5) |
| R. Shah (India) 134, 97, 86, 74 | 561 | (18.7) | S. Amarnath (India) | 312 | (10.4) |
| M. Kothari | w/o | A. Goenka | scr. | ||
| B. Bhaskar | bye | |
Peter Sheehan, the 23-year-old manager of the Widnes Snooker Centre, found little opposition from local player Dhruv Sitwala, making three centuries in the two hour match to win comfortably by 446 points.
| M. Ferreira (India) 90, 82, 74, 56, 56 | 1,228 | (12.8) | C. Shah (India) 63, 61, 51, 50 | 900 | (9.4) |
| I. Williamson (Eng) 105, 99, 90, 89, 88, 72, 58 | 1,037 | (29.6) | B. Bhaskar (India) 107, 77, 60, 56 | 619 | (17.2) |
| R. Shah (India) 153, 141, 133, 125, 102, 102, 96 | 1,576 | (42.6) | B. Close (England) 79, 55, 52 | 663 | (18.4) |
| S. Agrawal (India) 99, 88, 75, 73, 51 | 1,223 | (11.0) | M. Kothari (India) 91, 89, 81, 70, 58, 54 | 1,081 | (9.7) |
| N. Patel (India) 310, 171, 144, 90, 79, 77, 91unf | 1,739 | (25.7) | I. Malkik (India) | 562 | (8.3) |
| C. Shutt (England) 197, 147, 118, 111, 105, 59, 59 | 1,269 | (17.6) | M. Rehani (India) 109, 76, 62, 60 | 1,096 | (15.2) |
| P. Sheehan (England) 213, 188, 151, 137, 111, 103, 79 | 1,726 | (22.1) | E. Hughes (Eire) 89, 60, 58, 54 | 791 | (10.1) |
| A. Agrawal (India) 104, 103, 87, 75, 74, 70, 61, 57 | 1,155 | (18.0) | A. Kumar (India) 98, 92, 82, 63, 58 | 983 | (15.1) |
Eugene Hughes had been elevated to 16th seed due to the absence of Mark Wildman, Rex Williams and Norman Dagley—who where all ranked above him—and so escaped the requirement to play a first round match. However, he may have felt the need for some match practice as Peter Sheehan had edged to a 77 point advantage at the end of the first session. After the interval Sheehan proceeded to sweep aside the challenge of the Irishman with a string of big breaks. These included a best of 213, and four other centuries, to record an average of 41 for the last two hours, winning easily by almost a thousand points.
Bob Close made a surprise exit at the hands of unseeded Rupesh Shah. He was always chasing the Indian player, who became stronger as the game progressed, making six century breaks. Four of these, including his best of 153, were made in the final session, where he averaged 53.3 to complete a great victory.
Chris Shutt made a good start in his match against Rehani, making early breaks of 197 and 111. Following this with a break of 118 he established a lead of almost 200 points at the interval. This turned out to be the winning margin, as Chris held on to his advantage with Rehani unable to make any significant impression on the Teessider. The highlight of the round was a fine break of 310 by Nalin Patel, which was made after he had already assured himself of a comprehensive victory over fellow-countryman Ishmit Malkik.
| M. Russell (England) 292, 198, 197, 184, 175, 151, 149, 120 | 2,119 | (44.1) | N. Patel (India) | 685 | (14.3) |
| C. Shutt (England) 196, 193, 97, 89, 84, 74, 67, 55, 53 | 1,480 | (21.1) | A. Shandilya (India) 113, 106, 102, 88, 67 | 1,261 | (17.7) |
| P. Gilchrist (England) 218, 104, 100, 93, 87, 80, 72, 69 | 1,470 | (31.9) | P. Sheehan (England) 250, 192, 130, 98, 96, 87 | 1,115 | (24.2) |
| D. Causier (England) 171, 120, 97, 97, 93, 92, 89, 66, 65 | 1,411 | (21.1) | A. Agrawal (India) 112, 99, 91, 89, 89, 75, 62, 61, 51 | 1,244 | (18.8) |
| R. Foldvari (Aus) 152, 145, 133, 92, 92, 83, 71, 65unf | 1,269 | (27.6) | M. Ferreira (India) 71 | 598 | (13.0) |
| R. Chapman (Eng) 81, 74, 70, 67, 62, 54 | 755 | (21.0) | I. Williamson (Eng) 96, 94, 75, 67, 66, 57 | 703 | (20.1) |
| D. Joshi (India) 210, 166, 136, 107, 102, 99, 93, 91 | 1,382 | (39.5) | R. Shah (India) 192, 109, 98, 96, 91, 76, 76, 71 | 1,109 | (31.7) |
| G. Sethi (India) 308, 242, 173, 122, 99, 92, 92, 70 | 1,676 | (30.5) | S. Agrawal (India) 120, 91, 91, 78, 77, 75, 54 | 994 | (17.7) |
The third round saw the appearance of the “big guns” and in his first match of the competition, Mike Russell set the standard to which the other competitors would have to aspire, with a demolition of Nalin Patel. He essentially won the match in the first session when he recorded a break of 292 and five other centuries to leave his opponent training by 1,190 points at the interval. Russell continued in similar fashion after the restart to compile an aggregate of 2,119 in the four hour match. Chris Shutt accounted for No.8 seed Ashok Shandilya, in a match very similar to his previous game. A series of small breaks saw him grind out a 250 point lead at the halfway stage. On the resumption, both players found top gear, with Chris making early breaks of 196 and 193 to fend off a determined challenge by Shandilya, who made three centuries himself.
No.3 seed, Peter Gilchrist looked to be in danger of joining Shandilya as a spectator for the remainder of the competition, as Peter Sheehan powered to a lead of 362 points just before the interval. This included breaks 250, 192 and 98 by the youngster from Widnes. However, Gilchrist responded with an unfinished break of 190, carrying this to 218 after the resumption, to bring him back within striking distance. From this point Gilchrist dominated the game, and although Sheehan added a break of 130, he could not match the consistency of the Teesside player, who eventually won by 226 points.
David Causier completed a successful day for Teesside with a narrow 167 point victory over Arun Agrawal. The match was close throughout, but Causier with breaks of 171, 120, 97 and 92 in the final session just proved to be the stronger.
Fresh from his victory in the IBSF “Amateur” Championships Robby Foldvari found himself matched against three-times World Amateur Champion, Mike Ferreira. Foldvari established an early lead, helped by a break of 145, and thereafter steadily drew away. Further breaks of 133 and 152 in the final session ensured victory for the Australian by 671 points.
Roxton Chapman only just managed to survive a gruelling encounter with Ian Williamson, scraping home by just 52 points in a low scoring match. Hardly a thrilling encounter from a spectator´s point of view, most attention was focused on the adjoining table, where Geet Sethi— playing in his home town—took on Subhash Agrawal. With a stylish performance, Sethi became the second player in the tournament to pass the triple century mark with a break of 308 in the first session. Leading by 529 at the interval, Sethi added another break of 242 shortly after the restart, and with the match won, he cruised to a comfortable 682 point victory.
Devendra Joshi with a top break of 210, and Rupesh Shah with a best of 192, provided some consistently high scoring in an entertaining match. However, Joshi always had the edge and with four additional century breaks, finished 273 points clear of his countryman.
| M. Russell (England) 399, 276, 198, 156, 133, 124, 105, 98 | 1,947 | (69.5) | C. Shutt (England) 191, 166, 162, 144, 127, 59, 56 | 1,161 | (41.4) |
| R. Foldvari (Aus) 376, 252, 137, 131, 112, 89, 53 | 1,254 | (50.1) | R. Chapman (Eng) 109, 82, 77, 72, 56, 51 | 668 | (25.7) |
| D. Causier (England) 184, 99, 95, 85, 84, 76, 68, 63, 54 | 1,401 | (21.2) | P. Gilchrist (England) 170, 163, 152, 103, 78, 77, 71 | 1,204 | (18.0) |
| G. Sethi (India) 394, 213, 196, 175, 137, 126, 113, 111 | 2,190 | (50.9) | D. Joshi (India) 148, 83, 77, 53, 53 | 774 | (18.4) |
It seemed as though the triple century break by Sethi in the previous round acted as a spur to Russell, who set a new standard in the competition, falling just one point short of the 400 mark. It seems that whenever Russell and Shutt meet an entertaining match ensues—and this encounter was no exception! It took a late break of 276 by Russell to give him a lead of 225 points approaching the interval. Shutt who had previously made breaks of 144, 166 and 162, responded by playing out time with 106 unfinished. On resuming, he took this break to 127, which left him just 98 points behind and very much in the match. At this point Russell showed why he is ranked No.1 in the World by producing a magnificent and timely break of 399. Following this with breaks of 198, 98, 156 and 124 he produced a second session average of 81.1. Chris continued to play well—making his top break of 191— but he was unable to match the power of Russell, and although he finished with a match average of 41.4 he still found himself 786 points behind at the final bell.
Robby Foldvari was in devastating form in his match against Roxton Chapman. He demonstrated that he was a genuine championship contender with an early break of 376, following this with breaks of 252 and 112 to make a first session average of 95.4, establishing a lead of 614 points. Although Chapman fought back to outpoint the Australian in the second session, he was unable to make sufficient inroads into the deficit, and Foldvari progressed to a meeting with Russell in the semi-final.
Sixth seed David Causier had every right to be pleased with his win over World No.3 Peter Gilchrist. Although Peter made four century breaks, Causier made the highest break of the match with 184, and supporting this with numerous smaller contributions, proved the more consistent of the two. This was the second time that Causier has reached the semi-final of the game´s premier event, going through on this occasion to meet Geet Sethi.
Causier was given some idea of what he could expect from his semi- final opponent, when Sethi destroyed the hopes of Devendra Joshi with early breaks of 213 and 196. Following these with two other century breaks the three times champion had established an unassailable 684 point lead at the interval. Warming to his task, Sethi also threatened the 400 break mark in the second session, falling just short with 394. Joshi saved his best until last, making his only century break towards the end of the match.
| M. Russell (England) 489, 104, 86, 84, 51, 50, 50 | 1,151 | (38.4) | R. Foldvari (Aus) 121, 103, 83, 76, 61, 60, 60unf | 755 | (26.0) |
| G. Sethi (India) 403, 209, 186, 99, 83, 62 | 1,436 | (33.4) | D. Causier (England) 177, 114, 97, 95, 70, 67, 62, 51 | 1,265 | (30.1) |
IBSF Champion Robby Foldvari was looking to cause a major upset as he managed to grind out a lead of 102 points at the interval of his semi-final match against Russell. However, as Russell demonstrated in the previous round, he is never more dangerous than when under pressure. On the resumption of play the 29 year-old from Peterborough proceeded to compile a magnificent break of 489 and, leaving Foldvari with insufficient time to stage a comeback, cruised into the final.
David Causier was not in the least overawed by his formidable opponent as he raced to a 400 point advantage over Geet Sethi, who required breaks of 209 and 186 to establish a lead of just 30 points at the end of the first session. Causier responded by raising his game even further to produce breaks of 177 and 114, but a magnificent effort of 403 by Sethi effectively ended his championship hopes for another year. Much to the relief of the Sethi´s home-town supporters, he finished just 171 in front of the Middlesbrough player to set up a classic encounter with Mike Russell.
| G. Sethi (India) 302, 201, 167, 99, 88, 86, 82, 78 | 1,400 | (38.8) | M. Russell (England) 275, 201, 165, 104, 80, 74 | 1,015 | (29.0) |
The anticipated test between the world´s top two players saw a crowd of 250 billiards enthusiasts packed into the match arena which had a seating capacity for 140 people. A further 150 eager spectators, who had been unable to gain entry, watched outside the hall as the match was relayed to them on CCTV.
With breaks of 165 and 275, Russell held an advantage of 109 points approaching the interval. Sethi, who had failed to make a century break up to this stage, played out time with a break of 33 unfinished to leave the halfway score standing a 608-532 in Russell´s favour.
On the resumption, Sethi took the initiative by extending his unfinished break to 302, to the delight of his many supporters. However, as we see so often with Russell, his response was rapid. With breaks of 104, 74 and 201 he went to the front once more, but subsequent runs of 167 and 201 from 39 year- old Sethi clinched the title and the £10,400 first prize. Sethi´s victory was his fourth World title, the others having been in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
The professional circuit now moves to the United Kingdom where the next major tournament will be at the North Ormesby Institute in Middlesbrough from 16th-19th November.