WORLD PROFESSIONAL BILLIARDS CHAMPIONSHIP
C. K. Nayudu Hall, The Cricket Club, Mumbai, India
11th - 15th April 2001
The Players
Australia Robby Foldvari England Paul Bennett David Causier Roxton Chapman Peter Gilchrist Mike Russell Peter Sheehan Chris Shutt Ian Williamson India Subhash Agrawal Devendra Joshi Alok Kumar Nalin Patel Geet Sethi Ashok Shandilya Dhruv Sitwala
Following the withdrawal of original sponsors, Zee TV, a late replacement was found in Mega Ace who are involved in a wide range of business activities in India and have for the last five years been sponsors of the Om Agrawal Billiards Championship. They were persuaded to convert this invitation tournament at the Cricket Club into a full World Championship and the format developed for last year's aborted Championship was brought quickly into action. This involved seeding the top eight players through to the competition proper with the rest having to qualify for the remaining eight places. (Qualifying competition details are given on page 16). The 50-up games which had been so popular at the start of the season, were discarded, and fourhour matches reintroduced—although the first round was restricted to two hours in order to complete the event within the allocated five days. As a bonus, matches from the semi-final stage were given live television coverage by the Doordshan TV network. The new sponsors were certainly most welcome for the professional players who, after a turbulent season, were facing the prospect of another year without their premier event.
None of the qualifiers managed to survive the first round against their seeded opponents, although Ashok Shandilya gave Mike Russell a scare. Their´s was the opening match of the competition, which due to the tight schedule, commenced at the unusually early hour of 8.00am! Perhaps this early start did not suit Russell as much as Shandillya, the No.10 ranked Indian dominating the early exchanges and forcing Russell to pull out all the stops to catch and overtake him. A late break of 187 by Russell eventually saw him home, but it was a nervous performance from the Champion, who admitted afterwards to have been "shaking like a leaf".
Neither Roxton Chapman nor Ian Williamson looked to be at ease in their encounter, Chapman gradually building up a winning position with a series of small breaks. Finding some late form, Williamson put together the only two centuries of the match with 152 and 111 unfinished. Made at an unusually rapid pace, these came too late to affect the result.
Michael Ferreira, in introducing Chris Shutt to the audience, described him as the "World Cup winner" by way of reference to his recent victory in the IBSF World Open Championship. Presumably, as Tournament Director, he was reluctant to highlight the current situation of two World Championships for professional players in the presence of the new sponsors. The "World Cup winner" was however in disappointing form, and his opponent Alok Kumar contributed even less to a lack-lustre match. Although Shutt managed a top break of 168 in a 728-529 victory this was the only century and he could average just 14.3, the lowest winning average of the first round.
Peter Sheehan had a 368-241 advantage half-way through his match against David Causier, but the fourth seed rallied strongly towards the end and with breaks of 98 and 123 converted this deficit to a 63 point victory.
The prospect of a match between Peter Gilchrist and Paul Bennett did not seem to appeal to the Mumbai locals and they played out their game in an almost deserted arena. The tip of Peter Gilchrist's cue had worn down so much prior to the Championship that he had removed it and arrived in India without any tip on his cue at all. Compelled to fix one just before his first match, he would experience tip problems throughout the championship. To add to his troubles, he had needed to borrow some clothes from Chris Shutt after his own baggage had been misdirected by the Airline—it eventually arrived at Mumbai airport on 8th May! With all of these disruptions he would have had plenty of excuses for an early exit, but he still managed a top break of 172 in a comfortable 738-336 win.
Nalin Patel was in confident mood having made a break of 536 in practice a few days before the start of the tournament. However, it was his opponent, young Dhruv Sitwala who took the initiative, responding to a 99 by Patel with runs of 70 (twice) and 49 to lead by almost 100 points mid-way through the match. However, Patel then stepped up a gear and with runs of 143, 89 and 104 finished a comfortable winner by 281.
Robby Foldvari, who is now running the Australasian Cue Sport Academy, was not tested by Subhash Agrawal, who could only manage a top break of 21 in two hours play. Without producing anything special, the Australian cruised to an easy 520-169 victory. Geet Sethi, who admitted to having rather neglected his practise of late, attributes this, as much as anything, to his drop in form over the past couple of seasons. However, he seemed to be approaching this tournament with renewed enthusiasm, reportedly putting in four to five hours a day on the practice table in advance of the event. This certainly seemed to be paying off as he opened his match against Devendra Joshi with a superb all-round 239 at his third visit to the table. Adding two identical contributions of 42, he took his score to 365-12 and looked to be cruising to an easy win. But Joshi, the newly crowned Indian Champion, never gave up the chase, his reply highlighted by a break of 169 towards the end. Even though his spirited performance gave Sethi some anxious moments, he could never quite close the gap, and Sethi scraped through by 72 points.
| Mike Russell 187, 141, 98, 84 | 649 | (28.2) | Ashok Shandilya 79, 77, 68 | 469 | (20.4) |
| Roxton Chapman 83, 79, 72, 64, 49 | 473 | (27.8) | Ian Williamson 152, 111unf | 389 | (22.9) |
| Chris Shutt 168, 90, 58, 54 | 728 | (14.3) | Alok Kumar 80 | 529 | (10.4) |
| David Causier 123, 98, 83, 63, 60 | 732 | (15.3) | Peter Sheehan 80 | 569 | (11.9) |
| Peter Gilchrist 172, 124, 60, 60 | 738 | (22.4) | Paul Bennett | 336 | (10.2) |
| Nalin Patel 143, 104, 99, 89 | 601 | (25.0) | Dhruv Sitwala 70, 70, 49 | 320 | (13.3) |
| Robby Foldvari 87, 80, 51, 50 | 520 | (17.9) | Subhash Agrawal | 169 | (5.6) |
| Geet Sethi 239, 64, 63 | 544 | (16.5) | Devendra Joshi 169, 126, 50 | 472 | (14.3) |
With the matches now extended to four hours, Mike Russell began to produce the sort of form expected of him as he reached the interval of his game against Roxton Chapman with an unfinished run of 301. He had quite a wait before he could continue—the first session of the Causier/Shutt match being completed on the table before the start of the second session. Returning some three hours later could have done little for his concentration and Russell added only another 15 points before the break ended with a missed pot-red at 316. It was nevertheless the first triple century of the Championship and opened a gap of 425 points. When Russell added 211 soon afterwards the match ceased to be a contest and although Chapman made second session breaks of 175 and 180, he could make no further impression on the Champion, eventually losing 1543-758. Russell, who averaged 46.8 for the match, was not happy with his cueing and described his performance as "rubbish".
David Causier was confident that he could win his first World Championship and progressed to the semi-final with a comprehensive victory over his great rival Chris Shutt. The match was effectively won in the first session as Causier piled in a string of big breaks to lead 1157- 384 after two hours. The second session saw Shutt eventually get into his stride with breaks of 131 and 271, but Causier was more than equal to the challenge producing no less than three double centuries (217, 216 and 211) and with additional runs of 119, 115 and 85 finished with an impressive aggregate of 2,327 after four hours play. This gave him a comfortable win by 1,181 points and an average over the last two-hour session of 61.6.
Peter Gilchrist, who had changed his tip again, looked to be in fine form as the opening exchanges of his match against Nalin Patel saw make an all-round break of 188 in just 15 minutes! This gave him a useful lead of 188-6, but Patel struck back with breaks of 66, 152 and 73, and eventually Gilchrist was happy to go into the interval leading 544-520, helped by efforts of 81 and 76 from two of his last three visits. The second session however, saw Gilchrist raise his game to another level, and with breaks of 124 and 298 in quick succession, completely quelled the challenge of Patel.
Robby Foldvari produced the first upset of the championship when he put out the No.2 seed Geet Sethi. Sethi looked to be cruising at the start of the match as he opened up a 258- 75 lead, but the Australian then grafted out a fine break of 207 and immediately following this with an 81 went into the interval with a 420-369 lead. With safety play now dominating and the pace of the match slowing, the last 30 minutes saw the deadlock broken when Foldvari increased his advantage with a 128 break. With less than 15 minutes remaining Sethi was still 204 points in arrears, but at this stage a brisk 159 by the Indian set the scene for a nail-biting finish. Sethi's break ended when a cover forced him into an unsuccessful massé cannon attempt. This was to prove a costly miss as Foldvari used up one of the three remaining minutes deciding which of the various rests and cue extensions he should use for his next shot. Although Foldvari failed to score, Sethi found himself 45 in arrears with less than 2 minutes to go. He made a great effort, reducing the deficit by 31 when the final bell sounded, but it was Foldvari who went through to the semi-finals.
| Mike Russell 316, 211, 167, 128, 112, 94, 80, 76, 61, 59 | 1543 | (46.8) | Roxton Chapman 180 175, 125, 88 | 758 | (23.0) |
| David Causier 217, 216, 211, 188, 148, 119, 115, 112, 95, 88, 85, 52 | 2327 | (50.6) | Chris Shutt 271, 131, 86, 88, 102 | 1146 | (24.4) |
| Peter Gilchrist 298, 188, 124, 89, 87, 81, 76, 61 | 1359 | (31.6) | Nalin Patel 152, 97, 87, 73, 71, 66, 57 | 942 | (21.6) |
| Robby Foldvari 207, 128, 81, 58 | 779 | (23.6) | Geet Sethi 159, 97, 92, 77, 70, 56 | 765 | (22.5) |
Mike Russell started his semi-final against David Causier well enough, putting together breaks of 146 and 78 early in the first session. Even so, he seemed to be uneasy, unexpectedly breaking down on comparatively simple shots. It was only when a fine effort of 269 opened up a 400- point lead that he began to look at ease. Causier however, appearing undaunted, gave an immediate reply of 112 reflecting his determination and belief that he could win this match. A break of 65 took Russell into the interval with the scores standing at 862-503 in his favour and leaving Causier with an uphill task. Starting the second session, Russell's took this unfinished break to 93, but thereafter his touch again seemed to desert him again as he missed a series of regulation shots. Causier needed no further invitation and set about closing the gap, rifling in breaks of 78 and 252 with his first two scoring visits. This latter contribution, made in his own unique style, containing a series of breathtaking shots which sent the balls flying around the table. With a little over an hour to go Russell's advantage was almost 100 points, still well within range for Causier. Russell now steeled himself to effectively crush the chances of an upset by compiling a massive run of 389, breaking down at a pot red when trying to comply with the baulk-line rule. Still Causier refuse to give up and breaks of 51, 86 and 117 were added at a speed which only he is capable. Russell, carefully watching the clock, countered with a bout of safety leaving Causier just 10 minutes to compile some 300 points. He made a gallant effort with runs of 91 and 133 unfinished, but it was too much even for him, and Russell finished the winner by 114 points. The Champion, for once, was pleased with his performance and felt that he was running into good form in time for the final.
Although the semi-final between Peter Gilchrist and Robby Foldvari could not be described as "explosive" in terms of billiards action there was plenty of drama and another close finish. The match proceeded at an appallingly slow pace. Gilchrist was evidently still experiencing problems with another new tip, but he did manage to compile breaks of 182 and 112 in the first session taking him into the interval with a lead of 139 points. Foldvari had been engaged on an unfinished break of 81 at the interval but did little to further reduce his deficit after the resumption, his break terminating at 94. However, he then put together a run of 130 which took him into the lead for the first time in the match, and adding 98 soon afterwards, was now in front by almost a hundred, at 751-654. With exactly 30 minutes remaining Gilchrist then produced a crucial break of 87, and running out of position still 10 points in arrears, played for safety. Returning to the table he overtook Foldvari's score, carefully assessing his shot selection, having the balls cleaned by the referee and paying close attention to his troublesome tip. Continuing in this time-consuming way he managed to hold the table with 91 unfinished, winning by an 81 point margin. After the match there was and exchange of words between Foldvari and Gilchrist regarding what each believed was time-wasting tactics by the other. Foldvari complaining about Gilchrist's trips outside the hall to pay attention to his tip, and Gilchrist upset that Foldvari decided to wipe his cue "with a big white towel" in Gilchrist's line of sight while playing a shot. Asked about his prospects in the final against Russell, Gilchrist replied "I will have to improve my game. I have to go down and practise for a couple of hours".
| Mike Russell 389, 269, 146, 113, 93, 78 | 1539 | (39.5) | David Causier 252, 117, 115, 112, 91, 86, 78, 69, 64, 55, 51, 133unf | 1425 | (37.5) |
| Peter Gilchrist 182, 64, 59, 102, 70, 87, 91unf | 832 | (27.7) | Robby Foldvari 130, 99, 98, 94 | 751 | (25.0) |
Gilchrist had changed his tip before every round and did so again before the final. However, he seemed to find this one to his satisfaction as he opened up confidently with breaks of 74 and 285 at his third and fourth visits. Finding himself over 300 points in arrears, the Champion responded to the pressure with classy top-of-the-table breaks of 179 and 192 to pull back the deficit. Contributions of 54 and 88 put Gilchrist back in front, but Russell ran to the interval with 96 unfinished giving him a narrow 9 point advantage, the scores standing at 540-531. The two hour session had seen both players complete just eight visits, averaging 67.5 and 66.4 respectively.
Russell extended his lead slightly by taking his unfinished break to 124 and when Gilchrist replied with 97 Russell's immediate response was 75. From the opening exchanges it looked as though the second session would be as close as the first, but from this point Gilchrist took total command and with breaks of 194, 99, 97, and 50, kept Russell away from the table for the remainder of the third hour.
Gilchrist's breaks regularly seemed to end when attempting a late baulk- line crossing, but even so, he had built up big lead at 1,072-663 with 40 minutes remaining and was keeping up his 60+ average while Russell struggled to force an opening. With the match having slipped beyond his reach, Russell did manage to produce runs of 56 and 124 but these hardly mattered as Gilchrist swept to his second Championship win with a performance worthy of the occasion.
| Peter Gilchrist 285, 194, 99, 97, 97, 88, 74, 67, 54, 50 | 1287 | (61.3) | Mike Russell 192, 179, 124, 124, 75, 56 | 863 | (39.2) |
Gilchrist, whose previous win in the Championship had also been in Mumbai when the event was staged at the Leela Hotel in 1994, picked up £12,500 for his troubles. Russell collected £8,500 which included £1,000 for his high break of 389, made against David Causier.