An outstanding personal triumph

The Mega Ace World billiards championship was a resounding success and Gilchrist's victory was a tribute to Mumbai's generous and sporting spirit, writes MICHAEL FERREIRA.

THE RECENT Mega Ace World Professional Billiards Championship ended in an outstanding personal triumph for world No. 3 Peter Gilchrist who captured the title after coming to Mumbai without a realistic hope of winning. After all, defending champion and world No. 1 Mike Russell, by common consent regarded as the best player in the world not only by billiards lovers but more importantly by his peers, was the overwhelming favourite. His continued good form and appetite for titles were amply demonstrated when he won the last ranking tournament - the World Matchplay - in March in handsome style.

Russell was not the only obstacle Gilchrist faced. Another star with genuine credentials to go all the way was the youthful Chris Shutt, who made his mark by capturing the World Open Championship in November, albeit this was in the now discredited 50-point format. Shutt is by no means a slouch in the traditional time format, having recorded a series of huge breaks in the last two years including a tremendous 887 in the British Open last season. As if this were not enough, the free-scoring world No. 4 David Causier could take anyone in his stride on his day. His amazing match against Gilchrist in the 1998 world championship in Mumbai when he dashed to the table and ripped of an in-off white to beat Gilchrist by one point is still fresh in memory.

It is true that all these fine players were situated away from Gilchrist in the top half of the draw, but the tall Teesider was expected to have his hands full with in the bottom half with the likes of former world champion Geet Sethi, widely reported as experiencing a resurgence of interest in the game which has given him everything in life, and Australian Robby Foldvari, one of the toughest customers in the game. In addition, Gilchrist knew only too well that world no. 8 Nalin Patel, his second round opponent, could hardly be described as a pushover.

A happy combination of circumstances plus Gilchrist's own ability to rise to the occasion when it counted, conspired to knock out all the rivals in his path until only Russell stood between him and glory. Against Patel, Gilchrist looked to be in trouble when only 16 points separated them at the end of the first session. But the world no. 3 stepped up two gears in the second, ramming in 718 points in eight visits highlighted by a brilliant 298 to race past Patel. He then squared off against Foldvari who had earlier removed Sethi from the firing line in a cliffhanger, which saw Sethi, trailing by 204 with 15 minutes in it, hustle through a desperate 159 only to miss a difficult right hand masse. Sethi had earlier survived a close call against former world runner-up Devendra Joshi.

Meanwhile in the top half, Chris Shutt turned in a strangely subdued performance to go down, (perhaps capitulate would be a better word), to David Causier by almost 1200 points. There is no gainsaying the fact that Causier played out of his mind on the day, but he was able to do that because of the umpteen opportunities his opponent so casually gifted him. Beyond suggesting the obvious reason - human frailty - it was difficult to assess why the likeable Shutt could not produce the billiards all of us have now come to expect of him.

On that performance, Causier might have been looking forward to beating Russell and entering his first world final, but the defending champion found his touch at the right time to uncork a winning 389, which happened to be the best of the tournament. With Russell now in the final, the lower half contest between Gilchrist and Foldvari was, in effect, their own personal final for the simple reason that neither of them seriously expected to win against Russell. As such, both could be forgiven for thinking that just getting to the final was reward enough.

With so much hanging in the balance, the match hardly rose above the mediocre. The tall Englishman led 492-353 at the end of the undistinguished first session, but Foldvari quickly fought back to level terms. Thereafter it was nip and tuck all the way through till Gilchrist overcame a 97-point deficit by fashioning winning sequences of 87 and 91 unfinished.

It is possible that not expecting too much of himself in the final allowed Gilchrist to relax and play to his potential. Whatever the reason, he looked like a completely different player, with an exemplary focus and rhythm noticeably absent in the earlier rounds. When just 11 points separated the rivals at the end of the first session, it seemed clear that Russell was feeling the pressure though one always felt that he would pull out something special as he has done so successfully in the past. But he never got the chance as his opponent, helped by a ruthless streak of consistency, raced to an amazing 423-point victory.

The performance of the Indian contingent was a huge let down, particularly in the context of the importance of India being perceived as winners by potential sponsors and the general public. Sethi once again paid the price for neglecting to practise the year round. This marked the second time in succession that he has been eliminated in the quarterfinals, a poor result for a player who has not yet been hit by the ravages of time. The last time around, Arun Agrawal ousted him in Chennai by a single point with a gritty 53 unfinished. Joshi had his moments against Sethi, but his failure to defeat the former world champion was a disappointment. Ashok Shandilya lost a golden opportunity of beating an edgy Russell in the first round. Nalin Patel had many chances against Gilchrist but the harsh truth was that he failed to produce when it counted. Former national champions Alok Kumar and Subhash Agrawal were way below par, while Dhruv Sitwala is still too green to have made a serious impact. Apart from Patel, who has an exemplary work ethic, what these lads, including Sethi need, if they have any shred of ambition left, is practise, practise and more practise.

The Mega Ace Championship, considering the short time frame in which it was all put together, was a resounding success. I remember when Gilchrist won his first title at the Leela Hotel in 1994, also against Russell. With no Indian in contention, the crowds stayed away. This time, in an almost identical scenario, the C. K. Nayudu Hall at the CCI was packed. The claps that greeted good shots or a fine break was evidence of highly knowledgeable spectators; the cheers that rent the air when Gilchrist won a tribute to Mumbai's generous and sporting spirit.

Full marks to the drive of the feisty Ms. Poonam Kumar, Chairperson and Managing Director of the sponsors who guided her team through the challenge of putting this event together in record time.

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