India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani yesterday won his third straight IBSF billiards crown in the 150-up format, taking his overall tally of world titles to a staggering 20. The cueist from Bangalore, 33, overcame Nay Thway Oo of Myanmar in a high-quality final. After bossing the 150-up format, Advani will now compete in the longer version, Up format, commences immediately.

It was also a proud moment for Myanmar which saw its own player in the title round for the first time. Nay Thway Oo did well to oust multiple world champion Mike Russell in the semi-final with a convincing 5-2 victory. With home support and overall advantage the one thing that was evidently lacking was the experience of competing in a World Championship final as Oo was denied much opportunity to reproduce the magic of his previous match.