Baize of glory: Advani wins his first professional title

This was perhaps the only title I had not won. The victory puts to rest all doubts about my ability to perform at the highest level. I just wanted to concentrate on my game in the final. But at the back of my mind, I was thinking about Mike Russell tipping Geet Sethi, David Causier and himself as contenders for the title. I knew I had to prove him wrong. In fact, I had to prove a lot of people wrong.

For me, the most crucial part of the tournament was the semifinal against Dhruv Sitwala. It was the closest match of the tournament. I had to dig deep to pull off the 142 unfinished break in the last 12 minutes of the match to win. My strategy for the final was to be on the offensive from the word go and everything seemed to go my way.

I am excited about going back home. I will be leaving for Agra for the senior nationals, which starts from September 20. So I don’t think I will have time for any major celebrations.