Peter Gilchrist triumphs

Dwayne Williams

Peter Gilchrist, the No. 3 on the current world billiards ranking, has been at the top of the heap before. Never mind that it was way back in 1994 when he beat the current World champion, Mike Russell in that year's finale of the World's. And never mind that he was first beaten by Russell in 1989 and again in 1999.

For, on Easter Sunday, at the Cricket Club of India, in Bombay, he drew level on the head-to-head against his friend and compatriot in world finals with a superlative second half performance that earned him the Mega Ace World Professional billiards championships crown and a purse of 12,500 pounds.

Russell had to rest content with runner-up prize of 7,500 pounds besides an additional 1,000 pounds for recording the highest break of the tournament, which he constructed against compatriot David Causier in a thrilling semi-final on Saturday.

It was a final that promised much by way of excitement at the end of the first two-hour session but delivered little more in the next. And that was only because Russell, undoubtedly the most talented of the present crop of pros crumbled unaccountably in the second.

Russell started steadily and knocked in breaks of 179 and 192 off succesive visits in an equally matched first session before going to the break with an unfinished 96. But that was only after Gilchrist had taken the early lead with a 74 and 285, off successive visits, and then replied to Russell's bursts with runs of 54 and 88.

It was a tight cat-and-mouse game with Russell coming through the first session marginally ahead by a slender 9 points on that break in hand.

But the second session was different altogether. Russell managed to stretch that break to 124 to go ahead but Gilchrist, determination writ on his face, fired in a 97 to regain the lead. Russell carved out a 75 to go ahead once again in this neck-and-neck battle but Gilchrist was there with a reply, this time breaks of 194 and 99 taking him to around a 300-point lead.

At this juncture, Russell seemed to have given up, quite unusual for a champion. For, after Gilchrist posted runs of 97 and 50 on succesive visits, Russell played out a casual 56 and followed it up with a 124, which though good top-table stuff was not even a shadow of the true Russell. And Gilchrist kept pounding away. Breaks of 50, 40 and 67, again off successive visits, ensured that he was home and dry with a lot to spare.

Results (final): Peter Gilchrist 1287 (74, 285, 54, 88, 97, 194, 99, 97, 50, 50, 67, 27_UNF) beat Mike Russell 863 (179, 192, 124, 75, 56, 124).