Imran pots his way into snooker final

Pakistan number one to face Toba for the title today.

KARACHI: Pakistan number one Imran Shahzad will face Mohammad Asif Toba in the final of the third Jubilee General Insurance Ranking Snooker Championship today after both cueists won their semi-finals with relative ease.

While Toba outclassed former Asian Championship finalist Khurram Agha 6-1 in the first semi-final, Shahzad overcame former Pakistan number one Shahid Aftab 6-3 in the second to seal his progress.

Shahzad, recovering from dengue, lost the first frame but found the going rather easy. A 71-32 scoreline saw the country’s top cueist level the match before the second came his way 90-36.

With two frames and a 2-1 lead in the bag, Shahzad’s placement and potting got better with every shot as he hit a break of 109 in the fourth frame. Although the top-seed missed the clearance on a difficult pink, the confidence was there to see as he hit the tournament’s fourth century break.

Aftab saw Shahzad win the fifth frame 70-57 before a close battle eventually saw him clinch the sixth frame on the black. However, that was it for the former national champion as Shahzad won the next two frames 65-20, 72-54 to take the match and set up a final showdown.

“I’ve been battling with illness but it’s getting better now,” Shahzad told The Express Tribune. “The confidence I’ve gained in the semi-final, especially the century break, will help me against Toba. He’s playing well, so it’ll be a good match.”

While Shahzad praised his opponent-to-be in the final, Toba showed his class in the other semi. After going down in the first frame, Toba made Agha look mediocre as he clinched the next frames 68-38, 53-45, 62-58, 60-47, 80-0, 82-30.

Toba, who already has the tournament’s highest break (138) to his name, hit a break of 80 in the sixth frame to give a taste of things to come today.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2011.