Pankaj Advani beats former world No 1 Higgins

Furth (Germany): India`s ace cueist Pankaj Advani stamped his authority on the Professional Snooker Circuit, defeating former world number one John Higgins of Scotland 4-1 on day two of the European Tour-2 Paul Hunter Classic here.

The seven-time World champion, Advani reigned supreme on the green baize as he recorded one of his biggest victories on the Professional Circuit last night. In a clash of the champions, Higgins, currently world number seven, did not allow the Indian to score in the first frame, winning it 0-1. The 27-year-old Bangalorean then fought back to equalise in the second frame. In a closely contested third frame, Higgins scored a break of 66 with only 67 points on the table. Advani, in a fantastic display of snooker, proceeded to construct a break of 67 to take a 2-1 lead. Scoring a break of 60 in the fourth frame and 50 in the fifth frame, the reigning national billiards champion registered a 4-1 victory against the Scottish Snooker legend. Earlier in the day, Advani defeated England`s Martin O`Donnell 4-0 in the best of seven frames match and then secured his second victory of the day with an emphatic 4-1 win over England`s Ian Burns in Round 4 of the tournament. Advani is now drawn to play the experienced Englishman, Mark King, who is the last challenge standing between the young Indian and a placing in the quarterfinals of the tournament. PTI