Asif overpowers Bilal to reclaim snooker crown

KARACHI: Second seed Muhammad Asif recaptured the crown by edging out third seed Muhammad Bilal in an epic final of the Jubilee Insurance 43rd National Snooker Championship 2018 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Wednesday.

As expected, the all-Punjab final progressed at a brisk pace with both the cueists playing aggressively. It was anybody’s game, locked up at five-all, when Bilal suffered a stroke of misfortune in the 11th frame and Asif made the most of it by pressing home the advantage.

Having won the national title in 2009 and 2012, Asif made the most of the lucky break in the best-of-15-frame final to win it 8-5 with the scores of 83-10, 69-48, 76-19, 12-78, 28-93, 0-87, 57-77, 68-9, 79-34, 8-87, 75-51, 69-40, 66-37.

“Yes, indeed the rub of the green went my way today and I was extremely fortunate to get the opening in the 11th frame caused by an unexpected error from Bilal, who was playing extremely well until that stage,” said the 35-year-old Asif, hailing from the industrial city of Faisalabad.

“Bilal was a threat to me throughout the match and I had to play my top game to remain in business. It was a kind of encounter which was thoroughly enjoyed by the spectators as well as the large television audience watching it live,” he added.

The 32-year-old Bilal, a proud product of Mandi Bahauddin, was aiming for the national title for the second time, having annexed it in 2016. He seemed on course of achieving his ambition but the mishap in the 11th frame proved decisive and he was unable to pull it back.

Asif drew the first blood with a break of 83 and made it 3-0 by pocketing the next two frames as well. Breaks of 63, 60, 57 and 77 in successive frames allowed Bilal to go into 4-3 lead, but Asif equalised with the help of a break of 61 in the eighth frame.

The momentum was with Asif and he cashed in with another break of 79 in the ninth frame to go 5-4 up. Bilal drew level by chalking up a break of 87 in the next frame. He, however, failed to get back into the game once he lost the 11th frame in which one of his shots proved fatal. Asif not only won that frame but also the next two to reclaim the trophy in style.Asif collected the glittering trophy with a purse of Rs100,000 from chief guest Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, while Bilal received Rs50,000.