India’s Pankaj Advani, down 1-4, bounced back to defeat legendary Steve Davis 6-5 in the second round of the qualifying tournament for the International Championship snooker tournament here Monday.
Advani, who had beaten World No.86 Craig Steadman of Britain 6-1 – aided by two century breaks (105, 117), was slow off the blocks against six-time World champion Davis, but gathered himself well to prevail.
Davis took a 3-0 lead, but Advani fought back to win the fourth frame only to have the 55-year old former World No.1 move to 4-1 and put the Indian under pressure.
Maintaining his calm composure, Advani won the next four frames to go 5-4 up, but Davis caught up for 5-5 to push the match into the decider frame.
He opened the final frame with a break of 51 to lead 67-8, and went on to seal the match 6-5 for a memorable victory.
Advani is now drawn to play the veteran Scottish professional Allan McManus in the penultimate round of the qualifiers for one of the richest tournaments on the tour.