Pankaj Advani:"I am looking forward to the madness"

"I am looking forward to the madness" says Pankaj Advani on his entry into the Professional Snooker League. The 26 year old Pankaj Advani will be the only active cueist in the world to play on both the professional Billiards and Snooker tour.

Bangalore, 3rd May, 2012: Following his recent stellar performance at the Asian Snooker Championships in Doha, Pankaj Advani today announced his entry into the Professional Snooker Tour. Nominated by the Asian Confederation of Billiards and Snooker, Pankaj shall enter the league based on a wild card entry. With this announcement, the 26 year old, Pankaj Advani will now be the only active player to be part of both the professional Snooker and Billiards League.

Speaking on his decision to turn pro after a decade and a half of playing snooker, an excited Pankaj said, "I feel that there is a time and place for everything in life, and I feel that this is the right time to give this a shot. At the age of 18, when I was really keen to go and play the pro league I didn't get an entry, and after 8 years, the desire has rekindled. It will be exciting to see what follows next." With Pankaj's decision to turn pro, he will be off the amateur circuit for the next two years. Elaborating on his plans for the next two years, Pankaj shared, "My focus is to become a better and stronger player by participating in the Pro Tour, while continuing to actively participate in international Billiards events."  

 

To compete in a gruelling 10-months long Pro Snooker Tour, Pankaj will be splitting his time between Sheffield, UK and India. When quizzed on shifting his base, Pankaj joked, "What I'm doing now is nothing short of madness. But there is fun in madness as well." On a more serious note he added, "Being part of a new environment is exciting and challenging at the same time and I look forward to it." 

 

Pankaj will begin his campaign this season with the Wuxi Classic qualifiers, scheduled to be held at the WS Academy, Sheffield, from 5th to 8th of June. As a debutant on the tour, Pankaj starts off the season ranked in the bottom half of the list which means he will have to play four rounds of qualifiers in the knock-out format to enter the main draws of all the tournaments. 

 

With a win in the Asian Billiards Championships and a runner-up finish at the Asian Snooker Championships, Pankaj has hit a purple patch this year and will be hoping to carry his great form into the Pro Snooker Tour.