Gilchrist Wins Pacific International Billiards Thriller
Peter Gilchrist edged out Dhruv Sitwala 1500-1441 in an enthralling final to win the 2023 Pacific International Billiards Championship at the Yarraville Club in Melbourne, Australia.
The prestigious level 5 ranking event was the final stop on the 2022/23 World Billiards season, and it was a fitting end to a colourful campaign with several brilliant and close matches.
World number two Gilchrist qualified for the knockout rounds after finishing top of Group A with five wins out of five, registering 14 three-figure breaks – five of which being double centuries.
With the best record of all the qualifiers, Singaporean citizen Gilchrist received the bye and went straight into the quarter-finals where he top scored with 399 as he eliminated Dhrav Haria (India) 900-406. He then defeated home hero Steve Mifsud (Australia) 1200-209 in the last four, highlighted with a break of 500 – the highest of the event. In the previous round, Mifsud pipped defending champion Sourav Kothari (India) 900-879.
Sitwala reached the final after also winning his group with a 100% record. In the knockouts he dispatched Australian duo Don Richter 750-193 and Joshua Burns 900-187 before denying world number three Rob Hall (England) 1200-936.
Neither player could really establish a comfortable cushion during a see-saw opening session of the final, although Sitwala did lead 760-588 at the interval.
Gilchrist managed to regain the advantage during the decisive session but coming into the home straight it appeared that Sitwala was on course for the trophy as he moved to within 60 points of the 1500 target. However, when he fell out of position and missed a tricky in-off red, it was the only invitation that multiple-time world champion Gilchrist needed as he crafted a classy counter-attacking break of 219 unfinished to claim his seventh ranking title of the season.
