Published:
Indian cue-sports star Pankaj Advani has won the World Billiards Championship after defeating England’s Robert Hall in the final, according to reports published on October 23, 2026. The Hindu described the victory as Advani’s 29th world title, while other coverage identifies it as his 21st world billiards championship crown and 29th world title overall across billiards and snooker.
The final was reported to have taken place at Landywood Snooker Club in Walsall, England. Advani’s victory restores him to the top of the world billiards podium after a difficult title defence earlier in 2026, when fellow Indian Sourav Kothari defeated him in the IBSF World Billiards Championship final in Carlow, Ireland.
Advani beat England’s Robert Hall in the final to secure the championship, according to The Hindu and Rediff coverage. The result adds another world title to a career that has spanned both billiards and snooker, two cue sports in which Advani has competed at the highest international level.
TV9’s report said Advani had beaten nine-time world champion David Causier in the semifinal before facing Hall in the decider. The reports available for this article did not consistently provide a final scoreline for the October 2026 match, so no score has been included here.
The Hindu’s headline described the achievement as Advani’s 29th world title. This overall tally counts titles across cue-sports disciplines, while the billiards-specific count is reported separately. Keeping the two totals distinct is important when describing Advani’s record, because world titles in billiards and snooker are not the same competition.
Advani’s latest win comes after the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Carlow in April 2026, where Sourav Kothari retained his title by beating Advani 1133-477 in a three-hour final. PTI reporting described Kothari’s run of breaks, including 485, 121, 90, 241 and an unfinished 155, as decisive in that contest.
That April result was a setback for Advani, who was then described as a 19-time world billiards champion. His October success therefore represents a new chapter in the rivalry between two of India’s leading cue-sports players, while also demonstrating the distinction between the IBSF event held in Ireland and the later championship reported from England.
Advani’s ability to return to a world title-winning performance after the April final adds context to the achievement. The result also brings international attention to billiards, a sport that often receives less mainstream coverage than cricket, badminton or Olympic disciplines in India.
- 29: World titles overall, as described by The Hindu’s October 23 headline.
- 21: World Billiards Championship titles, according to contemporary coverage of the 2026 win.
- 2024: The year of Advani’s previous reported IBSF World Billiards Championship win over Robert Hall in Doha.
- 4-2: Advani’s reported frame score against Hall in the 2024 final.
- 1133-477: Sourav Kothari’s score against Advani in the April 2026 IBSF World Billiards Championship final.
Advani’s latest title reinforces his place among India’s most successful cue-sports competitors and gives the sport another major international result to build on. His achievements across billiards and snooker also offer a high-profile example of technical skill, match management and sustained performance across different formats of cue sports.
For aspiring players, the championship is a reminder that cue sports have an international pathway through world championships and specialist federations. Increased coverage of results such as Advani’s can help bring attention to domestic competitions, coaching programmes and emerging Indian players.
SportsLine.news will update this report if the organisers publish an official final scorecard or a statement clarifying the title count. The article distinguishes the overall world-title figure from the billiards-specific total because reports use both measures when describing Advani’s career.
