Jaden Ong loses Singapore Snooker Open final to Pankaj Advani but earns praise
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Singapore's Jaden Ong taking on India's Pankaj Advani during the Songhe Singapore Snooker Open final on Oct 6.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
SINGAPORE – After producing a stunning 4-1 win against Malaysia’s 2022 World Amateur Snooker Championship winner Lim Kok Leong on Oct 5, Singapore’s Jaden Ong was in the mood for another giant-killing act in the Songhe Singapore Snooker Open final.
On Oct 6, the 35-year-old held the lead late in the first, second and fifth frames at the Safra Toa Payoh’s Lagoon Billiard Room against three-time world amateur champion Pankaj Advani, but rued big misses as his Indian opponent won 5-1 for his first snooker title in Singapore.
Ong, a full-time player since 2022, told The Straits Times: “I’m surprised I could make it all the way to the final with such a strong field as I had been struggling with my form and consistency.
“But things started to click again and I played well this week. So, it was a pity I couldn’t win it. It would have been special to beat such a well-known player in the final at home, but I still gained a lot of positives, and learnt a lot from his composure and shot selection as I work towards doing well at the 2025 SEA Games.”
The Singapore Snooker Open featured 123 players from five nations, including Thailand’s 2010 world amateur champion Dechawat Poomjaeng, and a prize pool of $27,000.
Ong started with perfect 3-0 wins in the group stage. Buoyed by a 4-0 victory over Sunny Wang in the last 16, a 4-3 comeback win from 1-3 down against India’s Dhruv Jatan Patel in the quarter-final, and the semi-final upset against Lim, Ong came out firing in the final.
He was leading 57-43 in the first frame but missed the brown which allowed Advani to clear the remaining colour balls to win 65-57. It was a similar story in the second frame when Ong looked set to run out the coloured balls and draw level but missed the blue as his opponent converted blue and pink to win 62-46.
Breaks of 30 and 27 helped Advani take down the third game 85-18, prompting a time-out from Ong. This worked for the Singaporean who compiled breaks of 28 and 30 to win 66-15.
Ong looked poised to make another stirring comeback as he led 62-39 in a nervy and eventful fifth frame, but drew gasps from the 100-strong crowd when he fouled and touched the pink first while trying to hit the brown ball.
With the free ball, Advani cleared the table to win 71-62 before sealing the best-of-nine-frames final with a comprehensive 75-11 victory in the sixth frame.
He pocketed the winner’s cheque of $10,000 and another $1,000 for the tournament’s highest break of 137, while Ong picked up $4,000 for being the runner-up.
Advani told ST: “I’m really glad for Jaden to be in a home final, which created excitement, even though I knew the crowd was not going to be on my side, which was understandable.
“It was not as one-sided as the final score suggests. In terms of shot selection, he’s right up there and deserves credit. I had to rely on my experience and play good safety shots to put him in a little bit of trouble and create the opportunities. It could have been 3-2, and anything could happen, but I’m glad I held my nerve.”
Pankaj Advani pocketed the winner’s cheque of $10,000 and another $1,000 for the tournament’s highest break of 137.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Born in Pune and based in Bangalore, Advani excels in snooker and English billiards, in which he is a 17-time world champion in the point and long formats.
Advani, who recalled winning the English billiards long format world title in Singapore in 2007, said: “Billiards is a test of endurance and stamina and patience, while snooker is more of a hit-and-run kind of game, and that’s what I did today, making breaks of 30 and then playing safe.
“I love playing both games, sometimes if I have too much of one, then I’d play the other to kill the monotony.”
He also hinted at a possible return to professional snooker, in which he was once ranked among the top 64 during his five seasons from 2012 to 2017.
Advani, who plays full-time while being employed by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, said: “I’m not blaming the fact that most of the professional snooker events are in the UK or China, but the reason I went back to India is to spend time with my family, which is difficult to do when you are fending for yourself in another country.
“But I’m still 39 and I’ve not ruled it out completely.”
