In a battle of the nerves, Pakistan’s child prodigy and a snooker sensation, Ahsan Ramzan, clinched his first International Billiards and Snooker Federation title as he beat Amir Sarkohsh in the finals, making him the youngest ever IBSF world champion.
With his decisive victory, Ahsan became the third Pakistani to claim the title at the IBSF world championship. In a post-match interview, the young cueist urged the Pakistani government and society to elevate the status of the game and treat cueists with the same respect and importance as cricketers in the country.
The child prodigy made an impressive debut steamrolling through the ranks to secure his position in the semi-final, where he faced the defending world champion and compatriot, Muhammad Asif.
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In a nail-biting semi-final, Ahsan lost the first two frames to the defending champion but levelled by winning the following two sets. After levelling the score at 2-2, they both won alternative sets to once again tie the score on 4-4.
In the tiebreaker, Ahsan Ramzan, in an immaculate display of sheer talent and self-confidence, won the frame only to tear up after beating his compatriot and mentor, Muhammad Asif.
As Ahsan beat Muhammad Asif in the semi-finals, the Iranian Amir Sarkhosh beat Pakistani Muhammad Sajjad in his semi-final bout with the national champion. This marked the first time in the history of the tournament all Pakistani cueists, three in total, made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.
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In the final series of the event, Ahsan Ramzan faced the Iranian Amir Sarkhosh and, in the epic 6-5 final series, elevated his stature to lay his hands on the trophy of International Billiards and Snooker Federation World Snooker Championship in Doha. He beat Sarkosh six frames to five with scores of 63-60, 91-0(70), 56-34, 01-102(102), 28-68, 27-66, 86-18, 1-70, 69-0, 63-17, 67-25.
The youngster also made a break 147, making him the youngest player to do so on the world stage. “After the 147 break, I feel I had gained a lot of confidence,” Ahsan said in an interview.
The prodigy had been troubling national greats like Babar Masih and even Sajjad in the national tournaments by defeating them.
Former President of Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) Ali Asghar Valika has hailed Ahsan’s victory in the world event.
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“It’s like a dream come true as the cueist did his country proud,” he said in an interview after the final.
Ahsan belongs to Lahore and has been playing snooker since 2017 on the junior level when he was not even 10-years-old. He secured 2nd position in Punjab snooker champion and also secured 2nd position in the national championship.