Peter Gilchrist defeated Michael Pearson 748-400 to successfully defend the World Billiards STM Trucks and Machinery Sydney Open at Club Marconi.
Gilchrist, who has now won the last three staging’s of the Sydney Open in Australia’s most populous city, came through a global field of 43 cueists to once again take home the title.
Arriving at the top seed, the former world champion comfortably came through the initial group phase with victories over Steve Murphy, Roger Farebrother, Tristan Lau and Michael Banham to reach the knockout stages.
Four century breaks, including a top contribution of 276, helped Gilchrist past Australia’s George Chammas and England’s Terry Azor to set up a semi-final meeting with Hassan Kerde.
Kerde had reached the semi-final of the World Seniors Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre earlier this year, but was unable to compete with Gilchrist in their last four contest as the Singaporean representative hit a trio of century breaks to win by an 864-396 scoreline.
The title match then saw Gilchrist taking on host nation cueist Pearson, who had beaten fellow countryman Steve Mifsud in the semi-finals.
In an impressive display, the eventual champion fired in breaks of 103, 105 and 109 to retain the level four ranking title by a 348 point winning margin.
The World Billiards season continues with a double-header in New Zealand featuring the Auckland Open (10-11 September) and the New Zealand Open (12-14 September) at the Papatoetoe Cosmopolitan Club in Auckland.
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