KARACHI: The reigning Asian champion and Pakistan No I Hamza Akbar succumbed to Mark Joyce 2-6 after taking 2-0 lead during his debut in the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) International Championship 2015 qualifiers at Barnsley on Friday.

According to information available here, an excited Hamza, who has qualified for the WPBSA pro circuit by virtue of winning the Asian title at Kuala Lumpur this year, made impressive start by winning the first and second frames 87-29 and 64-57 including a half century break of 53 in the opener.

But Hamza could not maintain the two frames advantage as his opponent fought back and clinched the next six frames one after the other to wrap up the match.

The 32-year-old Birmingham-based Joyce, who turned pro in 2006 and has a rich experience under his belt, hammered four elegant breaks of 52, 90, 131 and 51 in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.

It is pertinent to mention that Joyce has been the practice partner of Shahram Changezi when the latter privately participated in the pro circuit in 2011.

Result:

Mark Joyce bt Hamza Akbar 6-2 (29-87, 57-64, 88-8, 105-12, 131-0, 80-25, 74-15, 92-14).

Published in Dawn October 3rd, 2015

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