Lee Comeback Stuns White In Final
Stephen Lee won the CCI Invitational Open event at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai fighting back from 7-4 down to beat Jimmy White by ten-frames-to-seven in the final.
Lee seemed in control during the first session leading by a single frame until White convincingly won the last two of the afternoon session to head into the interval in front.
In the evening, The Whirlwind opened up with a break of 98 to move further in front and when he added frame eleven, looked well on course for victory.
Frame twelve was pivotal in the outcome of the match, with White having chances to move within two frames of victory, a lead that might have been too much for Lee to handle. Instead, the former world number three, pinched it to go 7-5.
Lee then showed his, often eulogised, cue action at its best in the next frame by making a superb 128 break, proving to be the start of a spirited fight-back.
A scrappy fourteenth allowed Lee to level the scores for the first time since mid-afternoon and a break of 80 saw him in front for the first time since frame seven.
White had chances to win frame 16, but when Lee moved two ahead with three to play, the result looked inevitable.
Trowbridge’s finest closed out the 10-7 win in the next and remained the only player in the tournament to remain unbeaten and bring the trophy and the first prize back to the UK, where he will be back in action at the Shoot-Out in Blackpool on Friday.
Picture - Vivek Pathak (Cuesportsindia.com)
