ANNADIL Burhani's Mohammed Pothiwalla was the first visitor to progress to the second round of the Cargo Stars Dar Open Snooker tournament as host Abraham Sykes also booked his place in the next stage.

Pothiwalla went through after posting a 2-1 victory over host Akil Kassamali 'Lobilo' in a thrilling first round match played at the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (DGC) on Monday evening. The winner started the day strongly against his opponent to take the first frame in a convincing way.

It was the first match to reach all three frames since the tournament started last Thursday. The game that started about 19:00 went on to last until 21:00. In the second frame Lobilo came rejuvenated to settle the score and forced it to the decider. On the way to take the frame Lobilo led by 30 - 4 points.

The host was no match at the decider frame as the winner put the second frame loss behind him and went straight into business, winning the game in style. Pothiwalla was more than happy to win the game and told the 'Daily News' afterward that it was very competitive game.

"It is my first time in the tournament at DGC, my opponent was good, so am happy that I managed to overcome him and progressed," says Pothiwalla (35), who started playing the game since he was 18 years old. Lobilo was short of word and just said: "It was very good game, so close."