Ouschan and Feijen win the 14/1 Gold
The first titles at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes have been assigned. In the women’s division, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) defended her title from last year and won the final match over Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) with 75:19. In the men’s division, Niels Feijen (NED) prevented his teammate Nick Van Den Berg (NED) from winning three straight pool titles in a row and defeated him 125:50.
Ouschan started her day with a clear 75:28 walk over Melissa Rademakers (NED). Then she faced a tough opponent in the quarter-final. Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) proved to be hard work for Ouschan who stayed on top of the match, winning it with 75:54. In the semi-final match, Ouschan eliminated Line Kjoersvik (NOR) with 75:46. These victories booked her a seat in the final match. Oliwia Czuprynska started her day with a 75:44 victory over Kristina Grim (GER). She then finished Sara Rocha’s (POR) hopes with 75:39, just to meet her friend and teammate Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) in the semi-final. 75:48 was the final results in favor of Czuprynska.
The final match was pretty single-sided in Ouschan’s favor. She hardly missed any shot and left no chance for Czuprynska. That is clearly demonstrated by the high final score of 75:19 for Ouschan. Jasmin Ouschan took her 30th title on European level. She managed to defend her title in straight pool from last year. What a promising start for the Austrian superstar player.
Niels Feijen started his journey to glory, wiping the floor with Josip Susnjara (CRO) 125:6. Then, he finished Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) with 125:71. He continued in the quarter-finals with his splendid form, leaving no chance to Finland’s Petri Makkonen 125:17. In the semi-final, he stopped Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) with 125:50 to make it to the final match.
Defending Champion Nick van den Berg took care of Aki Heiskanen (FIN) with 125:25. Then he marched on and defeated Mariusz Skoneczny (POL) 125:42. His next opponent was former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR). But also Peach had no chance against van den Berg who took the match clearly with 125:14. In the semi-final, the Dutch ousted Tomasz Kaplan (POL) with 125:77. That match was almost a replay from last year’s final with the same winner.
The final match between Feijen and van den Berg was filled with ups and downs. Feijen ran 96 points on van den Berg and took a 111:12 lead. However, he then missed a makable break shot and allowed van den Berg back to the table. But the defending Champion was sitting in his chair for over 30 minutes and had to watch Feijen making point after point. Both players made some errors and in the end, Feijen was the more consistent player when he potted the final ball to win the match with 125:50. Feijen ended van den Berg’s winning streak in straight pool.
It can be noticed here that team Poland came out quite unlucky today. They had 4 players in the semi-final matches and had to settle for 3 bronze and 1 silver medal. However, it can be stated that the Polish contingency had a good start; just like the Dutch players. It will be interesting to see how the event will continue.
Play will commence tomorrow morning 09:00 local time with the 10-ball competition. All results and more info can be found on www.epconline.eu. LIVEStream can be viewed at www.kozoom.com.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
