Straight Pool competition down to quarter-finals in Men and Women's Division
Portoroz, Slovenia: In a match with several unexpected errors, David Alcaide (ESP) defeated Huidji See (NED) with 125:100. It was a clash of two very experienced players with several titles under their belt. See, the 2011 World 10-Ball Champion against Alcaide, the 2010 European Straight Pool Champion. No wonder they both started very cautious since none of the two wanted the opponent to get started. They both knew that one single mistake could mean the end of the match.
After some safety shots, Alcaide got into gear and started collecting points for his account. After 31 balls, he failed to pocket the next one and allowed See to the table. The Dutch World Champion accepted the invitation and ran 34 balls to stake his claim. But then it was Alcaide's turn at the table again. He cleared all remaining balls and got to 36:34 when he had to play a break shot. He pocketed the respective object ball but got an unlucky roll so he could not really do much with the layout. He chose to try a risky shot and missed! See got back to the table with all balls spread wide open. See turned the score board to 78:36 before he also got an unlucky roll after a break shot. However, Alcaide could not capitalize from See's mistake. After one ball only, he gave the table back to See. That was a critical point in time of that match. But See also seemed to get struck by nervousness. He ran out of position and had to get his jump cue out in order to continue shooting. At 89:37, he missed that shot and gave Alcaide another chance. Alcaide made good use of that opportunity and ran 72 balls, taking the score to 109:89. But then he ran out of position and had to give the table back to See. The Dutch scored 11 points and left the table again. That was enough chance for Alcaide.
At 109:100, he only needed 16 more points for his quarter-final ticket. He did not let that chance slip away and won the match with 125:100 over Huidji See, who could not really get his game going.
Other notable results include Andreas Roschkowsky (GER) defeating Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) with 125:19. Sometimes, history repeats itself. One round earlier, Sniegocki defeated Jim Chawki (SWE) with 125:0, running 124 balls and out on him. This round, Roschkowsky lead 97:0 over Sniegocki before the Polish was allowed to take his second inning. Maybe the pressure was too high for Sniegocki. He only pocketed 19 balls before he gave the inning back to Roschkowsky who finished the match in his second appearance at the table. In the next round, Roschkowsky met his fate. He fell to the sharp blade of Tomasz Kaplan (POL) with 64:125.
In the women's division, defending Champion Line Kjoersvik (NOR) is right on track. She defeated Silvia Lopez (ESP) 75:27 and Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) 75:22 in order to make it to the quarter-final round where she will meet Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED). Further favorite players in the women's division who are still alive are Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) and Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL). Ouschan will face Khodjaeva in the quarterfinals while Kjoersvik will have to deal with Peeters-Rademakers.
The quarter-finals begin at 15:00 CET.
