EPC 9-Ball Underway

Oliver Ortmann

Monday, March 28, 2011: The 2011 Dynamic European Championships have not been kind to German star Oliver Ortmann so far. In straight pool, anything other than the title is a disappointment to him. “I did not play well and made too many mistakes, especially in my match against Makkonen.” “I think Kaplan has played very well and is a worthy winner in straight pool”. Then, in 8-ball, he lost against Cohen and Primic to finish in 33rd place. “It is a popular myth that I would not like 8-ball. The truth is I really like the game. In my opinion, it is one of the nicest games in pool”, Ortmann says. His 9-ball appearance today did not look very easy. He had Dutch Huidji See as an opponent in his first match. See is one of the best 9-ball players in Europe. “See was a tough nut to crack. Especially at 9 o'clock in the morning with the time change two days ago. He had a good break from the very beginning which I did not have.” “I was able to benefit from mistakes that he made in the 4th and 5th rack. With that, I could get a 5:2 lead which he tied again at 6:6 later on”. “He then had some tough racks that he did not run out and I was lucky when I tried a long shot, missed it and left no shot for Huidji. So I won 9:7”. “Jason Power is new to me. He seems to be a snooker player. He can pocket almost any shot but his position play could be improved.” Ortmann defeated Jason Power (IRL) 9:2. He will now face another heavyweight in the next round, Marcus Chamat from Sweden.

In other matches today, Bruno Muratore (ITA) won against Mariusz Skoneczny (POL) 9:8. The same result was claimed by newly crowned straight pool champion, Tomasz Kaplan (POL) in his first round match against Juergen Jenisy (AUT). A surprise happened in the match between George Louka (CYP) and Jim Chawki (SWE). Chawki was the high favoured player but Louka sent him to the loser's side 9:8. Radoslaw Babica dominated German youngster Manuel Ederer 9:6.

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 event website www.epconline.eu or contact our press office.