Alen Muratovic Victorious Over Marko Vogel

Alen Muratovic Foto: EPBF/AMM

Young hope from Bosnia & Herzegovina wins in a heartbreak match final

Thursday, 01 March 2012: With the closest result possible, Alen Muratovic (BIH) defeated Marko Vogel (GER) with 9:8.

The match was an up and down for the young hopeful from Bosnia & Herzegovina. He took a 1:0 lead over his opponent. Then, Marko Vogel who is known to be one of the fastest players on the tour shifted into overdrive and took four consecutive racks, taking a 4:1 lead over Muratovic. But the young man stayed calm and played his game. With a lot of support from the local audience, Muratovic closed the gap and was able to tie the match at 5:5. Then, the balls did not roll in Vogel's favour and Muratovic started to feel his confidence. The audience did their bits and pieces and Muratovic played really strong to reach the hill, taking an 8:5 lead over Vogel. But the German veteran is known to be very experienced. He stood tall against his opponent and his numerous supporters and tied the match at 8:8, making it a heart breaking thriller. In the 17th and final rack, Vogel found himself forced to play a safety shot after the break. He did not leave a tough shot for young Alen who came to the table and ran all balls, winning the match 9:8. Muratovic will advance to the next winner's round while Vogel is sent to the loser's side of the flowchart.

Other notable results include Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) winning 9:6 over Richard "Indiana"Jones (GBR). German top player and US-resident Thorsten Hohmann (GER) just made it over Andrea Klasovic (SRB) with 9:8. One upset was the victory of Konrad Piekarski (POL) who unexpectedly smashed former World Champion Oliver Ortmann (GER) with 9:7 and sent him to the loser's side.

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.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.