David Alcaide and Skyler Woodward became two of the biggest exits so far as the 2022 World Pool Championship field was whittled down to the Last 64 at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes. Coverage live on Sky Sports in the UK/Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as well as Viaplay and networks worldwide.
Losers’ Round 1 saw the first few scalps of the day as both Woodward and Alex Pagulayan were punished as they exited without a win to their name. Woodward lost out to Daniele Corrieri in the opening match, and he went hill-hill with Qatar’s Ali Al Obaidli who fluked the 9 in the penultimate rack to hold the break in the final one. Elsewhere, Pagulayan was much fancied heading into the tournament, but he faltered against former EuroTour winner Craig Osborne of Great Britain to exist early on the second day.
Rolling into the evening, it was Losers’ Qualification with 32 final players set to join the Last 64 and 32 going home. On Table 1, Jayson Shaw demolished Jakub Koniar 9-3 to see the two-time Mosconi Cup draw Finland’s Petri Makkonen in the Last 64. Alcaide was a World Pool Championship semi-finalist just under 12 months ago and his cueing suggested it would be straightforward’s against Hong Kong’s Lo Ho Sum who was knocked into the losers’ bracket by defending champion Albin Ouschan. Ho Sum though, held his nerve in some cagey early moments to pull through and find himself in the Last 64.
Pia Filler put in a stellar day to beat Ivan Meng Li in the afternoon and Bashar Hussein Abdulmajeed 9-6 to make the Last 64 for the first time and set up an enticing Table 1 match with Mario He at 11 am.
From now, it is single elimination with matches becoming Race to 11 up until the final. The draw saw the 32 players who won in Winners’ Qualification drawn against the 32 players who won in Losers’ Qualification this evening.
Mosconi Cup USA hopeful Shane Wolford has been drawn against Masato Yoshioka whilst Live (2023) Nineball World Rankings No.1 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz faces two-time World Champion, Thorsten Hohmann. Elliott Sanderson overcome a hill-hill finish with fellow Brit Tom Staveley to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jung-Lin tomorrow.
Naoyuki Oi knocked Joshua Filler out of the World Pool Championship at the last 32 stage, while Americans Shane van Boening and Skyler Woodward won through to the last 16 at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
Oi inflicted an 11-6 defeat on Germany’s Filler, a recent World Cup of Pool winner and the 2018 World Champion. That sets up the popular Japanese player with a last 16 match against Spain’s Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, who ended the dreams of four-time Mosconi Cup winner Karl Boyes, who was beaten 11-3.
“I am really happy with the win, it was the best match I have played in the tournament and I am looking forward to the next round,” said Sanchez-Ruiz. “I knew it would be a tough match but I played perfect at the beginning of the match. This is the most important tournament of them all and it would be a dream to win it.”
Skyler Woodward defeated Bahram Lotfy 11-4 and will now meet Roberto Gomez, who beat Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp 11-7. Woodward’s Mosconi Cup USA teammate Van Boening continued his run of fine World Championship form with an 11-4 win over Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis.
Albin Ouschan registered an 11-7 success over Germany’s former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann, and Marc Bijsterbosch beat Billy Thorpe in a hill-hill thriller. Ouschan’s Austrian compatriot Max Lechner came from 9-5 down to Brit Elliot Sanderson to win 11-9.
There was a big win for Kuwait’s Omar Al Shaheen who beat Chris Melling 11-10 despite having missed an easy 9 to win a rack earlier.
The last 16 plays from midday on Wednesday, with Sanchez-Ruiz facing Oi on the TV table before Skyler Woodward plays Roberto Gomez, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. The quarter-finals will then take place in the evening session from 6pm.
The full draw and brackets for the knockout stages can be found at matchroompool.com, along with live scoring throughout the event. For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Fedor Gorst’s World Pool Championship defence came to an end at the hands of USA’s Skyler Woodward, who came from 8-4 down to win 11-8 at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes.
After a shaky start, Woodward was staring down the barrel of defeat but settled himself and won seven consecutive racks, keeping Gorst largely rooted to his seat and unable to stem the tide of the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP, who will now face Denmark’s Bahram Lotfy in the last 32.
“When I was 8-4 down I was waiting for a chance to take control and that’s what I did,” said Woodward. “I knew I couldn’t give him a chance because he was three games away so if I gave him a game off my break he was two away and I would be out of here.
“Having the race to 11 was nice, because at 8-4 if he was on the hill it would have been a little different thinking from me if it was race to 9. I have to keep focused, keep doing what I am doing and I can go deep.”
Jayson Shaw suffered a bruising defeat to Shane van Boening, who has been one of the best and most consistent performers of the tournament so far. The five-time US Open Champion looked in good rhythm as he dumped International Open winner Shaw out of the event.
The last 32 commences at 6pm this evening, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Among the standout ties is Germany’s former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann against Predator Championship League Pool winner Albin Ouschan. Team USA’s Billy Thorpe faces Dutchman Marc Bijsterbosch, while Karl Boyes’ comeback continues with the World Cup finalist in action against Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz after a 11-5 win over Moritz Neuhausen in the last 64.
Joshua Filler won an entertaining clash with Darren Appleton 11-8 and now faces Naoyuki Oi, who knocked out World Pool Masters winner Alex Kazakis 11-6.
The full draw and brackets for the knockout stages can be found at matchroompool.com, along with live scoring throughout the event. For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
QUARTER-FINALS Denmark 5-9 Germany
Philippines 4-9 Estonia
Germany will meet Estonia in the World Cup of Pool semi-finals after beating Denmark and Philippines respectively at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes on Thursday evening.
After Great Britain and Slovakia had won through in the afternoon session, Germany saw off Denmark 9-5 with both Joshua Filler and Christof Reintjes performing strongly, and the story was the same for Estonia as Denis Grabe and Mark Magi eliminated Philippines 9-4.
There was nothing to split Denmark (Mickey Krause & Bahram Lotfy) and Germany (Joshua Filler & Christof Reintjes) after the first eight of a potential 17 racks. Germany took the ninth and then Filler delivered his second golden break of the tournament to put his country two ahead, the first time either of them had a lead of more than one.
Denmark pulled one back but Germany extended their lead again, and then made it 8-5 with a 7/9 combo left for Filler by Lotfy.
Germany didn’t have a shot after breaking on the hill but got the better of the safety exchange and once they had a chance, Filler and Reintjes didn’t allow Denmark back to the table.
“We made twice as many balls on the break as they did, I think that and our safety game was our big advantage in the match,” said Filler. “The focus is playing the best you can. In this format, with winner breaks, your opponent can make five or six runouts but you just have to focus on yourself.
“The golden break was a big 9-ball because it took us two ahead. In a long tournament you need to improve in every match and that’s what we will continue to do hopefully.”
Reintjes added: “To play with the best player in the world is amazing; every shot goes right into the heart of the pocket. We wanted to do better in this match because in the first two matches we had a lot of things to improve, but in this match we had better chemistry.”
Germany will meet Estonia in the semi-finals after Denis Grabe and Mark Magi completed a confident 9-4 win over Filipino duo Roberto Gomez and Jeff De Luna.
Estonia started off strong, leading 2-0 and 3-1. De Luna then pulled off a highlights reel jump to bank the 1 up table. However, Gomez then missed the four and Estonia were back to the table to lead 4-1. Grabe and Magi continued to turn the screw, extending the lead to 5-1.
At 6-1 up Estonia allowed Philippines a route back when Grabe lost control of the cue ball in making the 4. It left Magi with a difficult cut which he didn’t make, and Gomez and De Luna got out of their seats to steal the rack.
It wasn’t the start of a momentum swing, however, as Estonia took the next for a 7-2 lead. Philippines hit back with two racks to close the gap but a brilliant Grabe safety helped Estonia open up the table at 7-4 and he and Magi cleared to reach the hill.
Philippines had a great chance to cut the gap and make Estonia sweat, but De Luna missed the 8. Grabe then made it but Magi hit the 9 hard down table and it rattled out. The cue was tied to the bottom rail and Gomez couldn’t make it up table and Grabe cut the 9-ball home.
Both semi-finals will be played on Friday afternoon before the race-to-11 final in the evening session from 5:30pm. The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
ROUND TWO Russia 2-7 Japan
Italy 5–7 Denmark Germany 7-4 Kuwait
Japan, Denmark and Germany all won through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Pool during Wednesday afternoon’s play at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes.
Japan (Naoyuki Oi and Masato Yoshioka) were emphatic in victory over Russia, whose pair was World Champion Fedor Gorst and playing partner Sergey Lutsker. Denmark then took the initiative from 5-5 to defeat Italy, and the session concluded with Germany taking a 7-4 win over Kuwait.
The first two racks of the opening match were shared and it was Japan who took the third to lead Russia 2-1. They broke dry in the fourth but Gorst wasn’t able to successfully jump the 1 and Japan were able to take a two-rack lead that soon became 4-1.
Russia pulled one back in the sixth but a cruel kick from the 7 saw Gorst scratch on the break and Japan were able to run the table again. Oi and Yoshioka were making balls on the break and got to the hill at 6-2 thanks to another run out, and they took full advantage of the winner breaks format to take the next rack for a place in the quarter-finals where they will meet Slovakia.
Denmark and Italy (Fabio Petroni and Daniele Corrieri) were next up and a nip and tuck match saw the scores level after 10 racks. Denmark’s Bahram Lotfy and Mickey Krause were first to the hill, Lotfy making the 9 at the end of the 11th having completely messed it at 5-4 up, which had allowed Petroni ball in hand.
The Danish pair didn’t have a shot after their final break but the crucial moment came with three balls left when Lotfy played a great safety on the 7. Corrieri made a firm connection but the ball was left open for Krause and the impressive youngster set Denmark on the way to the quarter finals.
They’ll meet Germany after Joshua Filler and Christof Reintjes scored a 7-4 victory over Kuwait’s pairing of Omar Al-Shaheen and Bader Abdullah Alawadhi.
Kuwait, who were impressive in beating Poland 7-3 in the first round, took a 2-0 lead before Germany won the next five. A dry break gave Kuwait an opportunity and they closed to within one, before Alawadhi missed the 9 to level the match, which gifted Filler the chance to put Germany on the hill, and they ran out with their last break to win 7-4.
“In the first match Kuwait played really strong and that’s what we expected,” said Filler. “We both played okay, I think Omar missed an easy ball which was good for us, but we didn’t make balls on some of the breaks. But of course we are super happy to be in the quarter-finals.”
Round two concludes with three matches in the evening session, including USA vs. Philippines and Estonia vs. Great Britain A.
The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
Netherlands 7-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina Finland 7-0 Iceland
France 2-7 Denmark
Denmark recorded their first ever World Cup of Pool victory, beating France 7-2 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes on Monday, while there were also wins for Netherlands and Finland.
The Dutch duo of Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch used their tournament experience to overcome an impressive pairing of Sanjin Pehlivanovich and Ajdin Piknjac as Bosnia and Herzegovina made their World Cup debut. There was a debut too for Iceland, but they struggled at the table against Finish pair Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen, who recorded a 7-0 whitewash win.
Bosnia and Herzegovina gave a good account of themselves and had the session’s opening match level at 3-3. But Netherlands’ class and experience showed as they moved 5-3 ahead. Their opponents had a chance to pull one back when Pehlivanovich missed a 9, but Feijen cut it too thin, allowing Ajdin Piknjac to half the deficit. However, that was the last frame they would win as Feijen and Bijsterbosch made balls when it mattered to advance to round two.
“What a relief,” said Bijsterbosch. “We waited a few days for the match so I am very happy with the result. “We have to keep moving but we are playing confidently and we grinding out the win.”
Feijen added: “These races to 7s with the brutal winner breaks and the table playing bouncy, it is hard to control the cue ball but we did really well, stuck to our guns and pulled out the win. These early rounds, I don’t think there are any favourites. In the end it could come down to experience and we have been to the semis, been to the quarters, and that can help carry you through.”
Netherlands will meet Finland tomorrow afternoon after a crushing 7-0 victory over Iceland for Petri Makkonen and Casper Matikainen. The unrelated Zophonias and Magnus Arnason struggled when they did get chances, but their table time was limited as Makkonen and debutant Matikainen closed out the first whitewash of the tournament.
“It was a good start with a good win, we didn’t do much wrong and we are feeling good,” said Makkonen.
Matikainen added: “I didn’t play too well this match but it is good to get the win. Playing Predator Championship League Pool helped me get used to the arena, it was my first time in a Matchroom event, and now I know what to expect.”
The session closed out with an impressive World Cup debut from Mickey Krause, who partnered Bahram Lotfy for Denmark. They played France (Alex Montpellier & Alain Da Costa), who were late replacements for Albania. Krause, a 20-year-old from Copenhagen, and partner Lotfy opened up a 4-0 lead before France got on the board. It was the first of only two racks for France, however, as Denmark made light work of the match and will face either Spain or Italy in the next round on Wednesday.
Round one continues on Monday evening at 5:30pm UK time with Spain vs. Italy, Germany vs. Lithuania and Poland vs. Kuwait. The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.
Eklent Kaci’s Albanian team are among a number of nations now confirmed for the World Cup of Pool, which will take place this May 9-14 at Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, live on Sky Sports.
Mosconi Cup winner Kaci will again be joined by Besar Spahiu after the pair defeated Russia at the 2019 World Cup before falling agonisingly short against Philippines, suffering a 7-5 defeat.
A host of European teams are now confirmed, as well as Kuwait (Omar Al-Shaheen and Bader Abdullah Alawadhi), and Australia, who will again be represented by Justin Sajich, this time partnered by Ivan Li.
Serge Das will return for Belgium alongside Kevin Lannoye, while Bosnia & Herzegovina will make their World Cup of Pool debut with Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Ajdin Piknjac. Philipp Stojanovic and Roberto Bartol will represent Croatia, while the Czech Republic pairing will be Roman Hybler and Michal Gavenciak.
Young Danish star Mickey Krause will make his debut in the Matchroom arena with Bahram Lotfy as the 20-year-old’s partner.
Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Mark Magi, who famously fell out after losing a hill-hill second round match at the last World Cup of Pool, will be hoping nothing comes between them this time around. Oliver Szolnoki and Vilmos Foldes are teaming up for Hungary and there’s a World Cup debut for Lithuania, represented by Pijus Labutis and Kęstutis Žadeikis.
The World Cup of Pool features 32 two-player teams and is played to a straight-knockout format, with a total prize fund of $250,000.
Team Austria (Albin Ouschan and Mario He) will defend their title in Milton Keynes, but competition will be tough with some of the biggest names in pool already confirmed. They include, three-times winners Philippines (Jeff De Luna and Roberto Gomez), USA (Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe), and Great Britain A (Jayson Shaw and Chris Melling).
The final teams will be announced shortly and the draw for the World Cup of Pool will be made soon after all teams have been confirmed. The World Cup of Pool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live, with further international broadcasters to be confirmed.
Today the European Championship 8-ball competition was in full swing. Men, Women, Under 23 and Wheelchair athletes demonstrated their shotmaking and tactical skills on the battlefield of slate.
In the men’s division, defending Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) unexpectedly lost his opening match to Sebastian Staab (GER) 7:8. That brought him to the loser’s side straight away where he needed to win in order to get his ticket for the single elimination of the last 64 players. Lotfy encountered Marios Artemiou (CYP) and it did not take much off him to win this match with 8:1. Then in the single elimination, Lotfy was drawn against Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). That match started out quite even but Lotfy capitalised from his break shot while Stepanov was struggling to make a ball when it was his turn to open the rack. In the end, Lotfy remained victorious with 8:3 and will now face Karol Skowerski (POL) tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET in the next round. Other exciting matches in that round will be the clash between Eklent Kaci (ALB) and Thorsten Hohmann (GER) and the match with Mieszko Fortunski (POL) and Fedor Gorst (RUS), just to name a few.
In the women’s 8-ball, Vania Franco (POR) showed some attractive performance in order to make it to the single elimination stage. After having lost her first match 2:6 to Ewa Bak (POL), Franco went over to the loser’s side where she met Louise Furberg (SWE). The experienced player from Sweden had no chance against Franco who prevailed with 6:2. Then, Franco advanced and took down Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) in a thrilling combat with 6:5. Right after that match, the Portuguese had to deal with yesterday’s surprise winner, Christine Feldmann (SUI). That match really took an unexpected turn since it was Franco to dominated the match from start to finish. Feldmann did not have the slightest chance and Franco demolished her with 6:1 in the end. In the single elimination stage of the last 16 players, Vania Franco will encounter Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR).
In the under 23 division, defending Champion Casper Matikainen (FIN) is straight on track. After having won a silver medal in the men’s 10-ball last night against Mieszko Fortunski (POL), Matikainen had his first matches in the Under 23’s division. He wasted no time and defeated Josef Nechvile (CZE) 8:1 and Daniel Lang (SVK) 8:4 to book his seat in the quarter-finals already. He will be joined there by Vitaliy Patsura (UKR), Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Jan Van Lierop (NED) who are also through to the single elimination over the winner’s side. The quarter-finals in 8-ball will be played tomorrow afternoon at 16:00 CET.
In the wheelchair division, the biggest of all upsets possible did happen. Unheralded David Himpe (BEL) handed a whitewash to defending Champion Jouni Tahti (FIN), defeating the Finish with 5:0. In the next round, Himpe had to give in 4:5 to another underdog, Leszek Blumczynski (POL) with 4:5. Tahti needs to overcome Kurt Deklerck (BEL) for his spot in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships 2019 for men, women, U23 and wheelchair athletes will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches in the 8-ball individuals competition Men and Women.
The Championships are played on 24 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
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 visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Current Euro-Tour ranked #3 and former World Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) got eliminated from the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2018 after two straight matches. That huge upset was performed by Miguel Silva (POR) and unheralded Raoul Reichegger (AUT).
Pressure took its toll on Austria’s Albin Ouschan. High hopes were dashed as quickly as they were imagined as Albin Ouschan went out on the first day’s play. Born in this beautiful town close to the Slovenian border, fans and the locals held their head with disbelief as he crashed out of the tournament after only two matches. First losing to Portugal’s Miguel Silva 7:9, then to his unknown Austrian counterpart, Raoul Reichegger with the same score line which means the Austrian hopes now lie in the hands of others.
Austria’s Mario He, #2 on the overall rankings also made the home fans sweat as he lost a match that seemed impossible to lose. Leading 5:0 and on the hill leading 8:5, it was all smiles but suddenly, the wheels came off as another relatively unknown Italian, Filippo Cataldi showed Mario how to kill a game off winning 9:8 and sending Mario to the loser’s side where he will play Friday morning 09:00 local time.
Eklent Kaci, the hottest property in pool right now and Europe’s current #1 ranked player made light work of Christoffer Lentz (DEN) 9:2 but faced a tricky situation against Italy’s Daniele Corrieri. Kaci was well behind several times in the match and never actually led at any stage until it came to the final rack. After dragging himself back to 8:8 it was a tense last rack with Kaci showing the metal that has served him so well of late allowing him the calmness to take this match 9:8. That result has set up a mouth-watering tie against another hotshot, Germany’s Joshua Filler starting at 14:00 local time Friday for a place in the last 32 single elimination stage of the event.
Niels Feijen (NED, the Dutch all-round weapon on the battlefield of slate, also had to suffer a defeat today. After taking down current European 8-ball Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) 9:6 earlier, he met England’s Imran Majid in winner’s round 2. That match was a thriller and fiercely fought over. After 16 racks, the scoreboard displayed 8:8. In the deciding rack, Feijen missed a long pot when he had to cue upon over the 8-ball in order to shoot the cue ball into the 3-ball. He left the 3-ball on the table for Maijd who took his chance and ran the rack to win 9:8 over Feijen. „the Terminator“ still has a chance to stay in the tournament by winning his matches on the loser’s side.
With the world 9-ball championship spots up for grabs and of course the Mosconi team points at stake, the top players are feeling the heat in their quest for glory and it will take a massive performance under these circumstances to prevail. Today, Albin Ouschan has lost big time in his run for a spot in those events since all of his rivals are still in the race for points.
Friday through Sunday, EPBF will show two feature matches LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page. The complete tournament on 20 tables is shown on kozoom.com for premium pass holders.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organised by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). Play starts Thursday at 09:30 local time, for further information and reference please go to the federation website eurotouronline under the Eurotour tab. You can also visit us on our Facebook page or check out the EPBF YouTube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Today, the 9-ball competition was launched at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 in NH Conference Centre Koningshof, Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Several interesting results could be witnessed.
One outstanding match was definitely the encounter between Fedor Gorst (RUS) and Andreas Madsen (DEN). Both players have earned their merits in the junior’s divisions in the previous years. Madsen is 21-years-old, Gorst is 18 years of age these days. The match started out quite promising for Gorst. He had the first break shot and pocketed two balls, having a perfect position for the 2-ball. He played a good safety shot and forced Madsen to commit a foul. Then he ran the balls but missed an easy 6-ball, leaving it all for Madsen. What an unnecessary miss that was! Madsen ran out and took the next three consecutive racks as well, advancing to a 4:0 lead over Gorst. Finally in rack #5, Gorst was able to open his account in the match, getting to 1:4. But Madsen struck back and won another two racks, leading 6:1 now after 7 racks. Having executed the break shot in rack #8, Madsen could play the 2-ball but not pocket it. He played a good safety shot. Gorst was able to play a correct shot and come up with a resafe position. Madsen hit the 2-ball but left a shot for Gorst. The Russian came tot he table and won his second rack, turning the scoreboard to 2:6. The match continued with Gorst committing unbelievably easy mistakes while Madsen was rock solid and focussed on the table. He continued shooting pretty self-confident and consequently won the match with 9:2. Andreas Madsen will advance into the round of the last 64 players single elimination while Gorst awaits the winner of the match Erol Kayas (TUR) v Michel Bartol (CRO) for his chance to be drawn into the single elimination stage as well.
Other remarkable results from today include „The Siberian Express“ Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) wiping the floor with Miha Zajc (SLO) 9:1. Ralf Souquet (GER) even whitewashed his opponent in the first round, handing Iker-Andoni Echeverria (ESP) a 9:0. Ivar Saris (NED) sent Joshua Filler (GER) to the loser’s side with 9:5 in their opening match. Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN) came up with a bit of a surprise, winning 9:6 over Spain’s #1 David Alcaide. Kim Laaksonen (FIN) won a heartbreaker with 9:8 over favoured Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). Laaksonen’s teammate Jani Siekkinen (FIN) took down newly crowned 8-ball Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) with 9:6.
In the girls’ division, two medallists from this week met in the first round of their 9-ball quest for glory. 8-ball Champion Darya Siranchuk (UKR) took it up against 10-ball runner-up Daria Cheprasova (BLR). The match was determined by many mistakes. Especially Cheprasova came up with a lot of positioning errors which Siranchuk was able to capitalise from. In the end, Siranchuk was a deserved 6:3 winner over Cheprasova.
In the women’s division, Line Kjoersvik (NOR) was drawn against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED). The winner of that match would go up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR). The match was quite even for the first 9 racks. Kjoersvik was up 5:4 with her own break shot coming up. She had a ball down and a tough shot on the 2-ball which she missed. Peeters had the chance to level the match at 5:5. But she missed an extremely easy 2-ball to the corner pocket and gave second live to Kjoersvik in that rack. Both athletes had several more attempts at the table but Peeters always missed one shot too many. Kjoersvik took the rack and went on the hill with 6:4. To make matters worse, Peeters scratched when breaking the balls in rack #11. Kjoersvik got to the table with ball in hand and that sealed the deal for the Norwegian. She finished all balls on the table and won the match with 7:4. Kjoersvik will be up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR) in the next round.
The seniors’s, ladies’ and U17 division had their first round matches played with no big upsets. In the Under 19 division however, Tin Petljak (CRO) surprisingly managed to defeat Christian Froehlich (GER) by a hair’s breadth with 8:7 in the first round. Another top gun who was put in the loser’s round was Wiktor Zielinski (POL). The stellar talent from Poland had to accept a 7:8 defeat against Ilia Nekleenov (RUS). The only wheelchair match played so far today was Daniel Savic (AUT) winning with 7:4 over Gintas Jonauskas (LTU).
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with the first matches from the 9-ball individuals competition. The team’s finals are scheduled for 17:00 CET.
The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
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 visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
