Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.
World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
Defending champion Chang Jung-Lin made it through the first round of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship with an 8-6 success over Dutchman Tim de Ruyter on the opening day of play at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
There were wins for Americans Shane van Boening and Tyler Styer, Germany’s Joshua Filler and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw on the TV tables, with the former defeating Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon.
The eventual winner will collect $60,000 of the $250,000 total prize fund from the event, which is part of the first annual Caribbean CueSports International Expo.
Rolon’s home crowd came out in force to support their local favorite, putting Van Boening in the rare spot of being the player less favored by those spectating. The Puerto Rican, who reached the knockout stages of the Medallla Light Puerto Rico Open during the week, took down the first rack and despite conceding the second, moved ahead again at 2-1 to a loud roar inside the arena.
But Van Boening’s quality ultimately showed. Rolon fouled by moving the 5 ball as he bridged over it and the American was able to level. A great break opened up the fifth rack for Van Boening, and before Rolon knew it he was 6-2 down in the race to eight.
A dry break afforded Rolon an opportunity to claw back the deficit. He found trouble with four balls left but made the 12 with position on the 15 to bring the match to 6-3. However, his next break shot was his final visit as he came up dry, turning the table to Van Boening.
The five-time US Open champion had a straight shot on the 14 which set him up for the rack. Breaking at 7-3 ahead, Van Boening had the 12 down but opted to shoot the 2 owing to the layout of the table. A runout followed for the South Dakota Kid, who returns on Sunday to face Johnny Salas.
While Van Boening was winning on Table 1, on Table 2 a battle was heating up between two member’s of USA’s World Teams Championship roster from September.
Joey Tate and Tyler Styer are close friends off the table and with neither player able to build a substantial lead throughout the match it was Styer who arrived first on the hill before just a second dry break of the match by Styer allowed Tate to the table. The 17-year-old, who is also competing in Under-19 division of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships this week, played the 15 brilliantly to bring the 10 away from the side rail and from there had no problems in reaching the hill.
A dry break came at the worst possible time for Tate but when Styer missed a 4 he’d usually expect to make, the younger of the two Americans was back at the table. However, he missed the 9 to the middle pocket with three balls and the 8 remaining.
Styer showed he was feeling the pressure when the cue clipped the 10 as he looked for position on the 4. He played the shot well but again the cue kicked another ball, this time the 11, as it came through for position on the 7. The former Kremlin Cup winner held his nerve, though, and made a testy shot up table to come back and make the match-winning 8.
“I’d rather play Shane or Jayson, anybody else but Joey,” said Styer. “I have helped him out a lot and taken him under my wing, so to draw him in the first round sucked. I believe in him but I have to forget about that when I play him because he is like a little brother to me.”
Later in the day, Tate advanced to the quarter-finals of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championship. Playing in the Under-19 division, he defeated Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski 9-5 to progress from the winners’ side. His sister Bethany is through to the last eight of the Girls division, along with Savannah Easton, Lena Primus and Alara Ghaffari. The other Under-19 quarter-finalists are Keane Derek Rota, Szymon Kural and Yannick Pongers.
Riku Romppanen, Mika van Berkel, Felix Vogel and Lazar Kostic made it four Europeans in the last eight of the Under 17s. The losers’ qualification matches of all three divisions take place on Sunday, followed by the quarter-finals. All matches are broadcast live on Kozoom.com and all three Junior finals will be on World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and watchbilliard.tv on Monday.
Predator World 8-Ball Championship reigning champion Chang Jung-Lin has waited ten years to defend his title and was given a tough examination by Tim de Ruyter before eventually winning 8-6. There was a hill-hill win for Jayson Shaw against Dimitris Loukatos while former World 8-Ball Champion Ralf Souquet will face Konrad Juszczyszyn on Sunday after beating Juan Carlos Exposito of Spain in his opening match.
Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
Defending champion Mario He is through to the winners’ qualification round of this year’s FargoRate Ohio Open but some of pool’s biggest names crashed to the losers side on the opening day of play at the Roberts Center in Wilmington, Ohio.
Played alongside the CSI Ohio State Championships, the FargoRate Ohio Open has a $75,000 prize fund and is streamed live on the World Billiard TV YouTube channel and at Watchbilliard.tv.
He began his tournament with a 4-1, 4-3 win against Lian Han Toh. Germany Open winner Dimitris Loukatos was waiting in the next round. The Austrian took the first set 4-1 and was playing well to reach the hill 3-0 in the second set before he missed an easy 4. Loukatos cleared the table but his hopes of a comeback were ended by a dry break and He completed the set for a 4-1, 4-1 win.
He faces Michael Schneider next and said: “I got a little injured so I cannot walk fast but I am feeling good and playing good at the moment. I will try my best to get deep and maybe defend my title.”
Some big names have found themselves on the losers’ side early in the tournament, such is the quality of this week’s field. Ko Ping Han and Ko Pin Yi may have to face each other on Thursday after both lost shootouts in the opening round. Ping Han was beaten 2-4, 4-3, 4-2 by Petri Makkonen after missing the 9 at hill-hill in the second set, while Pin Yi was beaten 4-3, 3-4, 6-5 by Dutchman Jan van Lierop.
Eklent Kaci was beaten 4-3, 4-1 by Chang Jung-Lin, who himself later lost to Justin Martin. The 23-year-old from North Carolina took the first set against Chang 4-1 and the second 4-2, and will face Sanchez-Ruiz in winners’ qualification tomorrow. “This is a huge win for me because I have an insane amount of respect for Chang,” said Martin. “I played solid throughout and was blessed to have enough chances to win the match.”
The players yet to suffer defeat now have two chances to qualify for the last 16. Alex Kazakis faces David Alcaide in the winners’ qualification round, Seybert’s Michigan Open winner Aloysius Yapp will take on Jani Uski while Fedor Gorst will face Mika Immonen on Friday.
The FargoRate Ohio Open continues from 10am ET on Thursday with six matches streamed free on Billiard TV, the World Billiard TVYouTube channel and at Kozoom.com
Greece’s Dimitris Loukatos beat Wiktor Zielinski in a sudden death shootout to win the predator Germany Open on Saturday and in the Women’s division Kelly Fisher’s dominance in the Pro Billiard Series continued when she beat Eylul Kibaroglu, also by sudden death shootout.
Both champions earn €20,000 after delivering tense drama in their finals. Fisher has now won three Pro Billiard Series titles in less than nine months. She had battled back from a set and two games down to take her match to a gripping shootout which she won 9-8 when Kibaroglu missed in the tenth innings. Fisher’s previous Pro Billiard Series titles meant she had already qualified for the 2022 Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, to be staged in Austria in September, so Kibaroglu will receive an invitation.
Loukatos will play the 2023 World 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas after he ended Zielinski’s winning streak in the PBS. The Pole had won 15 straight Pro Billiard Series matches in winning the Alfa Las Vegas Open and reaching the final in Germany.
The Open division final was a tale of two sets. A dry break at the start of the match by Zielinski let Loukatos clear for a 1-0 lead. The Pole missed a 1 in the second game and didn’t reach for his cue again until he was 3-0 down in the set.
Zielinski was back at the table after a pushout in the fourth game but miscued over a jump. Another chance arrived for the Polish player when Loukatos had to play safe around the 4, which was tied to the 8, but it was the Greek who got the upper hand in that battle too, and the set was won 4-0.
The final made a 180 turn in the second set. A missed 8-ball bank by Loukatos got Zielinski his first game, the second soon followed, and an errant jump awarded the Las Vegas Open champion ball in hand to make it 3-0.
Loukatos had one last chance in the fourth game but played a poor shot trying to escape a safety and left his opponent with an easy shot on the 2 – the set finished a reverse of the 4-0 score of the opener.
Zielinski missed first in the shootout, failing on his second innings, but when Loukatos missed on his third shot, a final was headed for Sudden Death for a second time on the same day. Both players made their fifth shots but Zielinski couldn’t make the sixth, and though the ball rattled in the jaws, Loukatos sent the 10 down to claim the €20,000 title, winning 4-0, 0-4, 5-4.
Loukatos said: “All this week there has been pressure because I lost my second match and finally, I won this tournament and I can’t believe it. It was a very tough match, Zielinski is one of the best players in the world.”
Kelly Fisher
Prior to the start of the Open division final, spectators and viewers had been treated to a brilliant championship match in the Women’s division. Fisher’s third Predator Pro Billiard Series title came with a 1-4, 4-2, 9-8 win at the expense of Kibaroglu, from Ankara, Turkey, who had won the first set with some comfort.
She ran the first game and a 3/10 combo shot gave her the second. A dry break in the third had allowed Fisher off the mark but an errant bank by the Brit afforded her opponent ball in hand, and after making it 3-1, Kibaroglu closed out the set in the fifth game.
Kibaroglu has three European titles to her name and it would have been hard to bet against her adding the Predator Germany Open to her resume as she calmly rolled in another 10 to continue the second set as she finished the first. The Turkish player was clearly in the zone and playing with confidence as she then moved one set and two games ahead.
Fisher needed an opening and she got one in the third game. She left herself a difficult 8 along the rail but showed why she is a World champion with a couple of high-pressure shots to cut her deficit to 2-1. A missed 3 was Kibaroglu’s first major mistake of the match but it allowed Fisher back in the fourth game and the set the Turkish player had led 2-0 was soon locked at 2-2.
A 3 left in the jaws by Kibaroglu allowed Fisher to go unpunished when she couldn’t make a carom with the jump shot. Kibaroglu then missed two jumps of her own at 3-2 down and the second awarded Fisher ball-in-hand. Perfect position to the 7, which was tied close to the 10, created a roadmap and Fisher took the set 4-2, despite leaving herself a nervy 10 to complete the game.
The Brit missed her first shot of the shootout but was level after Kibaroglu missed in her second innings. At 3-3 after four innings each, the Women’s final had come down to Sudden Death, with Fisher shooting first each innings.
Both players were dealing with the pressure impeccably; neither even touched the jaws in the first four innings of Sudden Death. Fisher breathed a sigh of relief when her fifth did need the side of the pocket, but her opponent again found the middle. Neither player had now missed in a combined 15 shots when the decisive moment finally came on Kibaroglu’s next shot; a miss by the Turkish player meant the title would belong to Fisher. After such a gripping final, both players received a standing ovation from the German crowd.
Fisher said: “I thought I was going to lose 2-0. She was playing better than me and I was a little bit off. I managed to scrape the second set, so going into the shootout I just tried to relax. The first few were the most nervous but then I felt quite calm, considering.
“I have been doing this a long time, I don’t really have any magic routines before a tournament, I just prepare the best I can, whether I am home or traveling.
“I must say that the equipment, the lights, the tables, the venue, everybody would agree it was spectacular and the conditions were perfect. The table and cloth played the best I have felt in any of the Pro Billiard Series events. It was nice and fast, consistent, for me it was a great setup and perfect conditions.”
The next Predator Pro Billiard Series event is the Predator Canada Open in Red Deer, Alberta, from August 16-20.
Kelly Fisher will play Eylul Kibaroglu in the Women’s Division final of the Pro Billiard Series’ Predator Germany Open but in the Open division Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet was defeated by Dimitris Loukatos in the quarter finals.
Loukatos will face Ramazan Akdag in the semi finals when play commences at 9am local time on Saturday. Alfa Las Vegas Open champion Wiktor Zielinski defeated European 10 Ball Champion Sanjin Pehlivanovic of Bosnia 6-5 in a Sudden Death shootout to face Can Salim in the last four. Salim was 4-2, 4-0 winner against Soufi Mohammad.
Both divisions of the event carry €45,400 added money and both of tomorrow’s champions will earn €20,000. The Open champion will be invited to the World 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas next year and the Women’s champion will receive a spot in this fall’s World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria.
An exciting quarter-final match saw Fisher defeat Jasmin Ouschan 4-3, 4-2. A shootout win against Germany’s Veronika Ivanovskaia took Sarac to final four and a semi-final which was a repeat of last year’s Austrian Women’s Open final, won by Fisher.
The Brit won a close opening set when at hill-hill Sarac scratched and with ball in hand Fisher negotiated the table to win the set 4-3. The Serbian rising star took a 2-1 lead in the second set when Fisher missed the kind of 10 ball she’d make 99 times in 100. Sarac ranout the fourth game but a missed 6 ball to the middle brought Fisher back from her chair. Two more opportunities then escaped Sarac. First, she couldn’t unpin the 8 from the side rail, allowing Fisher to tie the set, and a missed 4 then allowed Fisher to take the decider.
The Brit will now go for her third Pro Billiard Series titles in a row and has enjoyed the conditions in Germany. She said: “The table is playing great, the best it has played, it is playing perfect. Predator have gone a great job, they have taken feedback from players and referees and put it all together. You couldn’t ask for better conditions.”
The Open division has arrived at its semi final stage with Salim as the only German player remaining. That is because Souquet suffered a 4-3 shootout defeat to Greece’s Loukatos in the last eight. Souquet lost the first set 4-3 and fought back to make the shootout by winning the second set 4-1, but was defeated after missing two shots of his four innings of the shootout.
The 21-year-old Russian Fedor Gorst is certainly not a stranger to the U.S. Pro Billiard Series’ format, having won back-to-back Arcadia Arizona Opens.
Friday evening, Gorst saw plenty of the dramatic twists and turns that can occur in the short-race, shootout-deciding matches as he jumped out to big advantages in the first set only to lose the second and have to survive a shootout to advance. It wasn’t easy, but he punched his ticket for the final day of play of this weekend’s Apex Wisconsin Open, defeating American Chris Reinhold and Canadian John Morra to advance at Ho-Chunk Resort and Casino to advance.
After a straight sets victory against Mason Koch to begin his day, Gorst was able to take advantage of two scratches and a missed shot by Reinhold to cruise to a 4-1 opening set victory. The script completely flipped in the following set, with Reinhold breaking and running the opening rack and winning the next game when Gorst missed a 2 ball in the side pocket. The Russian appeared to be positioned to climb onto the scoreboard after a Reinhold error but missed a 3 ball in the corner pocket in one trip to the table and scratched in the side pocket in the next, handing his opponent a 3-0 lead.
Gorst clawed out two victories thanks to a Reinhold scratch and a safety exchange in the fifth rack. He had a chance to tie the match in the next game but missed a combination shot on the 10 ball. He had another opportunity after Reinhold scratched during a safety battle but missed the 8 ball, allowing the American to close out the set, 4-2, and force a shootout. The two competitors were perfect through the first four innings of the spot shot contest, but when the format moved the cue ball back a diamond and switched to sudden death, Gorst pocketed his first shot while Reinhold missed.
A couple of hours later, Gorst was facing Morra for a chance to reach Saturday’s single-elimination phase. The first set was nearly a carbon copy of his opening round against Reinhold, with the Russian using two break and runs, a victorious safety exchange and a Morra miss to pitch a 4-0 shutout. After he used a risky bank shot on the 1 ball to run out the opening rack of the second set, it appeared Gorst could be making quick work of his Canadian counterpart. That was until Morra used a safety battle along with a break-and-run to take a 2-1 lead.
Gorst took advantage of a scratch on the break by his opponent to tie the score then used a successful table-length jump shot on the 1 ball to run the rack and take a 3-2 lead. As he cleared the balls in the sixth game, Gorst appeared to be closing out the set but drew the cue ball halfway down the table and into the corner pocket while trying to secure position on the 5 ball. Morra made him pay for the mistake, clearing the rack to tie the score and then using a carom shot on the 10 ball to steal the game, win the set, 4-3, and force a shootout.
Although he struggled with ball pocketing in the second set, Gorst was robotic in the spot shot contest, pocketing four straight balls while his opponent missed twice.
The Russian began the tournament with an opening round victory against Eklent Kaci, who also advanced to the final 16 with three consecutive straight sets victories over Justin Martin, Thorsten Hohmann and Kuwait’s Omar Al Shaheen.
Kaci was virtually perfect in his opening set against Al Shaheen, breaking and running three consecutive times and surviving a short safety exchange to pitch a 4-0 shutout. The Kuwaiti, who was a runner-up in last year’s World Pool Championships, used a break-and-run and a misplayed safety on the 8 ball by Kaci to win the first two matches of the second set. Kaci’s opportunity to mount a comeback arrived in the third rack when his opponent failed to pocket a ball on the break, as the Albanian cleared the table and then won the next two racks to take a 3-2 lead. Al Shaheen had an opportunity to tie the set but wasn’t able to secure position on the 9 ball, then misplayed a safety on the ball which allowed his opponent to close out the rack for a 4-2 win.
Meanwhile, Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Darren Appleton continues to play more and more like the competitor who won the World 9-Ball championship a decade earlier, defeating former U.S. Open 9-Ball champion Mika Immonen in straight sets, 4-1, 4-2. Immonen, who has been appearing at the top of leaderboards more frequently himself in recent months, rallied on the one-loss side by defeating Evan Lunda in straight sets to earn a spot of his own in Saturday’s final day of competition.
Qualifying for the single-elimination phase from the winner’s side are Appleton, Dimitris Loukatos, Filipino Lee Van Corteza, Michigan Open champion Aloysius Yapp, Robbie Capito, South Dakotan Danny Olson, Jesus Atencio and World Pool Masters champion Alex Kazakis. The remaining eight players on the one-loss side include Kaci, Gorst, Immonen, Denis Grabe, Roland Garcia, Jeremy Seaman, Mickey Krause of Demark and Kuwait’s Bader Alawadhi.
The seeding will be re-drawn and competition will begin Saturday morning.
The Apex Wisconsin Open is the second event of the year for the Predator U.S. Pro Billiard Series and the first ever to be staged at Ho-Chunk Resort, a sprawling facility north of Madison which offers a 302-room hotel as well as spacious gaming and convention space.
Follow the Apex Wisconsin Open draw on the Predator US Pro Billiard Series FargoRate’s dedicated page
The Apex Wisconsin Open is streamed for free all week on Billiard TV and the World Billiard TV YouTube channel.
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It’s been a while since World Champion Jasmin Ouschan has competed in the United States.
Having fewer professional women’s events domestically than what were available years ago doesn’t lend itself to traveling to America frequently. Mix in a pandemic and a newly developed second career as a dancing television celebrity in her native Austria and it doesn’t help matters. Total it all up and the last time Ouschan played in the U.S. prior to this week’s Apex Wisconsin Open was the 2019 Women’s Professional Billiards Association Masters, where she placed fifth.
After her two matches on Thursday, she might be wishing she had waited even longer to return. The multiple-time European champion started her day undefeated after a straight set victory over Zach Bos in the opening round. By the end of the evening, she was reduced to a spectator, having suffered back-to-back grueling losses to Denis Grabe of Estonia and Joven Bustamante at the Ho-Chunk Resort and Casino in the Wisconsin Dells.
The Austrian got off to a hot start against Grabe in the opening match, jumping out to a quick lead after pocketing the 10 ball on the break in the first rack of the set. Things quickly unraveled, with Ouschan failing to pocket a ball on the break in the next rack and Grabe taking advantage by winning the next two games. The Austrian had another opportunity as she worked her way through the fourth rack after Grabe broke dry but she missed a routine shot on the game-winning 10 ball. The young man from Estonia then finished off the set, 4-1, after Ouschan scratched while kicking at the 3 ball in the fifth rack.
Grabe used a pocketed 10 ball on the break of his own and victorious safety exchange to build an early 2-0 advantage of the second set, but Ouschan climbed onto the scoreboard when her opponent committed a foul in the third rack. After tying the score 2-2, she used a carom shot involving the 5 and 10 balls to take the lead then used a missed 3 ball by Grabe in the next game to close out the set, 4-2.
After both competitors pocketed their first four shots in the overtime shootout, the cue ball was moved back a diamond and the format switched to sudden death. Grabe made the first shot while Ouschan missed, handing the Estonian the win and moving over to the one-loss side.
Later in the day, Ouschan squared off against Filipino Joven Bustamante, where the two split the first six racks of the first set. Bustamante broke in the set-deciding seventh rack, then played safe and appeared to be in position to run out the rack after a brief exchange – until he missed the 5 ball in the side pocket. Ouschan jumped the 6 ball to pocket the 5, then ran the remaining balls to survive the set, 4-3.
The Filipino jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the next set thanks to a combination shot after a dry break from Ouschan in the opening rack and a break-and-run in the following game. The Austrian cut the deficit to 2-1 after a victorious safety exchange in the third rack led to a combination shot on the 10-ball but Bustamante climbed onto the hill in the next rack when Ouschan again failed to pocket a ball on the break. Ouschan used victorious safety exchanges to gut out the next two games and tie the set and appeared to be in position to clinch the set after Bustamante left an opening after another misplayed safety. After pocketing the 8 ball in the corner pocket, she was left with a long straight shot on the 9 ball which Ouschan missed. Bustamante cleared the table to send the match to shootout, which he won 6-5.
In other notable matches, Jeremy Seaman used three pocketed 10 balls on the break to defeat former World 9-Ball champion Thorsten Hohmann in straight sets, 4-1, 4-2 on the winner’s side. South Dakotan Danny Olson took advantage of a handful of unforced errors by opponent Mario He – including a pair of missed 9 balls in the first set – and defeated the reigning Ohio Open champion in straight sets, 4-2, 4-2. Arcadia Arizona Open runner-up Roland Garcia earned a first set 4-1 victory against Robbie Capito, then watched as his opponent stormed back to claim the final set, 4-1, then won in a shootout, 3-2 to remain undefeated. Capito will now face Canadian John Morra, who needed a shootout victory of his own to squeak by American Michael Yednak.
Friday’s action begins at 11 a.m. eastern time with notable matches including Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Darren Appleton facing fellow Hall of Famer Mika Immonen in a winner’s side match and Chris Reinhold taking on Roberto Gomez Jr. on the one-loss side. Competitors will be jockeying for one of the 16 berths available in Saturday’s single-elimination phase of the event, with the remaining eight players on the winner’s and one-loss qualifying and the seeding being redrawn before play begins.
The Wisconsin Open is the second event of the year for the U.S. Pro Billiard Series and the first ever to be staged at Ho-Chunk Resort, a sprawling facility north of Madison which offers a 302-room hotel as well as spacious gaming and convention space.
Hours later, Gorst would pitch a 4-0 shutout in the first round of his match against Dimitris Loukatos, but lost the second set 4-3 and lost in a shootout to the Greek, 4-3. The Russian moves to the one-loss side of the bracket where he will play Friday morning.
England’s Darren Appleton appears to close to regaining the stroke that landed the former U.S. Open 9-Ball champion in the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame. Facing Mickey Krause of Denmark, Appleton played nearly flawless in a straight set second round victory.
After Krause used a break-and-run and a scratch on the break by his opponent to build an early 2-1 lead, Appleton took advantage of a foul by his opponent in the fourth rack to tie set then tacked on back-to-back breaks and runs to close out a 4-2 victory. The Brit, reached the second round with a straight sets victory over Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn, was equally crafty in the second set, using two victorious safety exchanges and a break-and-run to build a commanding 3-0 advantage. Krause had a chance to climb onto the scoreboard after his opponent scratched on the break in the fourth game but failed to secure position on the 6 ball and missed a bank shot. Appleton executed a sharp cut on the object ball then finished off the rack to pitch a 4-0 shutout and advance to the third round of the winner’s side of the bracket.
Appleton will face fellow Hall of Famer Mika Immonen in the third round Friday at 11 a.m. eastern time.
In other matches of the day, Roland Garcia took advantage of a handful of errors by three-time Mosconi Cup member Tyler Styer to earn a 4-0, 4-2 victory and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Immonen needed an extra frame to survive a 7-6 shootout against Michael Schneider of Switzerland.
Competition resumes Thursday morning with notable matches including Denis Grabe of Estonia taking on Jasmin Ouschan at 11 a.m. eastern time, Garcia taking on Robbie Capito at 3 p.m. and Mieszko Fortunski of Poland meeting Hunter Lombardo on the one-loss side of the bracket at 6 p.m.
The Apex Wisconsin Open is the second event of the year for the Predator U.S. Pro Billiard Series and the first ever to be staged at Ho-Chunk Resort, a sprawling facility north of Madison which offers a 302-room hotel as well as spacious gaming and convention space.
When spectators attend a concert, they’re usually treated to an opening act or two, hired to get the crowd engaged and set the tone for the night and the event’s main attraction.
Wednesday morning’s starting match at the Apex Wisconsin Open was the equivalent of skipping the warm-up acts completely and heading straight into the hottest new bands, with former World 9-Ball champion Fedor Gorst facing reigning World 10-Ball champion Eklent Kaci in a first-round clash. The two opened play with a nip-and-tuck battle, with Gorst taking advantage of a crucial mistake by his opponent to come from behind and steal a straight-sets victory, 4-2, 4-3, at the Ho-Chunk Resort and Casino in the Wisconsin Dells.
After Kaci won the opening rack, Gorst snagged the next two games after his opponent failed to pocket a ball on the break in the second game but quickly relinquished the table when he didn’t land a ball on the opening shot in the fourth rack. The Albanian tied the score at two games each then opened play in the fifth game by playing a safety on the 1 ball when an open shot wasn’t available. Gorst promptly rattled the ball into the corner pocket with a jump shot and ran out to reclaim the lead. Kaci had another opportunity to tie the set when Gorst again failed to pocket a ball on the break but missed a combination shot on the 2 ball, which the Russian pocketed along with the remaining balls to secure the set, 4-2.
Kaci used a break-and-run in the second set to jump out to an early lead but broke dry in the next rack, allowing his opponent to clear the table and then weave around a clustered 4, 5 and 10 balls in the next game to climb ahead, 2-1. After Gorst failed to land a ball on the break, Kaci again tied the set then gained the lead when his opponent fouled in the fifth game. Standing at the table with a 3-2 lead and a chance to force a shootout, Kaci missed a makeable 6 ball which allowed Gorst to tie the match. After breaking in the set-deciding seventh rack, the Russian executed a sharp cut on the 1 ball, slid in a 5 ball that was closely guarded by the 8 ball and banked in the 9 ball into the side pocket to clear the table and escape with a 4-3 victory.
Hours later, Gorst would pitch a 4-0 shutout in the first round of his match against Dimitris Loukatos, but lost the second set 4-3 and lost in a shootout to the Greek, 4-3. The Russian moves to the one-loss side of the bracket where he will play Friday morning.
England’s Darren Appleton appears to close to regaining the stroke that landed the former U.S. Open 9-Ball champion in the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame. Facing Mickey Krause of Denmark, Appleton played nearly flawless in a straight set second round victory.
After Krause used a break-and-run and a scratch on the break by his opponent to build an early 2-1 lead, Appleton took advantage of a foul by his opponent in the fourth rack to tie set then tacked on back-to-back breaks and runs to close out a 4-2 victory. The Brit, reached the second round with a straight sets victory over Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn, was equally crafty in the second set, using two victorious safety exchanges and a break-and-run to build a commanding 3-0 advantage. Krause had a chance to climb onto the scoreboard after his opponent scratched on the break in the fourth game but failed to secure position on the 6 ball and missed a bank shot. Appleton executed a sharp cut on the object ball then finished off the rack to pitch a 4-0 shutout and advance to the third round of the winner’s side of the bracket.
Appleton will face fellow Hall of Famer Mika Immonen in the third round Friday at 11 a.m. eastern time.
In other matches of the day, Roland Garcia took advantage of a handful of errors by three-time Mosconi Cup member Tyler Styer to earn a 4-0, 4-2 victory and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Immonen needed an extra frame to survive a 7-6 shootout against Michael Schneider of Switzerland.
Competition resumes Thursday morning with notable matches including Denis Grabe of Estonia taking on Jasmin Ouschan at 11 a.m. eastern time, Garcia taking on Robbie Capito at 3 p.m. and Mieszko Fortunski of Poland meeting Hunter Lombardo on the one-loss side of the bracket at 6 p.m.
The Apex Wisconsin Open is the second event of the year for the Predator U.S. Pro Billiard Series and the first ever to be staged at Ho-Chunk Resort, a sprawling facility north of Madison which offers a 302-room hotel as well as spacious gaming and convention space.
Maximilian Lechner, Ruslan Chinakhov and Damianos Giallourakis
The Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2019 is down to the final 16 players single elimination stage.
As always in the later stages of the Euro-Tour, today saw many great players exiting the field. One of the earliest outs was Thorsten Hohmann (GER) who fell to the sharp blade of Philipp Stojanovic (CRO) with 4:9 in loser’s round 4. Another high profile victim in the same round was David Alcaide (ESP) who got eliminated by Alexander Kazakis (GRE) with 6:9. The same fate was shared by Chis Melling (GBR) who lost 8:9 against unheralded Dimitris Loukatos (GRE) with 8:9 in a heartbreaker.
One of the most prominent casualty of today happened one round later when #1 ranked player Eklent Kaci (ALB) had to give in to Vitaliy Patsura (UKR) with the closest of all results, 8:9.
Apart from those mentioned guns, most of the seeded players reached the single elimination stage as expected. In the round of the last 32 players, the established faces all made their way through to the next round. Only Oliver Ortmann (GER) found no cure against Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) and left the tournament with a 7:9 defeat against the Greek who originates from Rhodes Island and lives in Scandinavia currently. „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen (NED) came up with a super convincing performance against young Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) leaving no chance for the young gun from Bosnia and Hercegovina, winning as clearly as 9:1 over him. Albin Ouschan (AUT) needed some more effort to overpower Kim Laaksonen (FIN) with 9:6 in a fiercely fought over match. Joshua Filler (GER), the player who seems to be on fire at the moment, ended the hopes of Konstantinos Koukiadakis (GRE) with an impressive 9:3 victory. Grandmaster Ralf Souquet (GER), „The Kaiser“ outplayed Georgi Georgiev (BUL) with 9:6 and also still has a saying in who will win the title here in Leende.
Friday through Sunday, EPBF will show up to two feature matches LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page. The entire tournament from the first round to the final match is shown on 11 tables LIVE on kozoom.com for premium pass holders.
The Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2019 will continue tomorrow morning at 10:00 local time with matches from the last 16 players single elimination.
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 09:00 local time, for further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epbf.com 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.
Sivissidis Greek billiards and bowling company celebrated 90 years of operations with a 5K added 9ball open tournament (January 24-27), for a total of 11.5K prizes.
Qualifications were hosted in 4 different clubs in Athens, Presveia club, Makridis club, Status club and finally Koralli club where 16 qualifiers out of 133 participants met for the knockout stage.
NOVA sports TV channel covered the whole event as the official broadcaster, along with Sportime newspaper.
High standard conditions where offered by Sivissidis tables, Simonis cloth, Aramith balls, Kamui tips and Taom chalk, with help from a number of other co-sponsors involved.
Tournament director Stelios Petrakis managed to pull out a really great event from the beginning to the end.
The tournament was successfully organized and concluded under the umbrella of HPBU (Hellenic Pocket Billiard Union), the official Greek Pool authority constantly promoting the sport in every aspect.
