Henrique Correia (POR) and Christina Moscetti (ITA) won the titles in the 10-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in St. Johann i.Pg., Austria.
The early stage of the final match was determined by several mistakes from Correia. That allowed Thehu to take a quick 3:1 advantage over Correia. But then he scratched in rack 5 and Correia managed to pull back two racks, tying the match at 3:3. In rack 7, Thehu committed a foul and gave ball in hand to Correia who consequently made use of the situation and went ahead 4:3. Rack 8 was dominated by safety play on the 2-ball. Correia managed to force Thehu to commit another foul, and Correia tried to run the rack to get to 5:3. But he missed the 9-ball in the side pocket. Luckily for him, he left a tough shot for Thehu. The missed the 9-ball, too, and left a walk in the park for Correia who got to 5:3. The Portuguese also took the next rack to get on the hill 6:3. With that advantage, Correia got ball in hand in the 10th rack since Thehu committed a foul, again. But Correia could not run out. He missed the 6-ball in the side pocket, leaving again a tough shot for Thehu. Thehu played a good safety but unfortunately for him, he pocketed the 6-ball and hooked himself on the 7-ball. That was all Correia needed to win the match and the title with 7:3. „I would like to dedicate this title to my friend Paolo Costa“, said an emotional Correia after the awards ceremony.
Cristina Moscetti and Karin Michl both started out quite leveled. After 6 racks, the score was tied at 3:3. Rack 7 was hard fought over. It was Karin Michl who finally won the rack and got to the hill first, leading 4:3. The next break was Moscetti’s. She had a ball down and missed the first shot. After a few safety shots, Moscetti got momentum first and had the balls spread open on the table for her. She cleared the table to make the final match a hill-hill thriller. Rack 9 saw Karin Michl breaking the balls. She had no balls down and gave the table to Moscetti who opened the safety battle. With a lucky safety, Michl forced Moscetti to play a foul shot and received ball in hand with seven balls left on the table. Since these balls were still not in good positions Michl decided to pocket some balls and then go for safety again. When she got to the table she made some amazing shots including pocketing the 6-ball over one rail and getting perfect position for the 7-ball. But when she pocketed the 7-ball, she scratched in the side pocket. Mosquito got to the table with ball in hand and only two balls left. That brought her the title. „It is like a dream for me“, stated Moscetti, „I still cannot believe it.“
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches of the team competition.
All matches can be viewed LIVE at www.kozoom.com. Up to 24 tables in HiRes quality are providing you with all the action of the event. You do not miss out one single match! Join today!
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.epconline.eu
The event is hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
Karin Michl (GER) and Vegar Kristiansen (NOR) have won the Gold Medals in the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for seniors and ladies.
Michl had to compete against Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) in the semi-final. She played rock solid and achieved a fully deserved 5:2 victory over the Italian top player. Her opponent in the final match, Anja Hehre (GER) ousted the defending Champion and teammate Susanne Wessel (GER) also with 5:2 in the semi-final. The final match between Michl and Hehre was packed with drama and excitement. After eight racks, the match went hill-hill. Then, Michl remained as focussed as one could get and pocketed ball after ball for a 5:4 victory and the title. „I have practiced a lot before I came here and I hoped for a chance to win a title, but I am absolutely overwhelmed that I have finally done it,“ said moved Michl after the match.
In the seniors division, we had a rematch between Kristiansen and Henrique Correia (POR). Earlier this week in the 10-ball competition, Correia won the final match between the two so Kristiansen was up for revenge now. The final match went back and forth. A few unlucky scratches from Correia brought Kristiansen in the lead. He kept that advantage and took the match and the title with 9:6. „I played great in 10-ball and I lost; I played great in 8-ball and I lost. In 9-ball, I played not so great but I have won the title“, said Kristiansen with a smile after the match.
In the team competition earlier today, the Dutch Team conquered the Gold Medal for the first time in years. They defeated team Finland in the final with 2:1. 15 teams have announced for the competition in total. The way for the Dutch team started with a 2:1 victory over team Sweden. the Scandinavians are usually known to show up with a strong contingency. However, this year the Dutch got the better of them. The next step was defeating team Italy 3:0 in the winners qualification round. Then, team Austria was the net opponent. They had a bit the statute of the „dark horses“ in the team competition since they ousted last year’s champion team Germany and favorite team Portugal one after the other. But the Dutch team, consisting of Rene Peeters, Gijs Van Helmond and Jesse Thehu prove again to be too strong for the Austrians. 3:0 was the clear result in favor of the Ducth team which booked them a seat in the final match. The opponent there was team Finland. The Finnish seniors with Sami Karttunen, Jouni Nykanen and Marko Hartikainen began their journey with a 2:1 victory over team Croatia. Then, their neighbors from Norway had to fall. 2:1 was again the final score in favor of the Finnish guys. In the winner’s qualification round, Finland surprisingly defeated team Portugal with 2:1. In the semi-final, team Italy was defeated with 2:1 by the Finnish. That booked them a seat in the final against the Dutch. The final match started quite furious. Jesse Thehu defeated Sami Karttunen in 10-ball extremely clear with 7:1 and brought the first point to The Netherlands. At this point in time, Rene Peeters was struggling against Marko Hartikainen in 9-ball. He had been in the lead but suddenly Hartikainen overtook him and it looked like he could snatch the match off Peeters. At a score of 6:5 for Hartikainen it was Gijs van Helmond who played an amazingly strong 8-ball match and sank the needed balls for the Dutch victory, defeating Jouni Nykanen with 7:4. The Gold Medal was won by the Dutch team. The Silver Medal went to team Finland. The Bronze medallists were team Italy and team Austria.
The final medal table displays Germany in the lead, followed by Portugal and Italy.
That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard European Championships 2014 for Seniors and Ladies. We will be back with more action from Portoroz next week with the Euro-Tour for Men and Women.
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.epconline.eu.
The event was hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
Mosconi Cup MVP Niels Feijen begins 2014 like he ended 2013, with a win.
Last weekend, the inaugural edition of the Longoni Capelle Open was held in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). The owners of the venue, Petra and Roy van Straalen, celebrated their 25th anniversary in the billiards business with this fantastic 10-ball event, as well as a 3-cushion Grand Prix. The latter was won by world Champion and Longoni ambassador Dick Jaspers. The Longoni Capelle Open counted no less than ‘147’ entries. A typical number, since Petra and Roy van Straalen contributed immensely to the growth of snooker in the Netherlands, with their five pool and renowned snooker halls. Participants from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and as far as France, Denmark and Sweden attended the event.
Four days of qualifications rounds saw the 32 best players emerge to advance to the main tournament on Sunday January 5th 2014. The format of the main tournament was 'double knock out’, races to 7, until the quarter finals, with races to 8, onwards. Throughout the tournament, the 'alternate break' was a in force and the balls were racked with the Magic Ball Rack. The Clash Competition pool tables by Loontjens Biljarts were re-fitted with beautiful brand new Iwan Simonis 860 cloth. The pool tables and Aramith pool balls were brushed and polished, daily, to offer perfect playing conditions.
To add value to the event, live streaming video coverage was brought to the audience at home by Ebillard.fr and match results were updated on Facebook. Additionally, some matches were recorded in high definition. Hundreds of fans followed the action.
In the end, a high standard of 10-ball was brought to the table by no less than ‘The Terminator’ Niels Feijen, ‘El Niño’ Nick Van Den Berg, ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Huidji See, many other pros and semi-pros. The audience in attendance was treated to 'break and runs’, great tactical safety play, amazing ‘kick shots’, ‘jump shots’, comebacks from near defeat and even ‘donuts’. Eventually, there could only be one winner. In the final, The Terminator bested Kung Fu Panda in an even match up to 6-6. Despite the late hour, Niels Feijen had enough energy reserve to haul in the 8-6 victory with great determination.
Feijen had to take a detour on his way to the final, as his fellow Dutch team mate Marco Teutscher sent him to the ‘one loss side’ in the ‘double knock out’ format. Eventually, Feijen was back on course, beating Geordie Sahilatua (7-2 in the 'final 12’), Nick van den Berg (8-2 in the quarter finals), Belgian pro Noël Bruynooghe (8-4 in the semi finals). Huidji See, on the other hand, had a smoother trip towards the final, with five straight wins: 7-1 against Geordie Sahilatua (1st round), 7-2 against Frank Spinnewijn (2nd round), a 7-6 'double hiller’ against fellow Dutch team mate Marc Bijsterbosch, another 7-6 thriller against Daniel Kandi from Denmark in the quarter finals and 8-5 against Jimmy Worung in the semis.
The event was more successful than expected and, with great anticipation, the intention to organise the 2015 Longoni Capelle Open has already been announced.
The Longoni Capelle Open was brought to you by Longoni, Loontjens Biljarts, Kamui.
The final ranking and payouts:
Winner €1.000 Niels Feijen
Runner-up €600 Huidji See
Semi-finalists €300 Noël Bruynooghe (B), Jimmy Worung
Quarter-finalists €200 Nick van den Berg, Marc Bijsterbsoch, Daniel Kandi (DK), Marco Teutscher
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: In a match with many presents distributed, Gijs Van Helmond (NED) had the better end with a 9:4 victory over Roger Lysholm (NOR).
This morning, the 9-ball individuals have started in Sarajevo at the Dynamic Billard EPBF European Championships for Seniors and Ladies. One first round match was the encounter between Gijs van Helmond and Roger Lysholm. It must have been like Christmas came early this year for van Helmond. His opponent missed several important shots that made van Helmond stronger even though he had a difficult start himself, missing many shots. But Lysholm missed more crucial ones. It started in rack one, when Lysholm already missed the 9-ball. That was not a positive signal for Lysholm who usually performs on a pretty high level. This ran like a continuous thread through the complete match. Van Helmond got stronger and played decent pool. Whenever it looked like Lysholm would get going, he missed another 7-, 8- or 9-ball and presented a gift to van Helmond. Though Lysholm struggled, he could not find his rhythm. He managed to keep the match open for eight racks to a score of 4:4. Then, his mistakes increased and he was sentenced to watch van Helmond pulling point after point from him. In the end, the 9:4 victory for van Helmond was the logic consequence of both player's performances.
Other notable results from this morning include Tom Storm (SWE) whitewashing Mika Maata (FIN) 9:0. Giorgio Margola (ITA) fell to the sharp blade of Henrique Correia (POR) with 3:9. Rudi Zick (GER) who celebrates his birthday today, also received some presents from his opponent Sascha Manojlovic (SUI) and managed to take his first round match with 9:8.
9-ball will be played until 13:00 CET today. Then, the tournament switches back into the 8-ball mode to find out who will claim the titles in this discipline. The final matches in 8-ball will begin tonight at 20:00 CET.
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Cerimagic waving the flag for Bosnia & Hercegovina
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: In a one-sided match, Werner Scheu (AUT) defeated Johny Vanrijkel (BEL) with 7:0.
Johny Vanrijkel is known to the European Pool scene for three reasons: (1) he is an international EPBF referee; (2) he is running one of the most successful pool schools in Europe which created and supports talents like Serge Das, Kamila Khodjaeva and Kurt Deklerck; and (3) he is a great player in the senior's division. Combining all the factors one must say that Vanrijkel is an interesting draw to receive in the quarter-finals of the 8-ball discipline. Vanrijkel made his way straight to this match, winning clashes with Rado Doroslovac (SLO) 7:5, Marko Hartikainen (FIN) 7:5, Sascha Manojlovic (SUI) 7:4 and Frank Willner (GER) with 7:5. His opponent, unheralded Werner Scheu (AUT), made it to the quarter-final with victories over Jorgen Nilsen (NOR) 7:2, Maciej Trudnowski (POL) 7:4, Kim Uytenbogaardt (NED) 7:5 and Martin Schwab (GER) 7:5. So both players were undefeated in 8-ball by the time they crossed swords.
But the match turned out into a catastrophe for Vanrijkel. Nothing seemed to work his way while Scheu played rock solid. Maybe Vanrijkel was still exhausted from the match he had played in the round before. He had no break while Scheu had some time to recover from his previous encounter. As the match went along, Scheu did not allow Vanrijkel to find his way into the game at all. He taught him a tough lesson, handing him a doughnut with 7:0.
Other notable results include Tom Storm (SWE) smashing Gijs Van Helmond (NED) 7:2 and booking his seat in the semi-final of the the 8-ball competition. Storm will meet local star Dino Cerimagic (BIH) who surprisingly powered past Henrique Correia (POR) by a whisker with 7:6.
The semi-finals will be played at 18:00 CET with the finals to follow at approximately 20:00 CET.
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Wheelchair player Deklerck in the single elimination stage of seniors 8-ball individuals
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: In an exciting encounter, Kent Karlsson (SWE) defeated Michael Stark (AUT) 7:5.
Kent Karlsson has collected eight European Championship medals already; including the Gold Medal in Straight pool in 2002. His expectations were definitely high when he came to Sarajevo – but he could not yet live up to them. This year's Dynamic Billard European Championships for seniors and ladies here in Radon Plaza Hotel, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina, have not made it to his record book yet. In 8-ball, he lost his first round match by a hair's breadth with 6:7 to Paulo Costa (POR). Still having one foot in the door, he crept through the loser's side, meeting Austria's Michael Stark in the 2nd loser's round. Stark has already hit the headlines here when he ousted #1 seeded player Gijs Van Helmond (NED) from the straight pool chart. Karlsson was warned that this match would not be a walk in the park for him. However, it started off as one. After one hour, six racks of 8-ball were played and the scoreboard showed a clear lead of 5:1 for Karlsson. But Stark was far from giving in. He got back in the match and struck back. After eleven racks, the score was only 6:5 for Karlsson and he could feel his opponent's hot breath up his neck. Stark was only behind one more rack and suddenly the pressure was on Karlsson. What used to be smooth sailing became hard work. Karlsson used all of his experience and focus and wrestled Stark down in the 12th rack, winning the match with 7:5. Karlsson will now have to deal with Angelo Salzano (ITA) while Stark has to settle for 49th rank in the 8-ball senior's individual.
Other notable results from the 8-ball rounds include wheelchair player Kurt Deklerck (BEL) booking his spot in the single elimination round of the final 32 players with a 7:6 victory over Alex Habo (HUN). Roger Lysholm (NOR) smashed David Plattner (SUI) 7:4 while Tom Storm (SWE) needed 13 racks to win 7:6 against Giorgio Margola (ITA). Lysholm and Storm will join Deklerck in the single elimination stage while Plattner and Margola need another victory on the loser's side to join them.
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: With 75:58 points, Giorgio Margola (ITA) eliminated former Champion Kent Karlsson (SWE) from the straight pool individuals.
Karlsson as well as Margola are experienced straight pool players. Way back in 2002, Karlsson held the title in senior's straight pool. Too bad for them to meet so early in the round of the last 32 players. After 16 players have been eliminated, the system changed from double to single knock-out. Margola ran off like a sprinter. He took a 24:1 lead in the first inning. In doing so he set down the yardstick for the match. Karlsson, who is also capable to run high innings, seemed to be impressed by Margola's good start. But he fought his way back in the match and played a run of 21 points to take a 37:26 lead himself. In the very next inning, Margola answered that with a run of 32 balls, now leading 58:37. That was the second shock that Karlsson received in that match. He could not really recover from it. Margola was always on top of the action and finally took Karlsson out with 75:58.
Other notable results include Tom Storm (SWE) finishing Sascha Manojlovic (SUI) with 75:30. Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) won his match with 75:47 over Luis Torres (POR). Last year's runner-up, Gijs Van Helmond (NED), who had to make his way to the single elimination stage through the loser's bracket, had to deal with Stefano Bazzana (ITA), straight pool Champion from 2011. After four innings, Bazzana was leading comfortably with 61:35. He only needed one more rack to book his seat in the next round. But van Helmond seemed to have a strong objection against it. He emphasized that by not letting Bazzana to the table anymore, running the remaining 39 balls he needed for the victory.
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: It looks as if no-one is able to stop Tom Storm (SWE) at the Dynamic Billard EPBF European Championships for Seniors and Ladies.
His latest victim was Martin Schwab (GER). In 25 (!) minutes, Storm eliminated Schwab with 75:3 in three innings. Storm plays so dominant that his opponents do not seem to have any remedy against him. When asked after the match about his good shape he replied: "Actually, I stopped playing three years ago. I started playing again earlier this year. It's like riding a bicycle, you know. You learn it once and never forget how to do it". He is obviously one of Europe's most talented and gifted players. Other players need a lot of practice and are still not able to come up with anything like Storm's performance. It will be very interesting to see whether he will be able to continue on this extremely high level.
Other notable results from the round of the last 16 players include Marko Hartikainen (FIN) ending Giorgio Margola's (ITA) hopes for a medal in straight pool with 75:12. Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) won against Henrique Correia (POR) with 75:49. Gijs Van Helmond's (NED) straight pool experience was terminated by Manuel Pereira (POR) with 75:37.
The quarter-finals brought the following matches and results
This leaves us with Tom Storm playing Kim Uytenbogaardt and Reiner Wirbsbitzski playing Manuel Pereira on Monday. The semi-finals will be played Monday at 18:00 CET with the final match to follow right after them.
The tournament will be streamed LIVE on up to 20 tables at www.kozoom.com/en/pool-billiard/
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Senior's European Championships start with a demonstration of power
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina: With the straight pool individuals, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies have begun in Radon Plaza Hotel in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina.
The defending Champion Rene Peeters (NED) does not compete this year in Sarajevo. Instead, some well known names from past times have come to demonstrate their skills. Probably the biggest name with five gold medals and a total of 15 medals at European Championships is Tom Storm from Sweden. He played his first two matches already and won both of them with a commanding lead. In the first round, he defeated Rado Doroslovac (SLO) with 75:12 in nine innings. That was a warm-up for him. In the first winner's round, Storm smashed Rune Espeland (NOR) 75:4 in only four innings, including a high run of 46 points. Storm needed exactly 23 minutes for the whole match. That performance showed what is still to expect from the Swedish legend. He definitely belongs to the favored players in the senior's EC. It will be more than interesting to see him clashing with other strong straight pool players.
Other notable results include Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) creaming Henrique Correia (POR) with 75:21. In this match, nine European medals and five titles clashed. Correia being the favored player with four Gold and one Silver medal whereas Wirsbitzki achieved one title and three Bronze medals. The past record obviously spoke in favor of Correia but today's reality seemed different. Wirsbitzki found his rhythm while Correia seemed to struggle. In the end, the victory for Wirsbitzki was never really endangered. #1 seeded player, last year's silver medallist Gijs Van Helmond (NED) fell in his first match to Michael Stark (AUT) with 62:75.
Frank Willner (GER) managed to turn an 8:46 deficit against local player Dino Cerimagic (BIH) into a 75:68 lead. Willner needed 20 innings for that and had a high run of 20 points. The next opponent was Willer's teammate Christophe Creter. The match went back and forth and after nine innings, Creter was leading 71:38. It looked like everything was over for Willer in that encounter. But he hung in there and got some points back. Still, he could not turn the match into a victory. After a total of 12 innings, the final score on the scoreboard displayed a 75:67 result in Creter's favor.
The ladies will step in tomorrow when the 10-ball competition is started.
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.billiardapps.com or contact our press office.
Wednesday, 08 August 2012: In a very close match, Monika Oeschger (SUI) defeated Ann-Sofie Löfgren (SWE) 5:4.
Both players have had a walk-over in their first round and have won another match as well. Löfgren won the previous round with 5:0 over Anja Hehre (GER) whereas Oeschger defeated her teammate Ursula Habersaat (SUI) with 5:2. In this match, they both committed a lot of errors which probably was the proof that they had to deal with their nerves a lot. It was Oeschger to get on the hill first with 4:3 and she did have the chance to win the rack and the match. But again, she missed an important shot and allowed Löfgren back into the table. The Swedish lady almost scratched with the cue ball when she lined up for the 8-ball. But the nose of the pocket was her friend. She tied the match at 4:4. However, she could not cross the finish line. Oeschger took the 9th rack and won the match with 5:4.
Other notable results include Stefano Bazzana (ITA) ousting Jimmy Worung (NED) with 7:4 in the round of the last 16 players. In the same round, Gijs van Helmond (NED) met his fate called Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) who defeated him 7:3.
The Dynamic European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with the 9-ball individuals.
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 , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
