The draw for the 2022 US Open Pool Championship has been made ahead of action getting underway at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City from October 10-15 with defending champion Carlo Biado set to meet Dalibor Nikolin in the opening match of the tournament.
Nineball World No.1 Shane Van Boening will start his quest for a sixth US Open title against rising star Joey Tate whilst 2019 Champion Joshua Filler will take on Canada’s Jeffrey Kennedy to start his week.
This year’s US Open sees the return of some of Asia’s top talent with Ko Pin Yi meeting Ben Crawley and brother Ping Chung taking on Robert Blackiston. 2013 World Cup of Pool champion Lee Van Corteza will return against Andrew Finnigan. Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw will go on the hunt for a second US Open crown against Vincent Beaurivage first up.
The top 128 players in the field were seeded based on the combination of the 2022 Nineball World Ranking and Live Nineball World Ranking.
Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.matchroompool.com
From Monday, 10 October to Thursday, 13 October fans will be able to enjoy the action globally on the Matchroom Pool Facebook and YouTube pages as well as Matchroom.Live with two tables streamed.
A range of ticket packages are available including an event pass giving you access to all six days of action for only $155, a saving of up to $55. A premium event pass gives you reserved front two seats for the single-elimination stage at $205. Limited seats are available for the final day.
After 11 days of play, the 42nd annual Dynamic Billards European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair users concluded on Saturday 12th March. With 15 separate events to contend for, nearly 200 athletes from across Europe came to the picturesque Slovenian town of Lasko.
In the end it was the German squad who topped the medal table with five gold, three silver and three bronze to total 11 medals overall. They were some distance ahead of Finland in second place who secured five medals – three gold, a silver and a bronze. In total, 21 different countries were among the medals.
Individually, there were four multi-medallists in the men’s divisions. Veteran Niels Feijen (NED) headed the table with a gold medal in the 9 ball plus two bronzes. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) grabbed a gold in the 10 ball plus a bronze in the 8 ball. Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk took two silvers in the 10 ball and team event respectively. Finally, Mario He of Austria took a silver and a bronze.
In the ladies’ events, it was the fast-improving Pia Filler of Germany who led the way. She collected gold medals in the 8 ball and the team competition as well as a silver in the straight pool. In total, seven other players collected two medals each. Amalia Matas (ESP), Oliwia Zalewska (POL), Tina Vogelmann (GER) and Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR) all won a gold plus a bronze while Ana Gradisnik (SLO) took two silvers. The other two multi-medallist women were Line Kjorsvik (NOR) and Sara Rocha of Portugal.
In the wheelchair division, it was once again Finland’s Jouni Tahti who came out on top with two gold medals. The other gold was won by his long-time rival Henrik Larsson who also left with a silver and a bronze. Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore came close twice but had to settle for two silver medals and a bronze. The remaining double-medallist was Britain’s David Beaumont who collected a brace of bronzes.
Poland’s Oliwia Zalewska won her third Dynamic Billard European Championships gold medal, this time in the Women’s 9-Ball, as she enjoyed a surprisingly easy win over Slovenian hope Ana Gradisnik, running out a 7-0 winner. The Polish girl had won the 8-ball title in Antalya last year.
Having not really showed in the other disciplines, Zalewska saved her best till last. She lost her first match in the 9-ball division but battled her way through the one-loss side to reach the single elimination last 16. Wins over Silvia Lopez Fibla (Spain) and Sweden’s My Nguyen left her a semi-final pairing against Spain’s dangerous Amalia Matas. A 7-0 win put her into the championship match which she cruised through for the gold.
“During the final, I wasn’t thinking about winning the title; I’m thinking about the game and my level of playing. Of course, I love this feeling of winning and yes, the whole of the time spent practising and the emotions that go into it are all a big part of this victory,” said Zalewska.
The gold medallist is the mother of an 18-month-old child and added, “I’m sorry my baby can’t be here with me and my husband but it would be too long to spend away from home so we will all enjoy this title when we get home.”
WOMEN’S
Final
Oliwia Zalewska (POL) 7 – 0 Ana Gradisnik (SLO)
Semi Finals
Oliwia Zalewska (POL) 7 – 0 Amalia Matas (ESP)
Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 7 – 4 Sara Rocha (POR)
WHEELCHAIR
Jouni Tahti
In the wheelchair division Jouni Tahti made it an unbelievable 28th Dynamic Billard European Championship gold medal as he came from behind to outpace Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore, winning 7 – 6 in a battle royale. The Finn collected his first ever EC gold in 2002 and 20 years later, he is still the wheelchair games dominant force.
Dinsmore, who had already won bronze and silver in the 10-ball and 8-ball respectively, looked on his way to a gold medal, holding a 6-3 lead but Tahti, showed why he is a serial gold medallist as he dug in and pipped the Irishman at the post.
Commented Tahti, “When I was 6-3 down, I didn’t give up as there is always hope and I knew I could turn it around. To win gold medals you often need to overcome very tough situations and I’m pleased I had what it took to achieve that. I’m really looking forward to defending my title in Tampere next year and I’ll be going all out for three gold medals in my home country.”
Final
Jouni Tahti (FIN) 7 – 6 Fred Dinsmore (IRE)
Semi Finals
Jouni Tahti (FIN) 7 – 5 David Beaumont (GBR)
Fred Dinsmore (IRE) 7 – 5 Henrik Larsson (SWE)
UNDER 23
Moritz Neuhausen
Moritz Neuhausen, the 2019 Under 17’s and 2021 Under19’s WPA World 9 Ball Champion, added another trophy to his cabinet as he won an all-German final 9-7 to take 9-ball gold at the Dynamic Billard European Championships. His opponent Luca Menn gave him a tough battle but it was Neuhausen who prevailed to add to his credentials as a potential new German superstar of the game.
Neuhausen, 21, had survived a gripping hill-hill thriller in his semi-final match against another star of the future in Norway’s Emil Andre Gangflot. There is an overflow of top young talent in Europe currently and Neuhausen may just be the pick of the bunch.
“That’s my first title in the Under 23 division. I had two titles previously, one in teams so I’m really happy with this win. I’ve won some big titles in my age group and hopefully I can take that forward into open tournaments but there’s a lot of space for improvement and I’ll keep working hard,” said Neuhausen.
Final
Moritz Neuhausen (GER) 9 – 7 Luca Menn (GER)
Semi Finals
Luca Menn (GER) 9 – 3 Haris Trtovac (SRB)
Moritz Neuhausen (GER) 9 – 8 Emil Andre Gangflot (NOR)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Pia Filler of Germany won her maiden gold medal at the Dynamic Billard European Championships as she triumphed in the 8-Ball division, over-turning local hope Ana Gradisnik in Lasko, Slovenia. Having won silver in the Straight Pool earlier in the week, Filler cemented her rapid ascent to the top level of ladies’ European pool and she can now look forward to the 9-ball division with renewed confidence and a realistic hope of another gold.
It was disappointment for Gradisnik who was looking to give her host country their first gold medal of the Championships but she will have to regroup for the final division of 9-ball. Bronze medals went to perennial podium finisher Line Kjorsvik (Norway) and 10-Ball gold medallist Eyllul Kibaroglu of Turkey.
Filler said post-match, “I’m absolutely over the moon right now! I’ve been working so hard over these past two years with my husband and coach Joshua, and our common coach Gunter Geisen. All that work paid off and I’m just enjoying the moment right now.”
“It was tough to really find time to prepare for the Europeans as Joshua was playing a lot of world ranking events but I think we made the best out of it and we always try and prepare for whatever is up next. We don’t always have that much time but it obviously worked out!” she added.
WOMEN’S
Final
Pia Filler (GER) 6 – 3 Ana Gradisnik (SLO)
Semi Finals
Pia Filler (GER) 6 – 1 Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR)
Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 6 – 5 Line Kjorsvik (NOR)
Henrik Larsson
WHEELCHAIR
In the wheelchair division, it was that man again, as Sweden’s Henrik Larsson added to his overall medal tally with another gold in the 8-Ball division, his 12th gold on his European Championship journey. With just the 9-Ball division to play out, the multi-titled Swede has a great opportunity to top his long-time rival Jouni Tahti as the two of them continue to dominate the gold medal positions at successive Dynamic Billard European Championships.
Larsson had too much in the championship match as he defeated Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore, himself no stranger to gold medals, by 5-2.
He said afterwards, “I’m really happy about this final and happy to have a full field. We have 22 players and we have absolutely the strongest players here, and that makes it worthwhile. The standard and the level in wheelchair have been rising and rising, and in this event Jouni got knocked out in the quarter finals by Matej Brajkovic who is a phenomenal player so I think it’s just a matter of time before you finally get rid of us! 9-Ball is my favourite game; a lot of cue action, so I’m really looking forward to that and we’ll see what happens.”
Final
Henrik Larsson (SWE) 5 – 2 Fred Dinsmore (IRE)
Semi Finals
Henrik Larsson (SWE) 5 – 1 Kurt Deklerck (BEL)
Fred Dinsmore (IRE) 5 – 4 Matej Brajkovic (SLO)
Emil Andre Gangflot
UNDER 23s
With a system in place that continues to produce the best players in the world, the Under 23 events at the Dynamic Billard European Championships are a terrific pointer to tomorrow’s global stars of the game. This week, Emil-Andre Gangflot of Norway made his mark as he took the gold medal in the 8-Ball division, defeating Finland’s Arseny Sevastyanov 8-4 in the decider.
Gangflot, from Fredrikstad, turned 19 just two weeks ago and was playing in his first Under 23 division at the Euros, having tasted success in the juniors. As one of the youngest players in this age category, the win was a testament to his maturity as a player as well as his red-hot prospects for the future.
“I’m really surprised. I didn’t think I could win this one in my first year but I’m really happy. It was a great tournament as usual and I’m obviously delighted. In the whole tournament, I was just trying to stay focused and take one game at a time and one ball at a time and to win this title is amazing. I’m going to just try my best in 9 ball and see what happens,” said Gangflot.
Final
Emil-Andre Gangflot (NOR) 8 – 4 Arseny Sevastyanov (FIN)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Eyllul Kibaroglu (Turkey) and Jouni Tahti of Finland took the gold medals in the women’s and wheelchair divisions respectively at the Dynamic Billard European Championships in Lasko, Slovenia. For the Turkish girl, it was a repeat of her triumph at the ECs in Turkey last year while medal-machine Tahti revenged a defeat by Henrik Larsson as he defeated the Swede for gold.
Kibaroglu had run undefeated through the tournament for her repeat win, defeating a brace of German players to land the title. First, she beat Melanie Sűßenguth 6-3 in the semi-final and then topped Ina Kaplan 6-3 in the championship match.
For Kibaroglu, who has enjoyed the success of her European Championships victory in her home country, it was a major achievement to retain her crown; “I’m so happy that I managed to defend my title from Antalya. There are a lot of great players here and you have to play well throughout the tournament. There are still more opportunities ahead this week and I have plans for the 8 ball and 9 ball.”
Finland’s Jouni Tahti
In the wheelchair division it was pool’s version of El Classico as Jouni Tahti and Henrik Larsson faced off for the gold medal. These two players have absolutely dominated wheelchair pool over the years and at the 2021 European Championships it was Larsson who claimed gold against his perennial rival Tahti. The Finn though, had other plans this year as he comfortably gained revenge via a 5-2 scoreline.
Commented Tahti; “It always seems to be myself and Henrik but there are some great players improving so every match can be tough. I’m going to go for the treble of 10 ball, 8 ball and 9 ball but it’s not going to be easy with the quality of competition here. That said, I’m always delighted to win another European Championship gold medal and I played good enough all competition to achieve that goal.”
WOMEN’S
Final
Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6 – 3 Ina Kaplan (GER)
Semi Finals
Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6 – 3 Melanie Sűßenguth (GER)
Ina Kaplan (GER) 6 – 1 Sara Rocha (POR)
WHEELCHAIR
Final
Jouni Tahti (FIN) 5 – 2 Henrik Larsson (SWE)
Semi Finals
Jouni Tahti (FIN) 5 – 3 Fred Dinsmore (IRE)
Henrik Larsson (SWE) 5 – 2 David Beaumont (GBR)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Mustafa Alnar, Oliwia Zalewska, Henrik Larsson and Mario He
Into day eight of the 2021 Dynamic Billiards European Championships in Antalya, Turkey and the destination of four gold medals was determined in an intensive evening’s 8 ball play at the Venezia Palace Hotel. Mario He seized the gold in the men’s, Oliwia Zalewska took the women’s, Henrik Larsson the Wheelchair division while Mustafa Alnar won another junior gold for Northern Cyprus, this time in the Men’s U23 event.
In the 98 player Men’s division, 28 years old Mario He blocked Fedor Gorst’s path to his third gold medal of the championship in a high-quality final which the Austrian prevailed 8-5. There wasn’t much to separate them in terms of play except a couple of dry breaks from Gorst in the critical stages of the match.
He had led through the opening stages before Gorst levelled it at 4-4 and then ran from the break for a 5-4 lead. However, that was to be his last score-worthy contribution to the game as a couple of unproductive break shots from the Russian gave He all the opportunity he needed to close the match out.
It was He’s second 8 ball gold medal, the first coming in 2012 in Luxembourg but he had to dig deep to prevail following an arduous schedule of late.
He said, “The first gold was better as I was 18 and it was the biggest tournament that I’d ever won but still this year I played really good. I had three hill-hill matches which I just escaped on the good side to win the match.
“It was a really long day and a really tough day and I had some tough opponents. I was playing good, got some rolls and everything was perfect and I’m now looking forward.
“I’ve been in the US for two months so had big jet lag but I had so many tournaments there, it was tough to stay motivated. The two days off were good at the start of this championships and I played OK in the 10 ball but I just felt a bit burned out. In the 8 ball though I played well and everything went my way. I’m really happy to have won this gold medal,” he added.
Medals – Men
Gold – Mario He (AUT)
Silver – Fedor Gorst (RUS)
Bronze – Joshua Filler (GER)
Roberto Bartol (SRB)
In the ladies’ division, Poland’s Oliwia Zalewska won her second individual gold medal to add to her straight pool gold from the 2013 event in Slovenia. She defeated Belarussian Margarita Fefilova 6-2 in the championship match.
It was another championship win for the talented Pole following her victory in the same venue ten days earlier in the Predator Antalya Open on the Ladies Euro Tour.
The Polish lady went undefeated through the championship, winning two critical hill-hill matches against eventual semi-finalist Nina Torvund and then her semi-final win over Spain’s straight pool silver medallist Amalia Matas.
Runner-up Margaret Fefilova was bounced to the one-loss side at the hands of Kristina Tkach but rallied well, taking down Monika Zabek, Ana Gradisnik and 10 ball champion Eylull Kibaroglu en route to the semi-finals where she beat Nina Torvund.
Oliwia said, “Actually winning the Euro Tour event gave me wings and I believed in myself more but this is the second story. I felt so tired after a lot of matches in the Euro Tour that I couldn’t find myself in the opening matches but finally the 8 ball came in for me and I found my style.
“I’ve been preparing for these for so many years and the switch between 9 ball and 8 ball is not so much. I’m feeling totally delighted about the gold medal on the Euro Tour and the gold medal today but it’s still not the end and I’m really looking forward to the 9 ball!”
Those two wins in Antalya will make Zalewska a formidable force when the 9 ball championship commences on Tuesday morning.
In the Wheelchair division, it was two golds out of two for Sweden’s Henrik Larsson as he came back from a seemingly impossible position to take his fourth 8 ball gold medal and set himself on course for a clean sweep with the 9 ball yet to come.
His opponent was record-breaking Finnish shooter Jouni Tahti who found himself 4-0 up in the race-to-five final. With alternate break he had every chance to close the match out but giving up opportunities, Larsson slowly clawed his way back into the match before taking the decider for an extraordinary victory.
Commented Larsson, “Winning all three; it’s only been done by Jouni before so that would be fantastic to be part of that crew.
“It was crazy. He totally had the game in his hands with a 4-0 lead and then he started to give me chances and I took them and all of a sudden, we were hill hill. The only thing harder than pool is dying and I think he had to experience a little bit of that today!” he added.
Medals – Wheelchair
Gold – Henrik Larsson (SWE)
Silver – Jouni Tahti (FIN)
Bronze – Danny Luton (GBR)
Matej Brajkovic (SLO)
Finally, in the Men’s Under 23 division it was Turkish Cypriot Mustafa Alnar who took the gold medal to add to the ones he has already won in previous Under 17 and Under19 age categories. He defeated Germany’s Luca Menn 8-2 in the final.
With 20 runners, the standard was high with bronze medallist Aleksa Pecelj a runner at the previous Euro Tour event ten days ago. It’s fair to say that Alnar looks to be a major prospect for senior honours in the future.
He was naturally delighted with the win; “A big thanks to everyone! I’m really so happy for this is, my first Under23 title. Next up is the 9 ball tomorrow so be prepared as I’m coming for you!”
Medals – Men’s U23
Gold – Mustafa Alnar (NCYP)
Silver – Luca Menn (GER)
Bronze – Aleksa Pecelj (SRB)
Ibrahim Vatansever (TUR)
Eyllul Kibaroglu, Henrik Larsson and Mieszko Fortunski
There was joy for hosts Turkey as Eyllul Kibaroglu took 10 ball gold in the Ladies’ division while Poland took both gold and silver in the Men’s division as Mieszko Fortunski beat Daniel Maciol 8-4 at the Dynamic Billiards European Championships taking place in Antalya, Turkey. In the Wheelchair division it was Sweden’s Henrik Larsson who took yet another EC gold.
In the men’s final, Fortunski, the 29 year-old from Wroclaw, put in a superb showing as he led throughout to secure a deserved 8-4 victory. Maciol’s break let him down on occasions and Fortunski capitalised on it with some solid play. It proved to be back-to-back 10 ball titles for the Pole following victory in Treviso, Italy in 2019.
There were 115 present in the event including Joshua Filler who was making his debut at this year’s championship. He was knocked out though, at the hands of Roman Hybler (CZE) in a classic 8-7 win. Hybler went onto the quarter-finals where he was beaten by the eventual runner-up.
The semi-finals saw comfortable wins for the two Poles as Maciol beat BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet, who collected yet another EC medal to go into his over-flowing trophy cabinet. Fortunski overcame Marc Bijsterbosch, who claimed a bronze also, to go with the silver he won in the straight pool division.
As is usual at a major final, there was tension in the air and it was Maciol, the 22 year-old from Katowice, who ran out the first rack after winning the lag. Fortunski levelled it in the next rack before a dry break in the third left the door open for Fortunski who completed a great clearance to take one against the break.
However, Fortunski missed the 2 ball in the fourth game, focusing too much on keeping the white out of the corner pocket, and a composed Maciol ran the table for 2-2. Another dry break from Maciol was his sole contribution to the next as Fortunski confidently cleared for a 3-2 lead.
Fortunski ran out the next to take a two-rack lead. Under some pressure now, Maciol finally came good on the break and cleared well to reduce arrears and hope for a mistake from his opponent.
Fortunski lost the cue ball in the eighth game and could only play a difficult containing safety which left a tricky long pot on the 1 ball. Sensing that offence was his only route to regaining parity, Maciol took it on and missed. Worse still, it left an easy pot on the 1 ball, and Fortunski took full advantage and ran out for 5-3.
Maciol was thrown a life-line in the next as his opponent broke dry and he made the clearance to stay in the game. He gave it back in the next when he missed the 2-ball following a dry break. Fortunski missed it himself but was handed the table back following a poor shot and ran out to reach the hill at 7-4
With three balls between Fortunski and the title, he missed a horror 7-ball as he seemed to twitch on the shot. It was a golden opportunity for Maciol but his speedy cut on the 7-ball saw the white collide with the 10 ball and drop into the corner pocket. With ball in hand, Fortunski made no mistakes to secure the European Men’s 10 Ball Championship.
After the match, Fortunski was relieved to have come through such a strong field, “For sure it wasn’t easy for me, I had a lot of tough matches. I played against Mario He, Schjetne, Bijsterbosch, Gorst, and in the final with Maciol so my road to the title was really hard and I’m really happy.
“It’s my second in a row so I’m double happy! 10 ball for sure is my best game. There were no lucky shots, well not too much, but I believed and was confident for the final.”
Medals – Men
Gold – Mieszko Fortunski (POL)
Silver – Daniel Maciol (POL)
Bronze – Marc Bijsterbosch (NED)
Ralf Souquet (GER)
There was arguably the loudest cheer of the week at the Venezia Palace Hotel as local star Eyllul Kibaroglu deposited the 10-ball to claim the gold medal in the Ladies’ 10 Ball event. The 33 year-old from Ankara defeated Tamara Rademakers 6-2. It was her second European Championship gold and you would have to go all the way back to 2007 in Liberec, Czech Republic when she took the top spot in the 9 ball division.
It was sweet revenge for Kibaroglu who had been sent to the one-loss side in her second match of the tournament by Rademakers. However, she battled on defeating Spanish straight pool silver medallist Amalia Matas, and fancied Ana Gradisnik 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Rademakers ran through the winners’ side and beat Margaret Fefilova 6-2 in the semi-finals to meet Kibaroglu, who had defeated Bojana Sarac 6-5 at the same stage. The final wasn’t perhaps the classic hoped for as the Turkish girl romped home 6-2 to secure the gold.
“I’m so excited to get the second title after 14 years. I’ve waited for it too long and too many times. I’ve made too many quarter-finals on the Euro Tour and European Championships but this is the right time and the right moment in my home country. I’m proud and more than happy and excited.
“I’m very thankful to the Turkish Federation who have been supporting me a long time and I’m very appreciative of the EPBF for putting on this beautiful tournament.”
Playing out at the same time as the men’s and ladies’ finals, was the final of the Wheelchair division and it was veteran Henrik Larsson who grabbed a brilliant 14th European Championship gold medal. He defeated Finland’s Jouni Tahti 5-4 in the championship match to successfully defend the title he won in Italy two years ago.
It was a thriller with the destination of the gold medal determined in the final rack, and it was Larsson who came through to deny European wheelchair pool legend Tahti and incredible 26th gold medal.
Larsson was delighted post-match; “I’m tickled! I’m going to practice extremely hard in 2022 and play the Euro Tour and all that and see what is my potential and when I find that out, I don’t know what I’m going to do!
“I’m really happy to see all the improvements and the sport growing. You see so many guys now in wheelchairs shooting and I’m really looking forward to what we can expect for the sport in the following couple of years,” he added.
Medals – Wheelchair
Gold – Henrik Larsson (SWE)
Silver – Jouni Tahti (FIN)
Bronze – David Slacek (SLO)
Matej Brajkovic (SLO)
At the General Assembly of the Swedish Parasport Federation on May 21, 2021, pool player Henrik Larsson was elected to the Swedish Parasport Hall of Fame, thanks to his great achievements within the billiard sport and community. Henrik is the 26th member of the Swedish Parasport Hall of Fame (PHoF).
49-year-old Henrik “Henke” Larsson is a well-known profile within the billiards community, both in Sweden and abroad. Throughout his career he has won many big titles and is considered one of the greatest wheelchair players of all time. His talent, spirit and positive attitude has inspired a whole generation of new players to pick up a cue. Henrik is also known for his work as an ambassador for the sport, and for his contributions within the para community as an instructor and role model for the disabled.
The Swedish Parasport Hall of Fame aspire to honor persons who, through their achievements in sports and/or as leaders, have played a crucial role in developing the Swedish or international parasport. They also aim to create, preserve, and make accessible historic documentation about these people and their achievements for the rest of the world.
Members of the PHoF are elected every two years. To be qualified the nominee has to have considerable international merits in their sport, as well as being a pioneer within Swedish or international parasport. It is also mandatory that the nominee has displayed fair play and integrity, and serves as a role model for others. In our opinion, Henrik fills all of these criteria with ease.
Here is the motivation from the Swedish Parasport Federation:
“Henrik Larsson, billiards, is member number 26 in the Parasport Hall of Fame.
Henrik Larsson belongs to the world elite in billiards and has an impressive record of merits. His breakthrough came in 1993, when he won the first official European Championship for wheelchair billiards, and after that the successes have been piling up. In total he has won six world championships, twelve European championships and 20 national championships.
He was also nominated to the award ‘Disabled athlete of the year’ in 2018, at the biggest Swedish annual sports gala Idrottsgalan.
Henrik Larsson is a true role model, a great parasport athlete and a worthy member of the parasport Hall of Fame.”
Here you can find a link to the motivation (in Swedish):
The appointment was announced at the Parasport Federation’s general assembly on May 21, 2021, which was held digitally. Henrik will therefore receive his award at a later occasion when conditions allow.
The Swedish Billiard Federation and its board are immensely proud of “Henke”, one of our greatest representatives of all time, and we wish him the best of luck in his continued career.
The last day of the Dynamic Billard European Championships 2019 saw the finals in the 9-ball individuals in all four divisions. The titles were grabbed by Fedor Gorst (RUS), Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Jouni Tahti (FIN).
Fedor Gorst had a thriller against Joshua Filler (GER) in the men’s 9-ball division. Both player performed tremendously well throughout the event and deserved their spot in the final match. Gorst was always ahead of Filler whose break let him down big time in the match. But the German struck back whenever he could and kept the match open for a long time. Then Gorst got some momentum and went on the hill, taking a nice 8:4 lead over Filler. But one of „Killer Filler’s“ most important talents is that he keeps his nerves together and plays rock solid even when under fire. Filler took some racks off Gorst since the Russian himself had some problems with his break shot in the latter part of the match. Filler even got to the hill and created an 8:8 situation. The heat was on for both players with Gorst having the break shot. He had 2 balls down and an open layout. From there, Filler never got back to the table and Gorst sneaked past the winning line, taking the match with 9:8 over brave Filler.
The women’s final match between Jasmin Ouschan and Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) turned into a demolition for the Russian. Ouschan determined the match from the start to her liking and Seroshtan could not get a foot on the floor. Having in mind that Ouschan was far below her expectations during this championship, she played up to her standard in the final match and handed a whitewash to Seroshtan with 7:0.
In the Under 23 division, Pijus Labutis was the favoured player over Oliver Szolnoki since he had already taken a title in 8-ball earlier this week. Though Szolnoki performed quite convincing, Labutis was a bit ahead of him because of his focus being set on another title. 9:7 was the final result that brought the second title for Labutis for this week.
In the wheelchair division, all-time favoured Jouni Tahti wasted no time with his opponent Fred Dinsmore. He simply outplayed the Irish and took the match pretty easy with 7:1.
The final medal table displays Russia as the winner of the event, having won 3 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals. Runner-Up is Poland with 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze Medals with Finland coming in third with 2 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal and 3 Bronze medals.
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
1.
RUS
3
2
2
7
2.
POL
2
1
4
7
3.
FIN
2
1
3
6
4.
LTU
2
2
5.
AUT
1
2
2
5
6.
POR
1
1
2
SUI
1
1
2
SWE
1
1
2
9.
ALB
1
1
ESP
1
1
11.
GER
3
3
6
12.
GBR
1
3
4
13.
IRL
1
1
2
NED
1
1
2
15.
HUN
1
1
LAT
1
1
UKR
1
1
18.
BLR
2
2
SLO
2
2
20.
BIH
1
1
BUL
1
1
FRA
1
1
SRB
1
1
That concludes the coverage of the 2019 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women, Under 23 and Wheelchair Athletes from Treviso, Italy. We will be back tomorrow with more news from the upcoming Euro-Tour events for Men and Women.
The Championships were 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.
Eklent Kaci, Jouni Tahti, Kristina Tkach and Pijus Labutis
The 8-ball competition at this year’s Dynamic Billard European Championships have been decided. The matches in the different divisions contained everything from expectations to drama and highly thrilling matches.
The final match in the men’s division was played between Eklent Kaci (ALB) and Ralf Souquet (GER). This match was not only the encounter of two high profile athletes but also a clash of two generations. While „The Kaiser“ Ralf Souquet has already won an unbelievable number of 22 Gold Medals at European Championships, Kaci was still waiting on his first one. Souquet has achieved almost everything that a pool billiard player can achieve while Kaci is still on the start of his career. On the other hand, Kaci has won some prestigious events throughout last year and can considered to be „on fire“ currently while Souquet is on his regular level. This constellation was the interesting starting position of the match. Tonight, Kaci had the better day and after seven racks, he was already leading 6:1 over Souquet. Needing only two more points, it would be hard for just anyone to stop Kaci. But Souquet still tried and managed to get some excitement back into a match which seemed to be long time decided. He fought back and pulled some racks back from Kaci to get to 4:6 and 6:7. When Kaci was on the hill at 7:6, he made no more mistakes and pocketed the final 8-ball which made him a European 8-Ball Champion for the first time in his life.
The women’s final quickly turned into a nightmare for Kristina Tkach (RUS) in the beginning. She was up against Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) and could not get a foot on the floor. She actually had the better break but could not turn that into points. Tkach even committed a foul using too much time for her shot since the match was on shot-clock and she simply exceeded the time permitted for her shot. On the other hand, Ouschan started out as focussed and composed as usual. Even though the break did not work for Ouschan, she managed to snatch the points from Tkach one by one. It took until rack five was played before Tkach got on the board, reducing the gap to 1:4. When opening rack six, Tkach scratched and again gave ball in hand to Ouschan. This time, Ouschan could not clear the table and allowed Tkach back into the table, missing the 6-ball. Tkach pocketed all balls of her group and made the 8-ball to get to 2:4 with Ouschan’s break shot coming up. Jasmin had two balls down on the break shot but again was not able to finish the rack, leaving another point on the table for Tkach to pick it up. However, both players committed several mistakes during this rack which is a clear indication for the pressure that was on both of them. Tkach managed to win the rack, getting to 3:4. In the next rack, Tkach had the chance to level the match but she miscued and once more gave ball in hand to Jasmin Ouschan with a wide open table. Ouschan played up to her abilities and finished the rack, getting on the hill with 5:3. In the next rack, Ouschan had her first good break shot of the match with balls down and a nice and comfortable layout in front of her. That was a huge chance for Ouschan to finish the match win the title. But to her and the audiences surprise she missed her first shot. What an unusual performance by Ouschan in this final. Tkach now used her chance and ran the table, getting to 4:5 in this match. The next rack, Tkach broke and ran out to make the match a 5:5 hill-hill thriller with Jasmin Ouschan’s break shot coming up. One more time Ouschan did not make a ball on the break and handed an open table to Tkach. The unbelievable happened in that rack. After having trailed 1:4, Kristina Tkach won another rack and took the match and the title 6:5 over Jasmin Ouschan.
In the wheelchair division, the match between Jouni Tahti (FIN) and Roy Kimberley (GBR) went according to the expectations. Tahti dominated Southern from start to the end and lead 3:0 and 4:1. The exceptional player from Finland never gave a chance to Southern who simply could not find any way to prevent Tahti from winning racks. When Tahti pocketed the final 8-ball, the scoreboard displayed a 5:2 final score in his favour. Tonight Jouni Tahti won his 25th Gold Medal on European level.
In the Under 23 division, Pijus Labutis (LTU) met Vitaliy Patsura (UKR). Patsura had already taken a Gold Medal in Men’s 8-ball, Junior’s 10-ball and last year in Under 23 9-ball. He was definitely favoured in this match. Labutis on the other hand has won two silver and one bronze medal but no title yet. That was one fact that the young Lithuanian wanted to change tonight. He quickly got to a 3:1 lead and he always kept Patsura at a 2-rack distance away from him. When leading 5:3, Labutis won a key rack in the match and got to 7:3. The pressure with Labutis being on the hill was too much for Patsura. He won another rack but then Labutis sealed the deal for tonight, winning the match and his first title ever with 8:4.
The medal table after 3 of 5 events displays Poland still on top with 2 Gold, one Silver and one Bronze Medal with Russia right up their neck, only one Bronze Medal short. Finland is currently ranked third with one medal of each colour.
Rank
Nation
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Total
1.
POL
2
1
1
4
2.
RUS
2
1
3
3.
FIN
1
1
1
3
4.
SUI
1
1
2
SWE
1
1
2
6.
ALB
1
1
LTU
1
1
8.
AUT
1
2
3
GBR
1
2
3
GER
1
2
3
11.
NED
1
1
2
12.
LAT
1
1
UKR
1
1
14.
BLR
2
2
15.
BIH
1
1
BUL
1
1
FRA
1
1
IRL
1
1
POR
1
1
Earlier today, the first team matches have been played. The women’s team matches did not come up with big surprises. The two closest matches were Sweden defeated The Netherlands 2:1 while Russia remained the upper hand over Belarus 2:1. In the men’s team competition, some close and exciting matches already happened in this early stage of the tournament. Team Russia overcame defending Champion Team Poland in a heartbreaker with 2:1 (Gorst v Fortunski 6:8, Stepanov v Skowerski 8:7, Lutsker v Juszczyszyn 9:8) while Team Germany had a tough time in taking down Team Albania with 2:1 (Hohmann v Kaci 5:8, Souquet v Zaja 8:7, Filler v Spahiu 9:5). Probably the biggest surprise was Team Denmark winning over Team the Netherlands with 2:1 (Krause v Saris 8:3, Lotfy v van den Berg 6:7, Lentz v Bijsterbosch 9:5).
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 9-ball individuals competition Women and Under 23s.
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.
The draw for the 2022 US Open Pool Championship has been made ahead of action getting underway at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City from October 10-15 with defending champion Carlo Biado set to meet Dalibor Nikolin in the opening match of the tournament.
