Niels Feijen (NED) ousted Ralf Souquet (GER) from the Dynamic Billard Italian Open 2014, handing him a clear 9:3 defeat in the round of the final 32 players. The fact that these two players met in this early stage of the event was a bit unfortunate. However, Feijen dominated the match and the balls also did not roll in Souquet’s favor. In the end, Feijen deserved the victory. He will now play Karl Boyes (GBR) in the round of the final 16 players. Boyes took care of Fabio Petroni (ITA), one of the local heroes of the event.
The whole day was determined by close matches and strong comebacks. Already at 09:00 in the first round of the day, Radoslaw Babica (POL) performed a marvelous comeback. He was already trailing 2:6 to Pierfrancesco Garzia (ITA) when he managed to turn the match around and claim the victory with 9:7.
In the next round it was Henrikas Strolis (LIT) who came up as a big surprise. He was trailing 3:7 and still managed to win 9:8 over Michele Bianchini (ITA) who missed the 7-ball at 8:8.
Roman Hybler (CZE) looked like the sure winner in his match with Sanne Azar (SWE). He suddenly snookered himself with only three balls left on the table. He tried a jump shot but could not pocket the object ball. Azar accepted the gift and won 9:8.
The drama continued through the winner’s qualification round. Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and Marcus Chamat (SWE) also went hill-hill and this time Chamat committed a foul on the 2-ball when he tried a difficult safety shot. Sniegocki ran out an booked his seat among the top 32 players of the event, sending Chamat to the loser’s side. There, he met Phil Burford (GBR) as a revenge match from round 1 where Chamat defeated Burford. In the loser’s qualification match, Burford succeeded in taking revenge winning the match this time – 9:8 of course!
Talking about revenge matches, Marco Dorenburg (GER) made his way through the loser’s side with victories over Olivier Mortier (BEL) with 9:1, Manuel Gama (POR) with 9:8 and Ivica Putnik (CRO) with 9:8. He then met Daryl Peach (GBR) in the loser’s qualification round. Dorenburg lost his opening match to Peach and looked forward to his chance to get even. And he achieved the impossible! Dorenburg ousted Peach with 9:7 from the event. He was then drawn against Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) who he also defeated with 9:2. Dorenburg booked his seat in the round of the final 16 players.
The Dynamic Billard Italian Open have started today in the Best Western Premier BHR Hotel in Treviso, Italy. 137 players from 28 countries play for 34.000,-€ prize money and ranking points for the European rankings.
The tournament contained some real surprises on day one. Probably the biggest upset was young Mieszko Fortunski (POL) sending nr.1 ranked player Nick Van Den Berg (NED) to the loser’s side with the closest of all results, 9:8. It was already an enormous effort from the Polish to keep up the speed with van den Berg. He never allowed the favorite player to get away from him during the match. They took turns, running and winning racks. This finally led to a hill-hill situation at 8:8. The 17th rack was action-packed and full of drama and excitement. With his own break shot coming up, Nick van den berg had all the chances in the World to leave the final arena as the winner. His break shot worked. He had some object balls down and a shot at the lowest numbered ball. During the rack, he ran out of position for the 6-ball. Instead of playing a safety shot, van den Berg tried to cut the 6-ball in the side pocket and missed. That brought Fortunski back to the table. He probably did not believe that he would get another chance. However, he also had a thin cut on the 6-ball and missed it as well. Fortunately for him, he left van den Berg a bad position on the table. The 6-ball was hidden by some object balls. Van den Berg needed to play rails first and try to come up with a resafe. He hit the 6-ball but after that contact, no ball had any cushion anymore so it was a foul. Fortunski got back to the table and ran the rack, winning 9:8 over Nick van den Berg, sending him to the loser’s side of the event. Mieszko Fortunski will play Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) in the winner’s qualification round while Nick van den Berg needs to win three more matches to get to the final stage of the tournament. His next opponent will be Mehmetali Sözgen (TNC).
Number 2 ranked played Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) also lost his match in winner’s round 2 with 4:9 to Serge Das (BEL).
Former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) won his match with Marco Dorenburg (GER) with 9:8. Dorenburg is a German junior player. Peach commented after the match on his Facebook page: "Won my first match here in Eurotour 9-8. Played really well and so did my young German opponent." That post says it all. Dorenburg gave Peach a hard time but in the end, the British won through his experience.
Another victim from winner’s round 2 was BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER). He fell to Chris Melling (GBR) in a tight encounter with 8:9.
"Napoleon" Marcus Chamat from Sweden won both his opening matches today. After one year of absence from the Euro-Tour, Chamat had to deal with England’s Phil Burford in winner’s round 1. He demonstrated that he did not lose any of his class, winning the match with 9:5. "Phil is a good player. I think the reason for that clear victory is that his break did not work for him today", stated Chamat after the match. In the next round, Chamat was almost defeated by unheralded Henrikas Strolis from Lithuania. The underdog surprised the crowd with rock solid pool and Chamat needed 17 racks to win the match with 9:8 over Strolis.
10 of 16 tables can be viewed during the whole time in the LIVE Stream. Check out most matches and more at www.kozoom.com/en/pool-billiard/. Join the site, become premium and feel the action as it happens.
The tournament will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time. For more info, check out www.epbf.com.
The 21st annual running of the PartyPoker World Pool Masters got underway at the Metrodome in Barnsley, Yorkshire and there were first round wins for Chris Melling, Nick Ekonomopoulos and Niels Feijen. The $66,000 tournament has been a staple on the pool calendar for over two decades and was making its first appearance in the UK since 2005.
In front of an excellent first night crowd at the popular Yorkshire venue, defending champion Karol Skowerski of Poland fell at the first hurdle as was beaten 8-3 by England’s Chris Melling who looked in fine form in front of his local fans.
Melling, whose smooth action is renowned the world over, flew into a 5-0 lead in front of his Yorkshire faithful as he took advantage of the winners’ break format. Skowerski, who enjoyed a magical three days in his home town of Kielce as he won the Masters last year, took the sixth rack to get his name on the board.
The Pole won the next after a quality safety battle and ran out the eighth game from the break to take the score to 5-3. Melling got lucky in the next when a he had a hit-and-hope attempt on the 3 ball which was parked next to the 9. The 8 ball got cannoned into the top pocket and the 3 ball rolled into the opposite corner. From there he cleared to go 6-3 in the race to eight match.
Melling won the next to get to the hill, and although Skowerski got to the table in the next it was the Englishman’s day as he ran out the winner and can look forward to a quarter final match against Ga Young Kim or Alex Pagulayan.
“I played really well. I twitched an easy eight ball but other than that I played really well. I had a good fluke to be fair when I was 5-3 up,” said Melling.
“I am cueing the ball nicely and I have the table speed down well so it is just a matter of getting your chances and taking them when they come.
“This is the first time I have played 9-ball in Yorkshire and I have a good following from Keighley. Come tomorrow I think it will be a packed house. It makes a big difference to have home advantage. It is like the guy in your corner in a boxing match. I have a lot of people behind me and a lot of good support.”
The second match of the evening saw six-time Masters champion Ralf Souquet exit the competition as he was defeated by a sharp shooting Nick Ekonomopoulus 8-2.
They shared the opening two racks but Nick, a Mosconi Cup winner on his debut last December, took the next two with a determined look on his face. A run out from the break made it 4-1 and the six times Masters champion looked in trouble with the winner breaks format.
Another meaty break from the Greek set up a run out for 5-1 and Souquet needed something to happen to give himself a chance. It didn’t come in the next as Ekonomopoulos ran out once again to take himself to 6-1.
An illegal break got Souquet back to the table and sensing that anything less than a run out would sound his death knell, cleared for 6-2. He got the 1 ball into the side pocket off the break in the ninth game but missed the 2 ball and the Greek took full advantage to clear and reach the hill. He ran out the next for an excellent win.
“I played very well although I was lucky in rack one. He played a very good safe and I played a safe but made the ball. After that I made three run outs and in a short format when it is race to eight you can quickly take a big lead,” said Ekonomopoulos.
“I have been playing well and practicing a lot with my friend Darren Appleton. I don’t play my quarter-final until Sunday so I will keep practicing.”
Souquet was a little disappointed at his lack of table time: “I don’t feel like I have been a part of this tournament. Apart from the two scratches he played so well and I wasn’t able to get a chance.”
The final match of the opening session saw two 2013 Mosconi Cup players face off as Niels Feijen of Holland met England’s Karl Boyes.
They shared the opening racks before Boyes fouled as he failed to reach a rail with a safety shot. Feijen ran out to take the lead but Boyes squared it in the next. Both had visits in the fifth rack but it was Feijen who dropped the 9 ball and he took the next for a 4-2 lead.
Boyes got the home crowds cheering in the next as he completed the run out to reduce the deficit. Feijen was always in the lead but Boyes was never too far behind him but it was the Dutchman who reached the hill first at 7-4.
Boyes though got it back to 6-7 but lost the table as he tried a difficult cut on the 3 ball after a solid break. He got lucky though as he missed but left Feijen hooked. The Dutchman got out of it and when Boyes scratched it was all over as he ran out for the win.
“It was nip and tuck all the way and I feel I caught a couple of rolls in that match but also he was breaking really well, especially at the end,” said Feijen.
“I got a little worried there from 7-4; we had a long tactical game from that point. He made a nice bank on the 3 ball, runs out, breaks and runs out and it was getting close. Then he had a good break but scratched on the 3 ball in the side pocket. I knew if I got it straight on the six it would be over and I am glad I got through that one,” he added.
Boyes said, “It was one of those matches. We both played well, nobody missed anything, it was just the odd safety error. I was breaking well the whole match but I just couldn’t get a shot early in the match.”
This is the 21st annual running of the PartyPoker.com World Pool Masters following its inaugural event in 1993. Some of the greatest players in the modern era of pool have won this title including the likes of Souquet, Strickland, Orcollo and Appleton. With a field of 16 players there are 15 matches in total – all race to eight racks and culminating in the final on the Sunday evening.
The 2013 PARTYPOKER.COM World Pool Masters is sponsored by PartyPoker.com, the world's leading online poker site. Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. Diamond is the supplier of the Official Table and Predator is the Official Cue.
Favorites make their way in loser's qualification round
Kyrenia, North Cyprus: In the clash between North Cyprus' hope Berk Mehmetcik and Italy's Bruno Muratore, the likable Italian dominated with 9:6 in the end and stayed alive in the tournament.
It was a thriller with ups and downs on both sides. "I have not played too well", stated Muratore after the match. In fact, he went ahead with 4:2 after six racks just to find himself trailing 4:5 after nine racks. The tide had turned in the match and things looked promising for Mehmetcik. But Muratore was able to strike back and gained some momentum from that. When he was leading 7:5 after 12 racks, he had an open table in front of him. Mehmetcik left him a shot and only six balls on the table. But Muratore got a dead straight position on the 5-ball and while trying to get position for the 6-ball he scratched. With that grave mistake he brought Mehmetcik back into the match. The young Cypriot used his chance and got one rack back from Muratore, turning the score to 6:7. But then Muratore prevailed in the match. He scored two more racks and finished Mehmetcik with 9:6. Muratore will now enter the single elimination stage of the event while Mehmetcik will have to settle for 33rd.
Other notable results include Stephan Cohen (FRA) wasting no time with Henrikas Strolis (LIT), eliminating him clearly with 9:4. Cohen, just as 10-ball World Champion Huidji See (NED) who beat Massimo Laucci (ITA) 9:5 will need another victory in order to join Muratore in the top 32 players. Other favorite players are already in the single elimination stage with Muratore. Jim Chawki (SWE) whitewashed Roman Yaroshenko (RUS) 9:0. Ivo Aarts (NED) defeated Ferdi Özdemir (TUR) with 9:4. Nick Van Den Berg (NED) wiped the floor with Kristoffer Mindreboe (NOR) 9:2. After losing to Tony Drago, Chris Melling (GBR) kept a foot in the door of the tournament and won over Christopher Hall (GBR) 9:5. Tonight at 20:00 local time, the single elimination stage of the final 32 players will begin.
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 http://www.eurotouronline.eu or contact our press office.
Last weekend completed the second stage of the Olympic-Online Baltic Pool League 2013 and the game was 10-ball. The location was the beautiful town of Ketrzyn in Poland. The Polish players were really in form in both the mens and women's divisions by winning 6 out of 8 medals and among them both brightest medals. In mens division Piotr Kudlik took the gold and in the women's division Katarzyna Wesolowska accomplished the same. Another significant fact was the number of participants on this event. We scored a record high 138 players.
Poles took all four medals in mens division
Although it was expected that Poles triumph in the mens division it was still anticipated that maybe Denis Grabe and Henrikas Strolis (Team Olympic-Online) would be able to do something about it. However it was only an anticipation as Strolis lost out in the last 64 and Grabe lost in the last sixteen to the polish twelwe years old wonderkind Wiktor Zielinski 6:3. It was Zielinski that finished third only by losing to the latter finalist Mariusz Skoneczny in the semi final 6:4. In the second semi final it was again all about Poland when Piotr Kudlik and Piotr Ostrowski battled it out for the place in the final. The two Piotr battle went for Kudlik with a score of 6:3. After the confident semi final Kudlik did not change his manners and won the final over Skoneczny 6:2.
Womens division was dominated by Wesolowska
The women's division was controlled for the whole event by Katarzyna Wesolowska. In the semifinal she won over Latvian athlete Ana Prizjazniuka 5:2 and in the final she crashed Margarita Fefilova from Belarus 5:0. The second bronze medal went to polish player Eva Bank.
The organizers are grateful to all the sponsors, including Olympic-Online, Strachan, Bilijardai, Mezz Cues, Kamui Tips, Boombapwear.com, Entry Piljardiklubi, Baribal Piljardiklubi, Aveiras, AZ Billiards, Insidepoolmag, Pro9 and all other individuals that made the event possible.
For now the Olympic-Online Baltic Pool League will rest for the summer and will return on 14th of September in Riga, Latvia.
