Joshua and Pia Filler will meet in Winners Qualification tomorrow after the Posh and Becks of Pool overcame two matches apiece to make it through day two of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.
Joshua began his tournament with an emphatic 9-0 win over GJ Oyangoren in one of the opening encounters of the day to make the winners’ side whilst Pia came from behind to defeat Talal Abdullah Shaheen in a hill-hill finish. The stars were beginning to align as the evening got into full swing as Pia got her second W of the day, this time against Ramazan Akdag 9-6.
At the same time as Pia’s win, Joshua was under the cosh, and 5-0 down to fellow compatriot and former sparring partner Raphael Wahl. Wahl reached the hill first at 8-4 and it looked like he would get the better of Joshua like old times but the pair have had different paths since their juniors days. Joshua showed his grit and experience with over 100 fans crowding around their table to see the conclusion as the recent UK Open and World Pool Masters champion closed out an impressive comeback to steal it and meet his wife Pia for the first time at this level of the sport.
“I am super excited. I really wanted to play Josh in this tournament. I was fighting hard to get here and now here we are. I can’t wait.” – Pia Filler
Pia Filler (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
“That match was almost in jepordy. I knew she was winning and I was sown. I was more nervous then. We wanted to play each other. I gave it my best and luckily I won it. I was 6-1 down. I’ve known Raph since we were juniors. He won a few finals against me and I won a few against him. The atmosphere was crazy. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. I got luck on my side in the end. I am delighted to be through.” – Joshua Filler
“We just do business as usual. It’s no secret he’s the love of my life but tomorrow he will be my biggest rival for 90 minutes.” – Pia Filler
Tony Drago returned to the Nineball arena with a win over Ivan Nunez Perez 9-2 before losing out to Sanjin Pehlivanovic to be sent to the Losers side whilst the Bosnian moves into Winners’ Qualification tomorrow. Neils Feijen overcame Harold Stolka and Flavian Glont to make lightwork of his day to meet José Alberto Delgado tomorrow for a spot in the Last 64.
There was no sign of jet lag for Nineball World No.1 and World Champion Shane Van Boening who beat Martin Breuer and Aref Awadi 9-1 and 9-0 respectively to barely break sweat and set up a Winners’ Qualification match live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook page with Jani Uski tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz fresh off the back of snapping off another EuroTour title on Monday beat Christian Prager and Ioan Ladanyi to be one away from the Last 64 and compatriot David Alcaide reached the same stage with wins over Fabian Breuer and Great Britain’s Benji Buckley.
Hometown favourite Thorsten Hohmann kept his tournament alive with a 8-2 win over Cyprus’ Antonis Brabin whilst German legend Ralf Souquet stayed alive after defeating Veronika Ivanovskaia 8-5 on the losers bracket.
NB 2:30pm – Jayson Shaw (GBR) vs Bader Alawadhi (KUW) – Winners’ Qualification
NB 4:00pm – TBC
NB 6:30pm – TBC
The final two days are available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. See the full where to watch list here.
Germany and Japan were dumped out of the BetVictor World Cup of Pool on Wednesday afternoon as Estonia and Hong Kong, China upset the odds at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, live on Sky Sports, DAZN and networks worldwide.
There were no such problems for Chinese Taipei, however, as brothers Ko Pin Yi and Ko Ping Chung defeated Romania 7-2.
The first match of the day saw one of the pre-tournament favourites, Germany, take on Estonia, made up of Denis Grabe and Mark Magi. The German team comprised former World Cup winner Ralf Souquet and reigning World Champion Joshua Filler and were fancied by many to go all the way this year.
The teams exchanged the first eight racks, although at 1-1 Grabe snatched at the 9 to leave Souquet a cut which the former World Cup winner missed, giving Estonia a let off.
At 4-3 down and breaking, Magi made the tournament’s first golden break to bring the match level, and from there Estonia opened up a 4-6 lead. Germany pulled one back on their break, but at 6-5 Estonia looked to have a roadmap to the second round. However, Magi scratched to the middle pocket and the German’s took it to hill-hill.
At that stage Souquet and Filler took a toilet break, keeping Estonia in their chair to dwell on the mistake. When they returned, Souquet was breaking but they lost position on the 5 and it was Estonia who got the better of the safety, and eventually the rack, for a 7-6 win.
“We are delighted with the win,” said Grabe. “We beat one of the top seeds, Germany. We know Joshua Filler is the World Champion so it was a tough match but we played well and we are happy with the win.
“We know we are capable of playing really, really well. Last year we only lost 7-6 to the winners, China, so we know we can play against these guys.”
The second match saw a second unseeded team advance as the young duo of Lo Ho Sum and Yip Kin Ling took Hong Kong, China into the second round. They dumped Japan – Naoyuki Oi and Toru Kuribayashi – out 7-4.
The Japanese favourites stormed to a 3-0 lead but Hong Kong, China fought back to level the all-Asian affair. The 19-year-old Yip then executed a brilliant jump to bank the 3 as his side moved ahead for the first time. Japan hit back but from there it was all Hong Kong and the young pairing saw out the victory to advance to the second round.
Among the pre-tournament favourites were Chinese Taipei, and the Ko brothers Pin Yi and Ping Chung showed none of the issues suffered by some of the seeded teams as they dispatched Romania 7-2.
Having fallen behind in rack one, the Romanian duo Babken Melkonian and Ioan Ladanyi levelled after breaking in the second. Chinese Taipei, though, were on the hill before Romania could get their second rack and the comeback was over before it started, a mistake on the 8 gifting Chinese Taipei the rack, and the match.
The BetVictor World Cup of Pool continues with three more first round matches, including hosts Great Britain A against Tony Drago’s Malta.
The BetVictor World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards, who supply the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator are the Official Cue of the event and Kamui the Official Chalk and Tip.
Chris Melling continues to have one of his best seasons since returning to pocket billiards from snooker four years ago.
The stocky Englishman jumped out to a huge lead against Jayson Shaw then nearly gave the match away before rallying late to defeat friend and occasional roommate in the finals of the World Pool Series 8-Ball Classic Championship Friday evening at the IDM Club in Bucharest, Romania.
It was the second significant victory for Melling in 2018, having won the 9-ball competition of the Derby City Classic earlier in the year. He was also the runner-up in the ICEA Chinese Pool World Championships and finished third at the WPS Aramith 9-Ball Players Championship earlier in the year.
“I feel like I deserved it. I felt like I took most of my chances,” Melling said after the match.
The early stages of the title session were almost a mirror image to Melling’s semifinal match earlier in the day against Ioan Ladanyi, as he used a pair of dry breaks from Shaw coupled with three breaks-and-runs to build a 5-1 lead. He committed his first unforced error in the eighth game, misplaying position on the 15-ball and ultimately missing the shot. After Shaw cleared the table to cut the deficit to 6-2, Melling used two unforced errors and a dry break from Shaw and added in a break-and-run to win four consecutive racks and surge ahead, 10-2.
However, Shaw would not go quietly into the Romanian night.
He cleared the table after Melling missed the 9-ball in the 13th game, broke-and-ran and capitalized on two missed shots and a dry break by Melling to cut the lead to 10-6 heading into a 15-minute intermission. Shaw continued applying pressure after the break, taking advantage of a misplayed safety and another missed shot by Melling while Mixing in another break-and-run to cut the lead to 12-10. Shaw pulled within one game when he ran out after Melling failed to pocket a ball on the break in the 23rd game.
“Jayson just showed how much character he has. The will to win from being 10-2 down against me,” Melling said. “Without blowing my own trumpet, there’s no one in the world who can get close to me when I’m 10-2 in front and he just showed how good he is.”
That’s as close as Shaw would get. Melling ran out the 24th and 26th games after Shaw broke dry on both occasions. He added a break-and-run of his own in the 25th rack to push the lead to 16-11. Shaw finally landed a ball on the break and ran out in the 28th game, but it was too little too late as Melling did the same to close out the match in the subsequent game.
Shaw struggled with the break throughout the championship, failing to pocket a ball seven times in 14 opportunities. The Scotsman said after the match he didn’t feel that all of the balls were frozen to each other on some racks, adding that rules prohibited requesting a re-rack regardless.
“I’m not disappointed in losing. I’m disappointed in not getting the balls touching,” Shaw said.
“He was very unlucky with his breaks. The dry breaks cost him the match. That’s the in and the out of it really. Anyone who plays pool knows that.” Melling said.
The 8-Ball Classic Championship is the third event of the four-tournament 2018 World Pool Series. This event will be held at the IDM Club in Bucharest, Romania from August 7th to 10th 2018. The World Pool Series is sponsored by Rasson, Aramith, Predator, Iwan Simonis, Tiger, and Kamui. Our suppliers and partners are Billiards Digest, CueScore, Outsville, and the WPA.
Shaw earned a berth in the final 16 with a solid performance against Hohmann. The reigning U.S. Open 9-ball champion used two dry breaks from his opponent and three breaks-and-runs to jump out to an early 7-3 lead. Hohmann cut the lead to 8-4 and had an opportunity to narrow the deficit even more in the 13th game but left the 7-ball in the jaws of the corner pocket.
Shaw, who stated after the match that he’s been working on his 8-ball game in recent weeks to prepare for the event, cleared the table and then won two of the next four games to claim the match
“The last month, I sort of got into a routine. I had fallen out of it,” Shaw said.
Hohmann rebounded with an 11-8 victory against Mieszko Fortunski to reach the final 16.
Notable names who have been eliminated from the tournament include June’s Rasson 10-Ball Championship winner Joshua Filler, World Pool Masters champion Niels Feijen, Denis Grabe, and Ralf Souquet.
After easily winning his lone match on Tuesday against Stanimir Ruslanov, 11-3, Filler suffered his first loss of the tournament to Appleton, 11-6.
“I broke pretty good and I didn’t make any mistakes and that’s the key against him,” said Appleton, adding that he considered himself a big underdog in the match.
The young German didn’t fare much better in his next game against Makkonen, who used a couple of unforced errors to jump out to a 4-2 lead. Makkonen then used a combination of three breaks-and-runs as well as a dry break from Filler to surge ahead 7-2, ultimately winning the contest 11-3.
After receiving a first-round bye Feijen suffered a rare two-and-out, falling to Marek Kudlik of Poland, 11-9, then losing to Wiktor Zielinski in a sudden death shootout.
Grabe, who won April’s Aramith 9-Ball Players Championship, lost his first match of the tournament to Toni Judet, 11-5, then was defeated by Maciol, 11-9, in the third round on the one-loss side.
Souquet, who lost his first-round match yesterday to Szewczyk, 11-8, was defeated by Makkonen, 11-9.
The 8-Ball Classic Championship is the third event of the four-tournament 2018 World Pool Series. This event will be held at the IDM Club in Bucharest, Romania from August 7th to 10th 2018. The World Pool Series is sponsored by Rasson, Aramith, Predator, Iwan Simonis, Tiger, and Kamui. Our suppliers and partners are Billiards Digest, CueScore, Outsville, and the WPA.
THE FIRST BIG upset of the 12BET World Cup of Pool happened in the final match of the evening session on the opening day as the Indian pair of Amar Kang and Raj Hundal took out England A, one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the globe, the 12BET World Cup of Pool is into its 11th year as reigning champions Chinese Taipei attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title at the York Hall.
The England pair of Mark Gray and Darren Appleton were clearly not at their best, in particular Gray, who made a series of gaffes to help India on their way.
Hundal and Kang though, had plenty of team spirit and with the backing of a big and noisy crowd, they held up under the pressure to close the match out.
A delighted Hundal said, “Amar was brought up in California, I was born and raised in London and we represent our motherland. But every time I get out and play I put London on my back. With everything that has happened in London recently, we want to dedicate that to the people of London.
“Our fans are brilliant. We are from a city of love and these guys have love for us and we are lucky to have them.
“Mark and Darren are both great guys who have won big tournaments. There is a mutual respect and on paper they are the favourites but if you ask them in a race to 7, it is a toss of a coin.”
Spain, with World Pool Masters champion David Alcaide at the helm, survived an almighty scare, as they trailed Romania 6-4 and looked scuppered. However, after playing so poorly in the opening stages, they played their best pool of the evening as they took the next three racks to edge past a disappointed Romanian pair of Robert Braga and Ioan Ladanyi.
The Scottish duo of Jayson Shaw and Pat Holtz found themselves looking down both barrels managed to slip past the New Zealand duo of Matt Edwards and Toar Dotulong. The Kiwis had stuck with the Scots as they trailed throughout and at 6-4 down looked buried.
However, they made it back to the table and won the next two to find themselves breaking for the match. With positioning tough, it was Edwards who missed a difficult 4 ball up table and from there the Scots ran out for the win.
Commented Shaw, “I didn’t feel comfortable because it was so hot in the arena. I am 100 per cent sure that next match I won’t be feeling like I am today. I have three days now to get myself into the gym and get myself feeling good and when Friday comes I will be a lot fresher than I am today.
“Race to 7 is tough. These are great players you are playing against. It is important to get the win under your belt. Sometimes it is a bit scrappy but a win is a win and we are into the next round,” added Holtz.
Broadcast for six days live on Sky Sports in the UK; the tournament is available live in over 100 countries around the world. A comprehensive list of countries and networks broadcasting the World Cup of Pool can be found here: http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/#watchlive
The 12BET World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports as well as other stations around the world.
12BET World Cup of Pool Tickets are on sale now at www.matchroompool.com priced at just £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Sunday) and £8.00 per weekend afternoon session. Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free. A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £60.00.
2017 12BET World Cup of Pool is sponsored by Rasson Billiards who supplies the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue and Chalk of the event.
THE 2015 DAFABET WORLD CUP OF POOL got underway today with three first round matches and there were a couple of upsets as two-time champions China crashed out to qualifiers Romania and then France squeezed past the seeded Canada in a deciding rack.
Taking place at the York Hall in London, the Dafabet World Cup of Pool features 32 two-man teams from around the globe competing for a $250,000 prize fund. Televised live in over 40 countries around the world, the event is now entering its tenth year.
No.8 seeds China had a torrid time of it at the hands of qualifiers Romania who were making their debut in the competition. They put on a tremendous show to take the match 7-4.
In 2011 the Chinese as defending champions crashed out to qualifiers Switzerland in Manila and it was a similar story this time.
The Romanian pair of Babken Melkonyan & Ioan Ladanyi looked in control throughout the match and they moved into a 4-0 lead to leave their opponents – Liu Haitao and two-time World Cup of Pool winner Li Hewen – looking bemused.
The Chinese got it back to 4-2 and then 6-4 but the Romanians never really looked in trouble as they showed no sign of nerves in front of the cameras as they closed out the match.
Having won a tough qualifying event with 20 competing teams, the Romanians were delighted to have made such a positive impact.
“We played we played well and only made one mistake each – the rest of the game was satisfying and I am very happy we won because this was Romania’s first participation in the World Cup of Pool,” said Babken Melkonyan.
“In a race to seven it is important to win the first rack. We got a 4-0 lead and we had a chance to make it 5-0 but I scratched but we recovered to win the match.
“I will watch Germany play Indonesia tonight – I think I will watch all the matches because there are some nice matches with great players. Germany has Thorsten and Ralf who are great players. I have watched Ralf since I was young and began playing pool. He is one of my idols”
In the final match of the session the French pair of Stephan Cohen and Alex Montpellier enjoyed a great win over the Canadian pairing of Jason Klatt and John Morra. The match was tense and nervous with plenty of errors but exciting nonetheless.
France led at 4-3 but that soon became 5-4 to Canada and then 6-5 to France as both teams felt the pressure. Canada levelled it and then broke for the match but Klatt scratched to give France the table. There was plenty more drama in the rack but in the end it was Cohen who potted the winning 9 ball for the victory.
Montpellier was relived to get over the line in such a topsy turvey match: “The last rack was crazy, I couldn’t think and it was very nervy. Whoever we play next isn’t important because it is about how we play together.”
Cohen added, “There was a lot of pressure at the end and we had a bit of luck with some shots, and they made a few errors. But that is 9-ball, it is always the same story.
“Now it is different because everybody we have played has won in the tournament and is more relaxed. We will be more relaxed too and we have two days to practice. We feel a lot better now we have the first win.”
The Korean pair of Jeong Young Hwa & Ryu Seung Wu won a ding-dong opening match of the tournament against Malaysia as they lead 5-0, looking in command before a series of misses and errors turned it into a 6-6 thriller. Neither side looked comfortable and there were missed pots and poor positional play from all four players as the match became nervier and nervier.
The Malaysian pair of wily veteran Ibrahim Bin Amir & novice teenager Kok Jken Yung somehow found their way back to 5-5 before a missed 4 ball with ball in hand gave Korea a 6-5 lead. They couldn’t take advantage from the break but Malaysia, breaking for the match returned the favour as they too couldn’t convert as Korea ran out winners.
The following broadcasters are screening live coverage of the Dafabet World Cup of Pool:
Sky Sports – GB and Ireland; Sky – New Zealand; CCTV – China; Nova TV – Czech Republic & Slovakia; OSN – Middle East & North Africa; ESPN 3 – USA; ESPN Latin America –Central & South America; Viasat – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria & the Baltic states.
For fans outside those territories, Perform Group will be streaming the event via their www.livesport.tv service. In addition the Dafabet World Cup of Pool is syndicated around the world as 31 x 1 hour programmes by Matchroom Television.
Featuring 32 two-man teams from around the world, the Dafabet World Cup of pool is celebrating its tenth year as defending champion England attempt to become the first team ever to successfully defend the title. The event runs from 22nd to 27th September.
Tickets are now on sale at www.SEETickets.com and are priced at 10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Friday), 12.50 per evening session on the Saturday and Sunday. Weekend afternoon sessions are 7.50 while Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free!
A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at 65.00.
The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports and then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.
Diamond Billiards are the Official Table of the 2015 World Cup of Pool; the Official Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are Super Aramith. The Official Cue, Chalk and Rest are supplied by Predator.
One week after winning the Black Sea Cup 2015, Finland's Mika Immonen kept his best form to catch the second Predator "Dynamite" Open help in the city of Brasov. The finals day was full of drama in an amazing atmosphere. The host club Arta welcomed big crowds in a great setting.
On his way to the title, Immonen dominated first Ioan Ladanyi with 10-4, then had a close match with Imran Majid (10-8) and a revenge in the semi final against Thorsten Hohmann who put him in the losers' brackets the day before. That ended up in favor of the Finn with 10-7, and a rough battle… The final was a classic nailbiter 11-10. The last 5 racks were all breaks and runs from both players. Bad luck for Ruslan Chinahov who had many good wins on his way to the final, including a great match in the semis against Nikos Ekonomopoulos (10-8).
Thanks to all our sponsors especially the title sponsor Predator cues. Thanks to the stream people at www.ebilliard.tv and to www.billiardport.com for providing scores and brackets.
Finally, thanks to all the staff and volunteers at Club Arta.
Final 16 results:
1st Mika Immonen 2500€
2nd Ruslan Chinahov 1500€
3-4th Hohmann / Ekonomopoulos 1000€
5-8th Van den berg / Morra / Grabe / Majid 500€
9-16th Appleton /Peach / Ladanyi / Gandac / Melkonyan / Cotescu / Malai / Kanatlar
With the annual World Cup of Pool coming back to London this September, Matchroom Sport can announce the 32 teams and players set to contest the annual $250,000 pairs tournament. Taking place at pool’s fiercest venue, the York Hall in Bethnal Green, the World Cup runs from Tuesday 22nd to 27th September.
Defending champions are England A with Karl Boyes and Darren Appleton looking to become the first pair to successfully defend their crown. Competition will be tough though, with a host of previous winners and finalists taking part.
Germany will be represented by 2011 champions Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet and 2012 winners Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen (Finland) will be once again taking part. America’s Shane Van Boening, a winner with Rodney Morris in 2008, is paired with Mike Dechaine this time, while Li Hewen, a two-time winner in 2007 and 2010 will be partnered by Liu Haitao as they make a run for title number three for China.
Holland, desperately unlucky to be runners up in 2013 and 2014, will be looking to go one better as Niels Feijen and Nick Van Den Berg team up once again. Daryl Peach and Mark Gray, who came so close for England in 2008, will also be trying to repeat those performances.
Other highly fancied teams include the Philippines which pairs former World No.1 Carlo Biado with under-rated Warren Kiamco and Taiwan – World 10 Ball champion Ko Pin Yi and Chang Yu Lung. Team Austria will also fancy their chances as World No.1 Albin Ouschan and Mario He pair up one again.
Commencing on Tuesday 22nd and culminating in the final on the evening of Sunday 27th, the event will be played to a single elimination format over six days with two sessions a day.
There are 31 matches in total.
Tickets are now on sale at www.SEETickets.com and are priced at £10.00 per evening session (Tuesday to Friday), £12.50 per evening session on the Saturday and Sunday. Weekend afternoon sessions are £7.50 while Tuesday to Friday afternoons are free!
A season ticket covering all sessions is priced at £65.00.
The World Cup of Pool will carry a $250,000 prize fund including $60,000 for the champions. The event will be produced by Matchroom Sport Television and televised live on Sky Sports and then syndicated internationally as 31 x 1 hour programmes.
112 Men, 48 Women and 17 Wheelchair players have entered the 8-ball individuals at the 2014 Dynamic Billard European Championships in order to grab the title in their respective division.
Defending Champion David Alcaide (ESP) seems to be hard to stop at this year's Dynamic Billard European Championships. After taking the 10-ball title earlier this week, he is right on track in the 8-ball as well. With victories over Vincent Facquet (FRA) 8:4, Marcus Chamat (SWE) 8:3 and Alex Montpellier (FRA) 8:4, he made his way to the stage of the final 32 players where he will meet his fellow countryman Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time. A big upset happened in the match between Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) and Georg Hoeberl (AUT). The Austrian eliminated the Russian superstar with 8:6 from the event. Somehow, these Austrians seem to be in a perfect shape these days. Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) ousted Tomasz Kaplan (POL) 8:5 from the 8-ball event. Probably the biggest surprise was the victory of Ioan Ladanyi (ROM) over 10-Ball World Champion Hudji See (NED) with 8:0 ! A whitewash for the World Champion from a complete underdog! Albin Ouschan (AUT) could not follow his teammates in to the next round. He lost clearly with 2:8 to Jakub Koniar (SVK). Daryl Peach (GBR) was another famous victim of today's play. He had to bow to Christian Surdea (ROM) with 7:8. Two Romanians taking care of two major upsets. Niels Feijen (NED) just crossed the finish line with an 8:7 victory over Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN).
In the women's division, defending Champion Line Kjoersvik (NOR) is straight on track. She won her first two matches over Alice Marcotte (FRA) 6:0 and Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6:3. She has booked her seat in the single elimination round of the last 16 players. Among others, she is joined by Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) who surprisingly sent Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) to the loser's side with 6:4. All time favorite Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) has also secured her spot in the round of the last 16 players. She won over Claudia Kunz (SUI) 6:3 and Nathalie Seichter (NED) 6:0. Last year's runner-up Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) did not have smooth sailing today. She won her first match with Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) 6:3 but then fell to Martine Christiansen (NOR) 5:6. On the loser's side, Poikkijoki had to deal with Russian Anna Mazhirina (RUS). Mazhirina made too many potting errors and opened the way for Poikkijoki to win the match with 6:3. Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) came up with some impressive 8-ball action today. She defeated Sandra Baumgartner (AUT) 6:4 and Kristina Schagan (GER) 6:1. The strong Polish women Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) and Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) did not have too much luck in their game today. While Czuprynska managed to get back into the round of the last 16 players through the loser's round with a 6:4 victory over Veronika Hubrtova (CZE), Weslowska's 8-ball journey has ended for 2014. She lost to unheralded Severine Titaux (FRA) 5:6.
The wheelchair division saw all favorites making their way through to the quarter-finals today. Defending Champion Fred Dinsmore (IRE) started his journey today with a 5:2 victory over Aslam Abubaker (GBR). Then he just managed to defeat Leszek Blumczynski (POL) with 5:4 to book his seat among the final eight players. Multi-time European and World Champion Jouni Tähti (FIN) took down Joachim Schuler (GER) 5:1 and then Craig Welsh (GBR) 5:0. He was definitely in a good stroke all day long. Belgium's Kurt Deklerck (BEL) won over Tony Southern (GBR) 5:3 and then got the better of Tankred Volkmer (GER) with 5:4. Finally, Henrik Larsson (SWE) won his matches over Daniel Luton (GBR) 5:2 and David Himpe (BEL) 5:1. These four players can be considered the serious favorites in the wheelchair division. However, they will get an opponent from the loser's side and have to continue in single-elimination mode from tomorrow on to find out who will be the Champion in 8-ball.
Play will commence tomorrow morning 09:00 local time with the 8-ball competition. All results and more info can be found on www.epconline.eu. LIVEStream can be viewed at www.kozoom.com.
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 contact our press office press@epbf.com.
