Alex Pagulayan has knocked Joshua Filler out of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland at the Last 64 stage by Alex Pagulayan live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Filler was up against Pagulayan for the second time in a matter of days but this time with no second lifeline as the tournament reached single elimination. The pair traded blows yesterday as Pagulayan remained on the winners’ side with victory forcing Filler through Losers’ Qualifcation. Pagulayan prevailed once again 11-9 to set up a clash with Serbia’s Aleksa Pecelj in the Last 32 this evening.
Another member of Team Europe’s victorious 2022 Mosconi Cup side tumbled on Friday afternoon as David Alcaide fell at the hands of home favourite Wojciech Szewczyk 11-9 whilst the other three members of that Mosconi Cup side in Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Albin Ouschan and Jayson Shaw all made sure of spots in the Last 32.
Chris Melling suffered defeat to Aloysius Yapp in the opening match of the day on table one whilst Shane Van Boening‘s title hunt gathered momentum with an emphatic win over Finland’s Jani Uski 11-2. 2015 champion Ko Pin Yi came from 10-7 down to defeat Jan Van Lierop to meet compatriot Chang Jung-Lin this evening. Meanwhile, Thorsten Hohmann got the better of Khalid Alghamdi to face Sanchez Ruiz later this evening.
Action returns from 6pm CET tonight on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.
Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.
Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.
The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.
Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.
Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.
World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
It is the final day of the Austria open in Klagenfurt, the first European event in the Probilliardseries. 4 women and 8 men left in the two respective tournaments, all 12 players with a chance to grab that 15K first prize and the honour of becoming the winner of the inaugural event on European soil.
Before a single ball has been struck on this final day, we know that pool is the winner. A triple-A production and a format designed to bring viewers all around the world to the edge of their seat. In the short sets to 4, 3-0 or 3-1 deficits are relatively easy to overcome. Every set is close and if the two sets are drawn, a shootout will be played.
And did we see a shootout?!?! In the first match of the day between the tournament favourite Kelly Fisher and Veronika Ivanovskaia, the two players were absolutely perfect for 5 minutes. It came down to a shootout and it was the most intense 5 minutes that we have had in the arena. Each responding to the pressure and making their shootout-shot. After 4 shots the cueball was moved back a diamond and it came down to a sudden death. Ivanovskaia made 6 in a row….Fisher made 7!
Fisher’s opponent in the final was to be decided in the match between Tkach and the revelation from Serbia, Borana Sarac. It turned out that there would be no rematch of the Michigan-final, where Tkach and Fisher met. Sarac beat her much heralded Moscovite opponent in two straight sets and would have an incredible opportunity to cement her place in history and shift her carreer into overdrive.
After the valaint display in the semi’s, many would have thought young Sarac could go all the way. Such was not the case. As they say “the lesson comes after the exam”. The confidence and decisiveness that have been characteristic for Sarac throughout the tournament deserted her in the final. And then, what other to expect than for Kelly Fisher’s experience and pure grit to overpower Sarac. Fisher’s performance in the final was an example of the saying that a chains strength is determined by its weakest link. Her form did not allow her to run away with the match. But by being acceptant of that and playing purely ball-for-ball, the two-time world champion crawled her way to the finish line. What a champion Kelly Fisher is, winning the first Probilliards stop in Europe, right after snapping off the previous stop in Michigan, USA.
In the mens division the days’ play commenced with the quarterfinals. When the smoke cleared after the noon-session, we read Van Lierop – Styer and Kaci – Sniegocki in the semi-finals. The surprise semi-finalist jan van Lierop had his breakthrough tournament. What a headstrong showing from the Dutchman, overcoming so many hurdles on the way to the semi-final. And so he did in the match with the American as well. In the first match on the TV-table, he had difficulty adjusting to the conditions, and the first set went astray. But he buckled down, got that cueball under control and managed to force a shootout decider.It turned out to be another cracker. The pressure was so thick, you could cut it and serve it as an afternoon snack. Man o man, did Jan come close to a major final. But alas, former Kremlin Cup winner Tyler Styer had one more pot in him than Jan. Styer would be Kaci’s opponent in the final. Because Kaci…Kaci…Kaci…won again in two straight sets. Exit Sniegocki, the ‘Snowball’ Sniegol got halted by the Albanian World 10-ball Champion.
Eklent Kaci, the World 10-ball champion and Tyler Styer, former winner of the Kremlin Cup and Mosconi Cup revelation in 2018 were to play the final. An early miss on the 2-ball in rack 1 by Styer kicked off Kaci’s last push to tournament victory. He ran away with first set with a score of 4 – 1. He played with a combination of ease and precision that we only get to see with absolute elite players who are on a run of form for an extended period of time. His cueball control is second to none, he breaks as hard as he is big and he has the temperament and patience of a sniper. Two major wins in the Probilliardseries by Eklent Kaci in a brief period of time and if the 22-year old keeps prioritizing his poolgame, he is expected to extend this streak well into 2022.
Action continues in Klagenfurt on Sunday the 10th of October with the final stages of the 2021 Predator WPA World 9-Ball Junior Championships. As always you can watch the feature table LIVE on BILLIARD TV https://streamstak.com/billiardtv/ , or watch all tables LIVE on KOZOOM https://www.kozoom.com/en/pool-billiard/
The Predator Austria Open and Austria Women’s Open are sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association and guaranteed prize funds of 52,000€ and 38,400€ respectively. The events take place alongside the Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships at the Sportpark Klagenfurt in Klagenfurt, Austria from October 6th to 10th, 2021.
The Predator Pro Billiard Series, is a series of open/pro events held around the world to provide more opportunities for professional and aspiring pool players to compete in high-quality events, earn more income, sharpen their skills, and earn their way into the $125,000 added Predator World 10-Ball Championship held in Las Vegas each year as part of the CueSports International Expo.
These events will be played on Predator Pro tables covered with Predator Arcadia Performance Cloth, with Predator Arcos II balls, and under the Predator Arena billiard lights.
The European Pocket Billiard Federation today announced its team to face the Americans during this year’s staging of the Atlantic Challenge Cup taking place 28th to 30th November 2019 in Treviso Italy at the BHR Premier Best Western hotel.
The European team this year consists of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Netherlands Jan Van Lierop, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski, and making up the final boys spot this year is Germany’s Christian Froehlich. On the girls’ side representing Europe this year are Sweden’s My Nguyen and the Ukraine’s Darya Siranchuk. The European players are selected on their results at the European and World championships along with the highest ranked U19 player on the professional men’s Eurotour. Jan van Lierop received his spot on the team through the Eurotour rankings while the other five team members won at least one gold medal at the European Championships in 2018 to make the team.
After last year’s win, the EPBF youth sports director Tomas Brikmanis said, “It’s another amazing team that has been assembled for this year’s event in Italy. I am quietly confident of another victory, but I will not let my guard down. I know the Americans are hurting from last year’s result and I am aware of the potential of an upset. My players are as hungry as ever and will be ready when November comes.”
Team USA and both team captains will be announced soon.
Launched in 2015, the Atlantic Challenge Cup features the best youth players from Europe and America in a Mosconi Cup style event for the U19’s age category. Six players on each team, four boys and two girls, battle it out on an annual basis to see who has bragging rights across the Atlantic. The event is the result of a joint venture between the European Pocket Billiard Federation and the Billiard Congress of America.
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.
Today the European Championship 8-ball competition was in full swing. Men, Women, Under 23 and Wheelchair athletes demonstrated their shotmaking and tactical skills on the battlefield of slate.
In the men’s division, defending Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) unexpectedly lost his opening match to Sebastian Staab (GER) 7:8. That brought him to the loser’s side straight away where he needed to win in order to get his ticket for the single elimination of the last 64 players. Lotfy encountered Marios Artemiou (CYP) and it did not take much off him to win this match with 8:1. Then in the single elimination, Lotfy was drawn against Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). That match started out quite even but Lotfy capitalised from his break shot while Stepanov was struggling to make a ball when it was his turn to open the rack. In the end, Lotfy remained victorious with 8:3 and will now face Karol Skowerski (POL) tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET in the next round. Other exciting matches in that round will be the clash between Eklent Kaci (ALB) and Thorsten Hohmann (GER) and the match with Mieszko Fortunski (POL) and Fedor Gorst (RUS), just to name a few.
In the women’s 8-ball, Vania Franco (POR) showed some attractive performance in order to make it to the single elimination stage. After having lost her first match 2:6 to Ewa Bak (POL), Franco went over to the loser’s side where she met Louise Furberg (SWE). The experienced player from Sweden had no chance against Franco who prevailed with 6:2. Then, Franco advanced and took down Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) in a thrilling combat with 6:5. Right after that match, the Portuguese had to deal with yesterday’s surprise winner, Christine Feldmann (SUI). That match really took an unexpected turn since it was Franco to dominated the match from start to finish. Feldmann did not have the slightest chance and Franco demolished her with 6:1 in the end. In the single elimination stage of the last 16 players, Vania Franco will encounter Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR).
In the under 23 division, defending Champion Casper Matikainen (FIN) is straight on track. After having won a silver medal in the men’s 10-ball last night against Mieszko Fortunski (POL), Matikainen had his first matches in the Under 23’s division. He wasted no time and defeated Josef Nechvile (CZE) 8:1 and Daniel Lang (SVK) 8:4 to book his seat in the quarter-finals already. He will be joined there by Vitaliy Patsura (UKR), Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Jan Van Lierop (NED) who are also through to the single elimination over the winner’s side. The quarter-finals in 8-ball will be played tomorrow afternoon at 16:00 CET.
In the wheelchair division, the biggest of all upsets possible did happen. Unheralded David Himpe (BEL) handed a whitewash to defending Champion Jouni Tahti (FIN), defeating the Finish with 5:0. In the next round, Himpe had to give in 4:5 to another underdog, Leszek Blumczynski (POL) with 4:5. Tahti needs to overcome Kurt Deklerck (BEL) for his spot in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
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 8-ball individuals competition Men and Women.
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 European Junior’s Team once more won the Atlantic Challenge Cup against the US junior team. This year, the final result was 11:0 for Team EUROPE.
The European contestants were having an away match this year. Due to the alternating rhythm of hosting the ACC, this year Las Vegas, NV, USA was the host city for the junior team challenge between Europe and USA. Europe was represented by Weronika Karwik (POL), Valeria Trushevskaya (RUS), Patrick Hofmann (GER), Fedor Gorst (RUS), Jan Van Lierop (NED) and Wiktor Zielinski (POL). the team captain was the European Youth Sports Director Tomas Brikmanis (LIT). The US team consisted of Michelle Jang, April Larson, Justin Martin, Joey Tate, Shane Wolford and Kaiden Hunkins. The team captain was Allison Fisher.
The event was over after two days only with the best possible result for Europe. Not a single match was lost against the US kids. After day one, Europe had a score of 6:0 with only two matches that were close. The team match between Europe and the US was won 6:4 and the boys double between van Lierop/Hofmann vs Wolford/Hunkins even went hill/hill before team Europe was able to also put that point into their account.
Day two started with another frustrating result for the US selection. Zielinski smashed Kaiden 6:0 in the boys singles match. Then, Larson was up against Trushevskaya. That match also went hill/hill with the better end for Trushevskaya. When team Europe was up 10:0, the final match was played between van Lierop and Tate. Another hill/hill heartbreaker took place with van Lierop potting the final 9-ball of the event, sealing the whitewash for the US team this year.
The MVP trophies were awarded to April Larson and Valeria Trushevskaya.
Tomas Brikmanis stated after the event: „The US team had several chances in some matches but the tension and their nerves prevented them from winning. They missed several balls in an open position and allowed the European team to get ahead.“
Results Day 1
Europe v USA 6:4
Triples – Trushevskaya/van Lierop/Hofmann v Larson/Wolford/Hunkins 6:1
Triples – Karwik/Gorst/Zielinski v Jiang/Martin/Tate 6:3
Boys Doubles – van Lierop/Hofmann v Wolford/Hunkins 6:5
Girls Doubles – Karwik/Trushevskaya v Jiang/Larson 6:3
Boys Singles – Gorst v Wolford 6:2
Results Day 2
Boys Singles – Zielinski v Hunkins 6:0
Girls Singles – Trushevskaya v Larson 6:5
Mixed Doubles – Karwik/Hofmann v Jiang/Martin 6:3
Mixed Doubles – Trushevskaya/van Lierop v Larson/Hunkins 6:2
At the Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2018, Oscar Dominguez (USA) kept a foot in the door by winning his matches on day two after losing yesterday to Austria’s Maximilian Lechner.
Today, Oscar Dominguez had to enter the arena against Mika van Berkel (NED). Van Berkel is a 12-year-old boy who happened to meet one of the top US players in the event. Dominguez, sent to the loser’s round yesterday after a tough struggle against Maximilian Lechner with 8:9, can be considered an experienced and well known player who is attempting to make his way into the US team for this year’s Mosconi Cup. Today, he eliminated Ruben Frick (GER) 9:2 before he went up against van Berkel. The match went a bit as expected and in the end, Dominguez won the encounter clearly with 9:4. However, van Berkel’s enthusiasm and his braveness to compete against elite players cannot be regarded high enough. In future years, there will definitely be more to write about the young man. Today however, Dominguez was too much of an obstacle for him.
Other remarkable results include Corey Deuel (USA) defeating Wiktor Zielinski (POL) in winner’s round 2 with 9:4. Zielinski then went to the loser’s side where he fell to the sharp blade of his teammate Mieszko Fortunski (POL) with 5:9 which ended his journey here in Leende. Also in winner’s round 2, Ivar Saris (NED) steamrolled Jeremy Jones (USA) 9:3. Vitaly Patsura (UKR) edged over Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) by a whisker with 9:8 to make it to the winner’s qualification round. BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) got the better of Jan Van Lierop (NED) and won this match 9:6.
Former #1 Euro-Tour player Mark Gray (GBR) who had lost very surprisingly his opening with 6:9 yesterday to unheralded Mohammed-Hassan Baabad (KSA) is still in the race on the loser’s side. Today, Gray took down Abdurrahim Akdag (TUR) 9:5, then whitewashed Michael Wortmann (GER) 9:0 and finally overpowered Albert Casellas-Planas (ESP) 9:2. Gray will need two more victories in order to be among the last 32 players in the field.
Friday through Sunday, EPBF will show two feature matches LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page. The complete tournament is shown on kozoom.com for premium pass holders.
The Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2018 will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time with matches from the winner’s qualification round.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organised by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to www.eurotouronline.com . You can also visit us on our Facebook page or check out the EPBF YouTube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
