Euro-Tour’s ranked #1 player Mark Gray (GBR) just notched a 9:5 victory over up and rising Joshua Filler (GER) in the winner’s qualification round of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open in the Expo Center in Tirana, Albania.
Mark Gray is always a hot favorite for the title in any Euro-Tour event. Currently leading the rankings, the Brit still was favored in this match with Filler who is regarded as „the“ rising star in European Billiards by many. The signs for the match were on the wall: This was going to be a tough battle for both of the two players. Indeed, Filler was a great challenge for Gray over a long period in the match. After ten racks, the score was 5:5. This proved that none of the two really got any momentum until then. Filler was at the table having won the safety scenario in that rack and had a clear layout in front of him. He incomprehensibly missed an easy 3-ball and gave the potential lead away to Gray who thanked him and went ahead with 6:5. The next break was Filler’s. He had balls down but no shot at the 2-ball. So again, a safety exchange opened the rack. Gray played the better shots and took w two-point lead with 7:5. Then Filler took a time-out since he needed to get going now otherwise Gray would be too far ahead of him. Rack 13 saw again Gray as the better safety player and he managed to win that rack too, climbing on the hill 8:5. Now it was Filler’s break and his last chance to somehow turn the tide in the match. Filler had a good break and a nice layout in front of him. However, he again missed an easy shot on the 4-ball and gave the rack away to Gray who took the rack and the match 9:5 over Filler. In this match, Filler committed too many mistakes and Gray was the deserved winner in the end.
Other remarkable results from today include Ronald Regli (SUI) eliminating Mario He (AUT) from the tournament in loser’s round 3 with 9:8. Mario He, being the winner of the last event in North Cyprus, met Regli who was the runner-up from Austria, the event before. Two high-class players that one would not have expected in the early loser’s rounds. But they both already lost once so they had to joust on the left side of the flowchart. At 8:8, He played a poor safety shot which allowed Regli to run out and stay alive in the tournament. In the next round he will face Mark Mägi (EST) who also managed to win his last match with 9:8 over Michal Turkowski (POL).
Earlier today, Karlo Dalmatin (CRO) ended the hopes of Daniel Tangudd (SWE), overrunning him with 9:6. Alen Muratovic (BIH) sneaked past Dimitri Jungo (SUI) with a 9:8 triumph over the Suisse. Ermal Dylie (ALB) also kept a foot in the door, winning his match with Rui-Edgar Franco (POR) 9:8. Dylie’s teammate Arjan Matrizi (ALB) also stayed alive in the event defeating French legend Stephan Cohen (FRA) 9:7. Jim Chawki (SWE) send Nick Malai (GRE) home by sweeping him 9:7.
In the Albanian Women Open, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) pipped her teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) 7:6 in the first round. She will play Sandra Baumgartner (AUT) in winner’s round 1 at 15:30 CET today. Baumgartner remained the upper hand over Yini Gaspar (SUI) 7:4 in her first match. Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) shelled Palina Chernik (BLR) 7:1 in round 1 and will now encounter Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) in the next round.
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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.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Fedor Gorst, 15-year-old player from Moscow, Russia, just came up with a magnificent comeback against Nick Van Den Berg (NED), winning the match with 9:8.
In the beginning everything looked like business as usual. Nick van den Berg, multiple European Champion and winner of 3 Euro-Tour stops, Mosconi Cup team player, was definitely favored over young talent Fedor Gorst. He took a quick 8:3 lead and went on the hill without any hiccups. It looked like the match would be over after a short time with an expected victor. But after rack eleven, the tide has turned in the match. Van den Berg’s break did not come anymore and Gorst hung in there, not accepting the threat of losing. To the contrary, it looked like Gorst grew stronger and stronger with every chance he could get. The match was really very entertaining to watch and after 16 racks played, the scoreboard suddenly displayed a tie at 8:8. The match had turned into a one-rack-decider. What a drama! In rack 17, van den Berg was definitely the better player. He played a good safety shot and left nothing for Gorst who could only hit the colored ball but left a shot for van den Berg. The Dutch however ran out of position for the 6-ball and had to play another safety shot which he did with all of his experience. The cue ball was hiding behind the 9-ball and the 6-ball was some 30 centimeters away, completely blocked. But Gorst went for it and flukes it in over two rails first, sinking the 6-ball in the side pocket. He then ran the remaining balls on the table to win the match with 9:8 and send Nick van den Berg to the loser’s side.
Other interesting results from today include Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN) winning 9:8 over Jim Chawki (SWE) in a match that was characterized by many errors from both players. IN an all-Polish clash, young Wiktor Zielinski defeated grandmaster Mateusz Sniegocki with 9:8. Alexander Kazakis (GRE) showed no mercy with Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP), creaming him with 9:1. Imran Majid (GBR) took down Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) with 9:7. After a long time of absence, Artem Koshovyi (UKR) is entering the European pool stage again. Today, his victim was Ralph Eckert (GER) with 9:4. „The Tornado“ Tony Drago (MLT) was already trailing 2:5 to Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) when he seemed to shift into overdrive and started playing unbelievably strong. He allowed one more rack for Ekonomopoulos to take, winning the match with 9:6.
Joshua Filler (GER) turned 18 years old today and made himself a nice gift, winning with 9:2 over Wojciech Szewczyk (POL). Unheralded Roy Stolk (NED) powered past Andrey Seroshtan (RUS) with 9:3 and also proceeds to the winner’s qualification round. Mark Gray (GBR) defeated Steve Leisen (LUX) with a clear and unchallenged victory of 9:3.
Matches will continue tomorrow at 09:00 with the third loser’s round.
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The event will be hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
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.
Kyrenia, North Cyprus: In a high quality match in the winner's qualification round, "The Tornado" Tony Drago (MLT) powered past Chris Melling (GBR) with 9:6.
Melling seemed to struggle to find his game throughout the whole match. He was always behind, trailing one or two points to Drago. "The Tornado" started in his own special way, playing fast and offensive. He even missed an easy 9-ball in the third rack because he did not take his time to get the rest for it. Luckily enough for him, Melling also missed the 9-ball after that and allowed him to still put that point into his account for a 2:1 lead. During the whole match, Drago seemed to have the better role of the balls. His break shot was more consistent than Melling's. In the final statistics, Melling had a total amount of eight break shots where he pocketed balls on six of them, had 2 dry breaks and needed to play a push-out three times. Drago played seven break shots, had a ball down six times and never played a push-out. He did scratch once but in the end, Drago's break shot made the difference for this match. After twelve racks, the match was all square at 6:6. Then, Drago forced Melling to commit a foul shot in rack 13. With ball in hand, Drago ran the rack to take a 7:6 lead. With his own break shot coming up in rack 14, Drago played a runout and went on the hill with 8:6. In rack 15 it was Melling's time to break. Again, he did not get any ball pocketed with his break shot. That finished him for this match. Drago "captured" the table and ran the rack to win the match with 9:6. "The Tornado" smoothly entered the round of the final 32 players while Melling will need another win on the loser's side now.
Other notable results from the winner's qualification round include Fabio Petroni (ITA) sneaking past Ivo Aarts (NED) with 9:8. Nr. 1 ranked player, Niels Feijen (NED) also had hard work with Jim Chawki (SWE) and defeated him by a hair's breadth with 9:8. Nick Malai (ALB) upset all fans of "The Maharaja" Imran Majid (GBR), sending the British to the loser's side with 9:5. Talking about upsets, Ivica Putnik (CRO) defeated EPBF Player of the Year 2012 Nick van den Berg (NED) with 9:4. This tournament promises interesting matches since several favorite players can already be found on the wrong side of the draw.
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.
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.
Kyrenia, North Cyprus: After having dominated the match with Daryl Peach (GBR) over the full distance, Nick Van Den Berg (NED) entered the round of the last 16 players with a convincing 9:5 victory over Peach.
Van den Berg had to make his way with the detour over the loser's round since he lost his winner's qualification match 4:9 to Ivica Putnik (CRO). Suffering a bit from a cold, van den Berg needed to reset all his forces. He is not the type of player that is looking for excuses so he got himself together and played up to his normal standard. Today, that was good enough for Peach. Van den Berg dominated the match over the whole distance and Peach always had to try to keep the damage as small as possible. The best Peach could do was trailing with one rack only at 5:6. But then van den Berg played rock solid and scored rack after rack, defeating Peach 9:5 in the end. Van den Berg will meet Bruno Muratore (ITA) in the round of the last 16 players while Peach has to settle for 17th rank in the Dynamic Billard North Cyprus Open 2013.
Another tough thriller was the encounter between Phil Burford (GBR) and Jim Chawki (SWE). After ten racks, Chawki was already leading 7:3 and only needed two more points for a walk into the next round. But Burford is known to be a tough fighter. He pulled back rack after rack from Chawki and managed to win six racks in a row to take the match 9:6. Roman Hybler (CZE) ended Huidji See's (NED) quest for glory with 9:5 while young Ivo Aarts (NED) ousted Mark Gray (GBR) with 9:4.
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.
Jim Chawki and Jasmin Ouschan came out on top of their respective divisions at the 2nd Annual Swedish 10-Ball Open, held July 11th – 13th in Stockhold, Sweden.
Although the fields were slightly smaller than last year, the quality of play more than made up for any complaints about field size with World and European Champions in attendance.
The men's event saw Jim Chawki claim his first international title with a dominating run through the field. Chawki defeated Russia's Ruslan Chinakhov in the finals. Also of note was the 3rd place finish by young Christian Fisher. Fisher had a notable win over World Champion Daryl Peach on his way to the third place finish.
The ladies event saw fifteen of the top sixteen ladies on the European points list, and it was Jasmin Ouschan defeating Poland's Oliwia Czuprynska in the finals.
The tournament draw crowds all three days to watch the best that pool has to offer. The Swedish Billiards Association and Jolo & Co expressed their thanks to all of the players and fans, as well as their sponsors Biljardexperten AB, W-Ambulance and Nordic Consulting & Promotion AB.
St. Johann, Austria: In a quick match that lasted 55 minutes only, Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) creamed Chris Melling (GBR) with 9:2.
All was good and even after four rack. At a score of 2:2, Melling seemed to lose his game and Ekonomopoulos showed no mercy with the Brit. Having played not so well in his first three matches, Ekonomopoulos knew he had to improve or leave the event. Obviously, he went for the first option. He dominated the match and played rock solid and fast. Melling never found his game and the result was 9:2 in favor or Ekonomopoulos in the end.
Other notable results include Tomasz Kaplan (POL) winning by a hair's breadth with 9:8 over Stephan Cohen (FRA). Even though Cohen was the first one on the hill with 8:7, he was not able to win the match and continue the march to the trophy tomorrow. Alexander Kazakis (GRE) stopped young talented Ivo Aarts (NED) with 9:6 and eliminated him from the event at this stage. Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP) provided the tournament with a huge surprise, ousting last year's tour winner and Player of the Year 2012 Nick Van Den Berg (NED) with 9:6.
Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP) v Nick van den Berg (NED) 9:6
Tomorrow at 09:00 CET, the Women's Euro-Tour will begin with the first round matches. The Men's Dynamic Billard Austria Open will continue at 10:00 CET. You can follow all the action LIVE at www.kozoom.com/en/pool-billiard/
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.eu or contact our press office.
Jones, the winner of last year’s Dynamic Austria Open in St. Johann, got the better start. He took a quick 2:0 lead over Burford. But the former European 9-ball Champion in Junior’s division, Burford, did not think about getting upset or irritated. To the contrary, he seemed to be calmer to more the match went on. Burford won the next three racks before Jones got another point in his account. At 3:3, both players had some missed shots in the 7th rack. However, the winner in the end was Jones to take a 4:3 lead. Then Burford executed a monster break shot and pocketed four balls. He finished the rest as well and tied the match again; 4:4. The next phase of the match was interesting and could have been deciding but none of the players got the momentum to leave the opponent behind. When leading 5:4, Burford made a bad mistake. He should have taken a two-rack lead but ran out of position for the 7-ball. He missed his next shot and brought Jones back in the match. Jones said “thanks” and finished the rack. And if that was not already tough enough for young Burford, he miscued at his next break shot and faced some tough safety positions from Jones. However, Jones was not able to wrest three fouls from Burford. Still Jones won the rack and took a 6:5 lead. That was again tied up by Burford in another break and run. The next two racks were shared by the two contestants so the score was 7:7 after 14 racks. In the 15th rack, Burford broke the balls. He pocketed the 1-ball and found himself in a tough position for the 2-ball. He decided to play a push-out shot and leave a very tough shot on the tables. Jones did not want to take the risk and gave the table back to Burford. The young Brit fired in a tremendously tough 2-ball and ran the rack to get on the hill with 8:7. What an effort by Burford! He put an enormous amount of pressure on Jones whose break was coming up. Would Jones have the nerves to come back? He did! He had a great break shot and a promising lay out in front of him. But when he got to the 9-ball, he unnecessarily got himself a bad position and dogged the 9-ball, leaving another tough cut shot for Burford. Phil Burford made the tough shot and deservedly won the high class match in the winner’s round with 9:7.
Other notable results include Marcus Chamat (SWE) winning 9:6 over Alexander Kazakis (GRE). Another close result was Jonni Fulcher (SCO) defeating Jim Chawki (SWE) 9:8. With the same result, Abbas Al-Marayati (FIN) sent Philipp Stojanovic (CRO) to the loser’s side. Dominik Jentsch (GER) remained victorious over Maxim Dudanets (RUS), a junior player, with 9:7. There will definitely be more to come from the Russian junior. Ralf Souquet (GER), Darren Appleton (GBR), Daryl Peach (GBR) and Mark Gray (GBR) all won their opening matches.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
Thursday, 01 December 2011: In a close encounter, Christian Reimering (GER) defeated Albin Ouschan (AUT) by the score of 9-7 at the Eurotour’s Dynamic Treviso Open. Reimering seemed to be the more focused player and Ouschan appeared to play negligent at times. In the 14th rack, Reimering was leading 8-5 and he scratched on his break shot. Ouschan had an open table but was unable to finsh off the rack. He missed a makeable 4-ball but when Reimering got back to the table he had a bad position. With this “strategy”, Ouschan managed to tighten the score to 7-8 with Reimering breaking. This time, the break worked for the German and he ran out, winning the match 9-7. “I think it was a chequered match with a lot of ups and downs” commented Reimering afterwards. “In the beginning we both played quite steady but then Albin lost it a bit. He seemed to be standing in his own way. He also seemed to be playing a bit careless at times. This psyches the opponent up and it destroys one’s own game”. When asked whether this could be a question of age or experience, Reimering replied: “Yes definitely! I was also not always the calmest player. I had my stormy times and still have them. Pool is a sport where you are very often put before great challenges and it can be hard at times to stay focused and control yourself.”
The most unexpected result happened in the first loser’s round. Unheralded Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP) ousted Ralf Souquet (GER) and eliminated him from the tournament after only two matches. Souquet, who looked like the sure Tour winner for 2011, now has to wait and see how the tournament unfolds and who wins in order to see whether he will still be the number 1 ranked player after Saturday.
Other notable results from the winner’s side include Manuel Ederer (GER) creaming World 10-Ball Champion Huidji See (NED) 9:2. Andreas Gerwen (SWE) sent Mark Gray (GBR) to the one-loss side 9-8 and the same result was good for Chris Melling (GBR) who in turn made Jim Chawki (SWE) join Gray to the go to the wrong side of the field.
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.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
