Jasmin Ouschan, organizing two WPA World Championship events in her hometown, reverted to her familiar playing role and won through the first round of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship with a confident 7-2 win over Kristina Grim at Sportpark Klagenfurt on Tuesday.
Three-time Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher was a 7-1 winner against Seo Seoa, while the current Women’s 10-Ball Championship – who won her title when the event was last staged in 2013 – also got off to a winning start, registering a 7-0 victory against Yi Yun Su.
Ouschan has been heavily involved in the organization of these events but more recently has switched her focus to preparations for competing, and she had plenty of support as she got her tournament underway against Grim.
Ouschan took the first rack after Grim gave herself a tough cut on the 10, which she hit too thin. The match was levelled when a dry break and subsequent foul from Ouschan allowed Grim back in with ball in hand. The Slovakian, who has previously represented Germany, couldn’t capitalize on her own break, however, and hit a tough 9 too full and Ouschan’s lead was restored at 2-1. The following two racks also went against the breaker, but Ouschan made it 4-2 from her own break.
That lead was extended further after Grim left an opening from a 1-ball safety. Ouschan completed another run out on her own break to reach the hill 6-2 up, and her progression to the next round was confirmed the next rack when the hometown hero cleared after Grim missed a long 1 under shot-clock pressure.
“The first match is always a big question mark, how it will feel,” said Ouschan. “But it went well and I’m totally happy with the set up in general, the whole team did great and of course I am proud to have such an event in my hometown.”
The World Women’s 10-Ball Championship was last held in 2013, when the Philipinnes’ Rubilen Amit won the title for a second time, beating Kelly Fisher in the final to add to her 2009 success. Amit has had a long time to wait to defend her title but made a perfect start with a 7-0 win over Yi Yun Su of Chinese Taipei.
Elsewhere, three-time Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher eased into the winners’ side of the brackets with a 7-1 win over Korea’s Seo Seoa, and there was a win for Austria’s 17-year-old rising star Lena Primus, who defeated Laura Saarinen 7-6.
Before the start of the World Teams Championship, players and officials paid tribute to Molrudee Kasemchaiyanan, who sadly died on Tuesday. Kasemchaiyanan fell ill after representing New Zealand at The World Games in July and was remembered by her billiard family with a minute of silence in Klagenfurt. Kelly Fisher paid tribute, saying: “She was a sweetheart who did a lot for the billiard world and was very passionate about the game, and was part of our billiard family. She is going to be missed very much.”
Matches in the World Teams Championship are a best of five sets and teams are made up one two male and one female player. The first set is between the two female players, before teams nominate a player for mens singles. All four players must have played by the third set, which is mixed doubles. Players can then nominate a singles player of their choice for the fourth set, and if scores are tied at 2-2 then all team members participate in a best-of-four shootout.
With Austria ‘A’ among eight teams seeded through the first round, it was left to the B team to fly the flag on the feature table. However, they were up against a USA team in no mood to be gracious to their hosts. April Larson set the tone for a defiant victory, defeated Lina Primus 4-0.
The momentum was carried into the second set by Tyler Styer, who defeated Daniel Guttenberger 4-1. Guttenberger’s rack was the only one won by Austria, however, as Joey Tate teamed up with Larson to send Austria B to the losers’ side of the brackets, winning the set 4-0 against Primus and Max Lechner. That sets up a mouth-watering clash between Great Britain (Jayson Shaw, Darren Appleton and Kelly Fisher) and USA tomorrow evening.
Japan (Yuki Hiraguchi, Masato Yoshioka & Tatsu Kuribayashi) won a thrilling encounter against Serbia (Bojana Sarac, Aleksa Pecelj & Andreja Klasovic). Japan took the first two sets by close scorelines of 4-3 for Hiraguchi over Sarac and 4-2 for Yoshioka over Pecelj. Serbia fought back strongly as Sarac and Klasovic won from hill-hill in mixed doubles against Hiraguchi and Kuribayashi but Yoshioka took his team into the next round with an emphatic 4-0 win against Pecelj.
Canada won the first shootout of the event to advance at the expense of Costa Rica, and a short while later Switzerland also advanced by shootout, sending Finland to the losers’ side.
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play continues at 9am on Wednesday.
The event is broadcasting two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
The Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship and Predator World Teams Championship commence in Klagenfurt, Austria on Tuesday and on Monday morning media were welcomed to the SportPark Klagenfurt for the official press conference to open the event.
Jasmin Ouschan’s Billiard Sport Academy is a major promotional partner of the events and the 36-year-old herself has been a leading driving force behind them. Ouschan was World 10-Ball Champion in 2010 but this is the first time the event has been staged since 2013, when Rubilen Amit was champion. Ouschan is a well-known name in Austria, she finished second the country’s Dancing With The Stars last year and has her eyes set on another 10-Ball title this week.
“Bringing a World Championship women’s event and team event to Klagenfurt is absolutely indescribable,” she said. “My brother and I are really known here but the people never really get to see anything.
“There’s not much pool on television so bringing a big tournament to my hometown is so special. I know I have an extra portion of pressure that comes with it. Winning a World Championship in my hometown is just a crazy thought.
“We have so much support from the city of Klagenfurt, from our county Carinthia, but also with Predator. Together we created such a cool team. I have to say, in the last couple of weeks, I did less and less because I am an athlete at the end of the day. But of course, I was always involved, and seeing what we have all done together here makes me extremely proud. I’m hoping that all the players and also the federations will see what we’re doing here for the sport and for the athletes.”
Ouschan’s first match will be against Kristina Grim of Slovakia at 4pm on Tuesday. As well as competing in the Women’s World 10-Ball
Championship, Ouschan will also feature in the World Teams Championship, partnering with Mario He and her brother Albin on Austria’s ‘A’ team.
Austria A is one of eight teams seeded into the winners’ side of the brackets. They will face the winners of Portugal vs New Zealand, which plays at 7pm on Tuesday.
Klagenfurt was host venue of last year’s Pro Billiard Series Austrian Opens, where Kelly Fisher took home the Women’s title. The Brit won the last Women’s World 9-Ball title and is excited to have the opportunity to compete for two World titles this week.
“It is very nice to be back in this beautiful city of Klagenfurt,” Fisher told the assembled media. “It is such a great event, not just because I won here last year, but because of the effort that goes into putting on such an event. The arena is awesome and players can only but love playing here.
“I am looking forward to the event. It is very exciting to have both the Teams and the Women’s World 10-Ball Championship, which we haven’t had for ten years. To have two massive events happening at the same time is spectacular, and I’m looking forward to a great, action-packed week. It is going to be a very special and a very memorable week.”
The draw and brackets for the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship can be seen here: https://probilliardseries.com/event/1677/. Play begins at 9am on Tuesday.
The event will broadcast two tables with full live coverage and commentary every day. One will be available on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and another will be at watchbilliard.tv. All tables can be viewed live at Kozoom.com.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries on Instagram or @PBilliardSeries on Twitter to follow the next events.
What drama to end the women’s Eurotour here is Slovenia as Russia’s Kristina Tkach wins the Predator women’s Lasko Open beating Germany’s Kristina Grim 7-6 in today’s final.
Kristina Grim had Tkach on the ropes, and twice let her of the hook, most notably when leading 6-5 and missing a straight 9-ball for the match. At 6-6, Grim again had the chance to seal her first victory but again, the nerves bit the young German and she gifted Tkach the win.
That win takes the Russian’s haul of titles to an impressive 8 Eurotour crowns in her short career but none will ever be so dramatic. A tearful Grim acknowledged her mistakes cost her the first title she’s been looking for but vowed to be back stronger next time. “I’m mad now” she said “but I have only myself to blame”.
After Kristina Grim only decided to participate at the very last minute and jumping into her friend, Tobias Hoiss’s car on Wednesday morning, she will be very satisfied with her best result to date on the women’s Eurotour, at least when she gets time to cool down and reflect on her missed chances, she’s strong and is determined to make amends for this missed opportunity today.
Next tour stop for the women is the Predator Women’s Antalya open from
the 28th – 30th October.
Semi-final results
Kristina Tkach (RUS) Vs Pia Filler (GER) 7-4
Kristina Grim (GER) Vs Melanie Susenguth (GER) 7-6
Quarter final results
Pia Filler (GER) Vs Diana Stateczny (GER) 7-6
Kristina Tkach (RUS) Vs Amalia Matas (ESP) 7-4
Kristina Grim (GER) Vs Anna Gradisnik (SLO) 7-4
Melanie Susenguth (GER) Vs Bojana Sarac (SRB) 7-5 https://www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour-women/
Karen Corr defeated Siming Chen in a heart-pounding, sudden death finale, capping off a four-day competition featuring the top 48-ranked pros of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association. The event ran April 19th-23rd, bringing back the final four players for Sunday’s performance. Brittany Bryant (Canada) and Line Kjorsvik (Norway) also made the cut, tying for third place.
The 2017 Rivers Casino Open, held April 19th-23rd, proved very exciting for the spectators in attendance and those who tuned in via the WPBA live stream. With the click of a mouse, fans could tune in to live matches on any one of six tournament tables, which included live scoring updates.
The Charity Pro-Am kicked off Wednesday afternoon, with 8 teams, each team paired with a Pro. After three fast and furious rounds of play, it was determined that “Team Brittany Bryant” and “Team Monica Webb” scored the most game wins in each round, and would face each other in a head-to-head final. Team Webb overcame Team Bryant for the win, and a great time was had by all participants! There was also a “Challenge the Pro” session with all proceeds going to charity. Top ranked players took on all comers, offering their fans not only an opportunity to play their favorite pros, but a chance to autograph billiard memorabilia and snap photographs.
Thursday morning began the trek to Sunday’s semi-finals. Chen claimed the first semi spot with wins over Kristina Grim, 9-3, Naomi Williams, 9-0, Helena Thornfeldt, 9-3, and Line Kjorsvik, 9-4. The second semi spot was claimed by Karen Corr, with wins over Julie Kelly, 9-6, Jessica Barnes, 9-6, Janet Atwell, 9-6, Monica Webb, 9-7, and Brittany Bryant, 9-3. Challengers were grinding it out on the west side of the chart, hoping to make Sunday’s show. Brittany Bryant bested Kelly Cavanaugh, 9-4, Robin Parker, 9-1, and Jennifer Barretta, 9-7, before losing to Corr. Bryant went on to beat Julie Kelly, 9-6, for an opportunity to face Chen in the first semi-final. The 2017 WPBA Masters Champion and new number one ranked WPBA player, Line Kjorsvik, beat Suzanne Peters, 9-6, Teruko Cucculelli, 9-3, and Sandy Badger, 9-3, but fell to Chen. From the one-loss side, Line went on to eliminate Monica Webb, 9-6, earning herself a shot at Corr in the second semi-final. Chen overcame Bryant both sets, 4-1 and 4-2, to reach the finals. Corr experienced another sudden death match with Line, but this time, she prevailed. Corr won the first set 4-1, and Line answered back, taking the second set, 4-1. Corr responded, winning the sudden death game to face Chen in the finals.
Siming played lights out all week, with a stable of opponents who could score no more than four games against her. In the first set, she cruised to a 4-0, but Karen fought back and won the second set, 4-3. Even on sets, players lagged for the break in the sudden death decider. Corr won the lag, broke, and made a ball on the break. Siming never made it back to the table. Corr made a nerve-racking out, flirting with the side pocket while playing position from the 6-ball to the 7-ball. The crowd watched and gasped in horror as the cue ball settled on the rail with perfect shape on the 7-ball. In true, champion form, Corr completed the run, earning herself a brand new title, 2017 Rivers Casino Open Champion!
The WPBA would like to thank its sponsors for this event, Rivers Casino and their staff who provided a fabulous venue and outstanding service, Diamond Pool Tables who provided the playing equipment and set-up for the event, Simonis Cloth who provided the cloth for the playing surface, and Aramith Pool Balls who supplied the brand new balls sets. Thanks go out to Dave Jacoby for building the WPBA 40th Anniversary Custom Cue for which raffles tickets were sold during the week, and given away on Sunday.
For more information about the Women’s Professional Billiards Association, please visit www.WPBA.com.
At the Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, total underdog Thomas Lindloff (GER) upset Fedor Gorst (RUS) in winner’s round one with 9:8.
The writing for the match was on the wall. Lindloff, an amateur player from Germany who participates in his second Euro-Tour versus Gorst, a young, hungry and talented two-time European Champion in the Under 17 division. Nobody really expected the match to become thrilling or even exciting at least. All odds were in favour of Gorst. But, as often, life has surprises. One of them happened today. Lindloff managed to win the first two racks and drew first blood against the Russian who took his time-out already when the scoreboard displayed 2:1 in favour of Lindloff. When he came back, he won the next rack and levelled the match at 2:2. But again Lindloff managed to escape with a two-point-lead, making it 4:2. It took ten racks before Gorst was all square with Lindloff and tied the match at 5:5. Now again the odds were all in favour of Gorst. But to the astonishment of the audience Lindloff continued his strong performance and even got to the hill with an 8:6 lead after 14 racks. Rack number 15 was opened by Thomas Lindloff. He executed a nice break-shot, had two balls down and everything speed out nicely in front of him to clear the table for is possible victory. He played a good safety shot on the 4-ball and forced Gorst to commit a foul. With ball in hand, Lindloff approached the table and had all the chances in the World to finish the match. But his nerves left him and he scratched while pocketing the 5-ball which now brought Gorst to the table. The Russian used his chance and pulled the rack back from Lindloff. 8:7 was the small lead which was left for Lindloff. Then Gorst showed nerves of steel and ran the next rack with his own break shot to tie the match at 8:8. What a dramatic finish. Again, the odds were in favour of the Russian since the pressure on Lindloff went through the roof. The German again had two balls down and a nice layout in front of him. Would his nerves let him down again or would he be able to stand the heat? This time, Lindloff took the chance and ran the rack, clearing the table for an amazing 9:8 victory over favoured Fedor Gorst. „It was a tactical victory for me“ stated Linloff after the match, „and Lady Luck was more on my side than his.“ „Gorst was probably not shooting at his best level“, Lindloff added, „so I think routine defeated class today“. This victory was his second today already since he defeated Avelino Madeira (POR) in the first round with 9:8. Lindloff will be up in winner’s round two tomorrow at 09:00 GMT against Vitaliy Patsura (UKR), last year’s European Champion 8-ball men’s division.
Today, the featured match on the EPBF Facebook page was the clash between Quang Trung Le (VIE) and Sebastian Staab (GER). Both players played on an equal level with Staab being a bit more on the lucky side in the end, winning the match with 9:7 over Le.
Other remarkable results from today include Nr. 1 seeded player David Alcaide (ESP) winning his opening match by a whisker over unheralded Kenneth Rognstad (NOR) with 9:8 only. Former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) had the same problems and sneaked through past Andrey Seroshtan (RUS) with 9:8, having trailed 1:5 and 5:8 in the match already. Eklent Kaci (ALB) once again took down Oliver Ortmann (GER) 9:6 in winner’s round one. Ralf Souquet (GER), winner of the recent Euro-Tour in Treviso, Italy, wasted no time with Polish top player Tomasz Kaplan (POL) smashing him 9:1.
In the women’s event, Monika Zabek (POL) outplayed Sara Rocha (POR) 7:5 and proceeded to the next winner’s round while Rocha needs to seek her fortune on the loser’s side. Marta Tavares (POR) overmastered Kristina Grim (GER) 7:6 and handed her an unexpected defeat in winner’s round one. European flagship of women’s pool, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) won both her matches today without bigger efforts. She took down Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) 7:2 and then Yini Gaspar (SUI) even 7:1.
The Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal will continue tomorrow at 09:00 GMT with matches from winner’s round 2 in the open event and matches from loser’s round 1 in the women’s event.
Every day, one match from the event will be shown LIVE on the Facebook page of the EPBF. All Facebook users may check out the high standard of quality which is provided for all the events and see what the Kozoom members receive all the time. You can see all the matches on up to 24 tables live via www.kozoom.com who stream the whole event on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard Italian Open starting Thursday 30thMarch at 09:00h
The event will be 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.epbf.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
At the 2017 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, the Gold Medals in the 9-ball individuals have been awarded. Jouni Tahti (FIN), Kelly Fisher (GBR) and Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) are the title holders for the next year.
In the men’s division, Ruslan Chinakhov played against Ronald Regli (SUI) in the final match. Both players have somehow already achieved a huge goal by reaching the final match since the two finalists are automatically qualified for this year’s World Games which will be held in Wroclaw, Poland. Chinakhov’s way into the final match led over Niels Feijen (NED) 9:5, Daniele Corrieri (ITA) 9:1, Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 11:5 and Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) 11:9. His opponent Ronald Regli terminated Artem Koshovyi (UKR) 9:6, Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 9:7, Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 11:9 and Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 11:9 for his seat in the match for glory. The final match itself was high class by both players with Chinakhov simply being better than Regli. The Russian know how to use his chances and how to put extra pressure on his opponent Regli. In the end, the clear result of 11:6 was more than deserved for Chinakhov.
Top eight Men:
1. Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)
2. Ronald Regli (SUI)
3. Maksim Dudanets (RUS)
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
5. Daniel Tangudd (SWE)
Nick van den Berg (NED)
Alexander Kazakis (GRE)
Andre Lackner (GER)
In the women’s division, Kelly Fisher was here on a mission. Residing in the United States since several years now, she wanted to try and get her foot in the door to play at the World Games. In order to do so, she needed to reach the final. Her mission did not begin too promising since she lost her opening match and had to make her long way into the final through the loser’s side. Making it back to the single elimination, Fisher eliminated Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) 7:2, Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) 8:2 and Ina Kaplan (GER) 8:5. Her opponent in the final match was Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS). She overpowered Yini Gaspar (SUI), Ine Helvik (NOR) 8:2 and Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 8:5 for her spot against Fisher. Like in the men’s division, both players have booked their spot for this year’s World Games by making it to the final of the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal. The final match was quite unspectacular though. Fisher was way too dominant for Seroshtan today to have a real match going on. After 12 racks being played, Fisher came out as the clear 8:4 winner over Seroshtan, claiming this year’s title in women’s 9-ball in Europe.
Top eight Women:
1. Kelly Fisher (GBR)
2. Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS)
3. Ina Kaplan (GER)
Ana Gradisnik (SLO)
5. Vivien Schade (GER)
Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER)
Ine Helvik (NOR) Kristina Grim (GER)
In the wheelchair division, the final match turned out a one man show for Jouni Tahti or, vice versa, a disaster for Henrik Larsson (SWE) who was Tahti’s opponent. Tahti creamed Larsson to the max and handed him a doughnut, winning the final match 7:0 over Larsson.
Top eight Wheelchair Athletes:
1. Jouni Tahti (FIN)
2. Henrik Larsson (SWE)
3. Fred Dinsmore (IRL) Kurt Deklerck (BEL)
5. Matt Duffy (GBR) Roy Kimberley (GBR)
7. Kim-Ronny Nygard (NOR)
David Himpe (BEL)
Final medal table after 5 of 5 events:
After the quarterfinal matches today, two players in the men’s and two in the women’s division were randomly drawn and brought for testing against doping. The EPBF is conducting anti-doping tests since many years now and will continue to do so in order to fulfil the requests from the international umbrella federations for a clean sport.
This concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal. Starting Thursday, we will be back with more news from the upcoming Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open and Portuguese Women Open.
After having received her first round defeat 1:6 against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) yesterday, defending Champion Kristina Tkach (RUS) was eliminated today from the 8-ball by losing 3:6 to Vivien Schade (GER) in the loser’s qualification round.
A loss is something very unusual for Tkach anyway. She had one night to sleep and get over her performance yesterday. Today, She started with two more victories on the loser’s bracket, ousting Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6:3 and Yulia Evseenko (UKR) 6:2. In the loser’s qualification round, Tkach had to stand up against Vivien Schade. The German had just lost to Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) in the loser’s qualification round and was probably steaming hot for a revenge. She went in the match with Tkach and tried her best to survive against the favourite from Russia. After 6 racks the match was levelled at 3:3. Tkach broke rack 7 and no ball went in any pocket. Schade found a difficult task in front of her since the balls were not in front of her with an easy layout. However, she mastered the rack and pocketed the 8-ball for a 4:3 lead over Tkach. Then, Schade broke and ran the next rack which brought her on the hill with a 5:3 lead over Tkach. Now was the time if at all for Tkach for a comeback. The Russian broke and a blow went in a pocket. To the horror of the Russian fans and probably also for herself, she missed the first shot in the side pocket. That brought Schade back to the table who saw her chance coming. She cleared the table one more time and rightfully ousted the defending Champion with 6:3 in a match that saw an impressive turnover from Vivien Schade. She will encounter her teammate Ina Kaplan tomorrow in the single elimination round of the final 16 women. Germany’s Kristina Grim also stayed alive in the event by eliminating Yini Gaspar (SUI) with 6:2 in the loser’s qualification round. However, she will have to deal with Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) tomorrow in the single elimination.
In the men’s division, the defending Champion is also already history in the 8-ball individuals. Vitaliy Patsura (UKR) lost his match in the round of the last 32 men players against underdog Jakub Koniar (SVK) 4:8. Koniar will be up against newly crowned European 10-ball Champion Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) tomorrow. After a fierce fight, Francesco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) made his way into the next round by pipping Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) to the post 8:7. Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) managed to oust German Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) 8:6 in the round of the last 64 players. After that, he lost 1:8 to Sniegocki’s teammate Mieszko Fortunski (POL).
In the wheelchair division, Kurt Deklerck (BEL) and Jouni Tahti (FIN) have booked their seat in the semi-final matches already. They wait for the winners from the matches between Toni Southern (GBR) v Emil Malanowski (POL) and Fred Dinsmore (IRL) v Roy Kimberley (GBR).
Tomorrow, the tournament will continue at 09:00 GMT with matches from the 8-ball individuals competition last 16 single elimination.
Every day, one match from the events will be shown LIVE on the Facebook page of the EPBF. All Facebook users may check out the high standard of quality which is provided for all the events and see what the Kozoom members receive all the time. You can see all the matches live via www.kozoom.com who stream the whole event on 24 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.europeanpoolchampionships.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes.
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.epbf.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship 2017 continued its action today (Mar 3 local time) at the Taipei Gymnasium. All matches in the round robin stage were completed, with the leader of the respective group advancing directly into the last 16, while the players in second and third place will have to play in the last 24.
FURY sponsored Kelly Fisher (GBR) won the last match on the TV table against WEI Tzu-Chien (TPE) to gain a direct entry to the last 16 of the tournament. Kelly was one of the players that had 4 wins in her respective group after the initial round robin stage. Wei and Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) came in as 2nd and 3rd place respectively in Group H, hence advancing to play in the round of last 24.
Sandy LIU ShaSha (CHN) and Angeline Ticoalu (INA), the other two FURY sponsored players, were drawn into the same group. They finished off 2nd and 3rd respectively in Group B, thus advancing into the last 24. Even though Sandy was leading most of the time throughout the stage, Allison Fisher (GBR) took her down on TV table to equal their scores in games and had a better rack-difference to snatch the first place and advanced directly into the last 16.
In Group D, PAN XiaoTing (CHN) was another player that had 4 wins after whitewashing the three times Amway Cup champion and the local favourite Rita CHOU Chieh-Yu, giving as much pleasure as well as shock to the audience both at the stadium and on TV. During an interview earlier on, Pan reviewed that this was a match long expected, while the result was a pleasant surprise as she expressed in the post-interview. Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) came in as third and will follow Rita into the next round.
In the other groups, despite the fact that Jasmine Ouschan (AUT) lost to the defending champion Chezka Centeno (PHI) yesterday, Jasmine had more wins in the end and therefore became first place in Group A. Chezka finished second after making a couple of critical errors to lose two hill-hill matches against Kristina Tkach (RUS) and WU Hsiso-Wen (TPE). Wu successfully made it into the last 24 after qualifying from stage 1.
Japanese leading lady Chihiro Kawahara had a rough ride in Group C, with only one win against Claudia Von Rohr (SUI), the new face in the tour. All of the other three players had the same result of 3 wins, but in the end it was Karen Corr (IRL) that secured a seat in the last 16 with a 2-rack difference. FAN Yu-Hsuan (TPE), who had made her appearance in stage 2 through qualifiers, fell short marginally by one rack against her local senior CHEN Ho-Yun.
Current world #1 Han Yu (CHN) gave no chance to HSIEH Yu-Wen(TPE) on the TV table yesterday, then went on to win all the matches in Group E. HSIEH, who came through from the Taiwanese qualifier, and LEE Woo-Jin, the rising star from South Korea that made her way through stage 1, were on the same page before their last encounter with each other. In the end, it was HSIEH that had a better day, turning an hill-hill excitement into an entry ticket to the last 24 for herself, leaving her opponent out of the tour. Two times world champion Rubilen Amit (PHI) finished second in the group.
KIM Ga-Young (KOR) stood out in Group F with 4 straight wins, thus advancing to the last 16. For the remaining players, it was a close call amongst Natalia Seroshtan (RUS), CHEN Chia-Hua and qualifier Bean HUNG Meng-Hsia, with all three of them winning 2 games and losing 2. Natalia was the lowest one after rack counts and therefore the two Taiwanese girls went through to the last 24.
It was not exactly a joyride but CHEN SiMing (CHN) still surfed through Group G by winning all of her matches. Twice Amway Cup winner LIN Yuan-Chun had a close one, lost in the decider against Chen, but still managed to win all of her other matches to go through to the next stage. Kristina Grim of Germany, who took down qualifier KUO Szu-Ting (TPE) on the first TV match yesterday, came third in the group.
Upon the completion of the last match on the day, all players gathered at the TV table to draw for the positions tomorrow in the last 16 to 24 stage.
Round-robin stage Results & Draw for last 16 to 24 stage: click here
The Amway eSpring International Women 9-Ball Championship 2017 started its official matches of stage 2 at 10:00 this morning (Mar 2 local time) back at the good old Taipei Gymnasium again this year, with the first 6 matches featuring players from 8 different countries and regions.
FURY, the official cues of the tournament, immediately felt the excitement as two of their sponsored players, former world #1 Sandy Liu (ShaSha) of China and South-East Asian gold medalist Angelina Ticoalu of Indonesia, also being a semi-finalist in 2015 after taking down Sandy two years ago, faced each other again this year in one of the opening matches in Group B.
Angelina managed to snatch the first point on the scoreboard but her opponent soon settled down and took over to lead the match all the way. In the end, Sandy was the better one in the FURY derby and took her “revenge” with the final score standing at 7-4. Later on during the day, Angelina recovered her lost ground by beating the Japanese Triple-Crown winner Joana Wu (Zhi-Ting) of Chinese Taipei, as well as the all-time multiple world champion “Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher, who is also a 5-times winner of the Amway Cup, in a hill-hill thriller on TV table. Sandy then extended her lead overnight in the group by beating Joana Wu 7-4 in the evening session.
The 2013 Amway Cup winner as well as multiple world champions Kelly Fisher of England, came back from behind to beat LIM Yun-Mi of South Korea 7-5. Kelly, also sponsored by FURY, is coming back in good form after her surgery and is looking to stay strong against her other opponents in Group H. These shall include Longasy Tips sponsored WEI Tzu-Chien as well as her Taiwanese comrade HO Hsin-Ju who came through from the qualifiers.
In the other groups, even though Kristina Tkach of Russia had a bad opening after scratching on her first 8-ball and eventually losing the match to the 2004 Amway Cup champion LIU Sin-Mei of Chinese Taipei, she was able to re-strengthen her position in Group A with two hill-hill wins over qualifier WU Hsiao-Wen (Chinese Taipei) and the 2016 Amway Cup winner Chezka Centeno of the Philippines respectively. Earlier on, the defending champion had a relatively comfortable win over European Jasmine Ouschan of Austria.
Multiple world champions Karen Corr of Northern Ireland had wins over Japanese #1 Chihiro Kawahara and qualifier FAN Yu-Hsuan (Chinese Taipei) to lead in Group C. Karen will be facing the 2015 Videoland Year-End Champion CHEN He-Yun, who had lost to her Taiwanese comrade Fan in another match. Claudia Von Rohr of Switzerland made her debut in the Amway Cup this year, but lost both of her matches against Chen and Fan.
Three times Amway Cup Champion Rita CHOU (Chieh-Yu) made both of her wins on TV table by taking down Oliwia Czuprynska of Poland and Molrudee Kasemchaiyanan of New Zealand. The great PAN XiaoTing of China, who won the Amway Cup exactly ten years back, missed her action last year but now returning to the scene brighter than ever, beat Molrudee and qualifier MU Shu-Fong of Chinese Taipei to equal Rita in Group D overnight.
Han Yu of China, the recently selected AZB player of the Year, current world #1 as well as a semi-finalist last year, marked the first absolute win of the day by whitewashing the Taiwanese qualifier HSIEH Yu-Wen on TV table, then moved on to beat Pia Plaeser of Germany in Group E. Two times world champion Rubilen Amit copied Han and gave a lesson to the young South Korean rising star Woo-Jin LEE, being the only non-Taiwanese that came through from stage one. Lee lost in an hill-hill encounter with Hsieh but was able to win over Pia that saved a last hope for her against Han in the afternoon session tomorrow.
Ga-Young Kim, the two times Amway Cup winner from South Korea, stands out in Group F by beating Jennifer McCulla of Australia and qualifier Bean Hung (Meng-Hsia), who is coincidentally working in Australia. The 17-years old Taiwanese Amber Chen (Chia-Hua), being the youngest player on board, enjoys her first direct-entry to stage 2 this year, had 1 win and 1 lost on the day, and will be facing Kim on TV table tomorrow.
LIN Yuan-Chun of Chinese Taipei, also a two times Amway Cup winner, won her first match 7-4 in Group G against Kristina Grim of Germany. Kristina, who almost broke down to tears after having a good lead but still lost to Kelly Fisher on TV table last year, celebrated her victory over a deciding rack on TV this year against qualifier KUO Szu-Ting of Chinese Taipei. She will be playing again on TV tomorrow at 4pm against the almighty CHEN SiMing of China.
Action continues tomorrow at the Taipei Gymnasium (#10, Section 4, Nanjing East Road, Songshan District, near Taipei Arena) to decide the last 24 players in the knockout stage.
The winner of the Dynamic Billard Italian Women Open is Ina Kaplan from Germany. She defeated Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) in an intense final match with 7:4.
The event could not have started worse for Kaplan. She met her teammate Kristina Schagan (GER) in her first match of the tournament with 1:7. What a disaster for her! She had to go straight to the loser’s side of the event. There, she suddenly found her rhythm back and rode the winning wave over Ine Helvik (NOR) 7:5, Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) 7:6 and Elise Qiu (NED) with 7:4. These victories brought her back to the single elimination round of the last 16 players. Looking at the draw, Kaplan had mountains to climb. Forst she dealt with Kateryna Polovinchul (UKR) 7:3, then she surprisingly ousted Russian top player Kristina Tkach (RUS) 7:3 and overcame her teammate Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) 7:4 in the semifinal. In the final match she met European legend Jasmin Ouschan. Ouschan has also paid a visit to the loser’s side in this event. After winning over Veronika Ivanovskaia in her first match 7:2, she fell to Sara Rocha (POR) 6:7 and had to go to the loser’s side. There she wasted no time with Christine Steinlage (GER) and whitewashed her 7:0. Being in the single elimination stage, Ouschan eliminated Kristina Grim (GER) 7:0, after a tough fight Vanja Franco (POR) 7:5 and Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) in the semi-final with 7:2. The final match was all set up and the odds were all in favour of Ouschan. The Austrian had clearer results and seemed to be too much of an obstacle for Kaplan. However, things did not turn out as expected. Two things went against the expectations. Firstly, Ouschan committed several unnecessary errors in the final match which is quite unusual for the perfectionist from Klagenfurt, Austria. Secondly, Kaplan played quite strong and solid and seemed to be of a stronger will to win this final than her opponent. Both of these facts led to the result of 7:4 in favour of Kaplan who is a well-deserved winner of the Dynamic Billard Italian Women Open 2017.
This concludes the coverage from Treviso, Italy. The next EPBF event will be the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in Albufeira, Portugal, starting on March 18th, 2017.
The Euro-Tour was played on 20 tables which were all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be purchased 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 was 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.
