Defending champion Chang Jung-Lin made it through the first round of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship with an 8-6 success over Dutchman Tim de Ruyter on the opening day of play at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
There were wins for Americans Shane van Boening and Tyler Styer, Germany’s Joshua Filler and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw on the TV tables, with the former defeating Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon.
The eventual winner will collect $60,000 of the $250,000 total prize fund from the event, which is part of the first annual Caribbean CueSports International Expo.
Rolon’s home crowd came out in force to support their local favorite, putting Van Boening in the rare spot of being the player less favored by those spectating. The Puerto Rican, who reached the knockout stages of the Medallla Light Puerto Rico Open during the week, took down the first rack and despite conceding the second, moved ahead again at 2-1 to a loud roar inside the arena.
But Van Boening’s quality ultimately showed. Rolon fouled by moving the 5 ball as he bridged over it and the American was able to level. A great break opened up the fifth rack for Van Boening, and before Rolon knew it he was 6-2 down in the race to eight.
A dry break afforded Rolon an opportunity to claw back the deficit. He found trouble with four balls left but made the 12 with position on the 15 to bring the match to 6-3. However, his next break shot was his final visit as he came up dry, turning the table to Van Boening.
The five-time US Open champion had a straight shot on the 14 which set him up for the rack. Breaking at 7-3 ahead, Van Boening had the 12 down but opted to shoot the 2 owing to the layout of the table. A runout followed for the South Dakota Kid, who returns on Sunday to face Johnny Salas.
While Van Boening was winning on Table 1, on Table 2 a battle was heating up between two member’s of USA’s World Teams Championship roster from September.
Joey Tate and Tyler Styer are close friends off the table and with neither player able to build a substantial lead throughout the match it was Styer who arrived first on the hill before just a second dry break of the match by Styer allowed Tate to the table. The 17-year-old, who is also competing in Under-19 division of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships this week, played the 15 brilliantly to bring the 10 away from the side rail and from there had no problems in reaching the hill.
A dry break came at the worst possible time for Tate but when Styer missed a 4 he’d usually expect to make, the younger of the two Americans was back at the table. However, he missed the 9 to the middle pocket with three balls and the 8 remaining.
Styer showed he was feeling the pressure when the cue clipped the 10 as he looked for position on the 4. He played the shot well but again the cue kicked another ball, this time the 11, as it came through for position on the 7. The former Kremlin Cup winner held his nerve, though, and made a testy shot up table to come back and make the match-winning 8.
“I’d rather play Shane or Jayson, anybody else but Joey,” said Styer. “I have helped him out a lot and taken him under my wing, so to draw him in the first round sucked. I believe in him but I have to forget about that when I play him because he is like a little brother to me.”
Later in the day, Tate advanced to the quarter-finals of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championship. Playing in the Under-19 division, he defeated Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski 9-5 to progress from the winners’ side. His sister Bethany is through to the last eight of the Girls division, along with Savannah Easton, Lena Primus and Alara Ghaffari. The other Under-19 quarter-finalists are Keane Derek Rota, Szymon Kural and Yannick Pongers.
Riku Romppanen, Mika van Berkel, Felix Vogel and Lazar Kostic made it four Europeans in the last eight of the Under 17s. The losers’ qualification matches of all three divisions take place on Sunday, followed by the quarter-finals. All matches are broadcast live on Kozoom.com and all three Junior finals will be on World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and watchbilliard.tv on Monday.
Predator World 8-Ball Championship reigning champion Chang Jung-Lin has waited ten years to defend his title and was given a tough examination by Tim de Ruyter before eventually winning 8-6. There was a hill-hill win for Jayson Shaw against Dimitris Loukatos while former World 8-Ball Champion Ralf Souquet will face Konrad Juszczyszyn on Sunday after beating Juan Carlos Exposito of Spain in his opening match.
Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
From 37 players, the Predator Slovenian Open is now down to the final four as three further rounds were completed today (Sunday). The tournament reconvenes on Monday morning with the two semi-finals set to start at 10.00 with the final starting at 12.00 midday.
Eyllul Kibaroglu, the No.1 ranked player on tour, is still in with a shout of winning back-to-back Euro Tour titles as she leads the field going into day three. A winner last time out in Petrich, Bulgaria, where she beat Pia Filler 7-4 for the title, Kibaroglu will be up against the rising young German talent once again.
Kibaroglu, like Filler, is undefeated in the event this far and today she enjoyed wins over young Norwegian, Nina Torvund by 7-2 and then took a 7-4 victory over Hannan Memic (BIH) in the quarter-finals.
Filler, who is looking for her maiden Euro Tour title, beat a brace of youngsters today to cement her spot in the final four. First, she despatched Alara Ghaffari (TNC) who had grabbed a silver and a pair of bronze medals at the recent European Junior Championships. Then she beat Austria’s talented Lena Primus by 7-2 in the last eight.
The second semi-final is an all-German affair, giving that nation three of the four semi-final players. Melanie Sussenguth, currently ranked No.11, will face Ina Kaplan (No.14) for a place in the final. Kaplan, who won on the Ladies’ Euro Tour in Austria in June, went to the one-loss side earlier in the tournament following a defeat to Chantal Stadler in the winners’ qualification round.
She bounced back though with wins over Anna Riegler (AUT), Bojana Sarac of Serbia and then local hero Ana Gradisnik in her quarter-final match. Sussenguth, who has already made her best finish of the year here in Slovenia will be hoping to carry today’s form into tomorrow.
She beat Poland’s Monika Zabek by 7-5 and then followed that up with a 7-3 win over Kristina Zlateva of Bulgaria. Both matches are played simultaneously at 10.00 with Eyllul Kibaroglu v Pia Filler a Facebook Live presentation. Melanie Sussenguth against Ina Kaplan will be available to Kozoom subscribers.
All Predator Euro Tour Women tournaments are 9-ball and the field contest a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 16 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are a race to 7 racks with alternate break.
All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com
Eylul Kibaroglu
Ina Kaplan
Melanie Sessenguth
Pia Filler
Eylul Kibaroglu
Ana Gradisnik
Pia Filler
Pia Filler
Pia Filler
Joshua and Pia Filler
Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan and Pia Filler
Pia Filler with Luke Riches
Pia Filler is congratulated by Joshua
Pia Filler
Pia Filler
Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler and Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler and Ina Kaplan
Melanie Suessenguth
Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler
Eylul Kibaroglu
Pia Filler
Eylul Kibaroglu
Pia Filler
Melanie Suessenguth
Ina Kaplan
Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan
Ina Kaplan and Melanie Suessenguth
Eylul Kibaroglu and Pia Filler
Ina Kaplan and Melanie Suessenguth
Pia Filler and Eylul Kibaroglu
Pia Filler, Eylul Kibaroglu, Ina Kaplan and Melanie Suessenguth
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.
There was a marvellous ending for the Polish squad to the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships for Youth in Petrich, Bulgaria as they won team gold in the Girls’ and Under 17 categories.
The U17’s team event went down to a decider as Poland took the gold medal in a hard-fought contest against a battling Finland. 14-year-old Michal Wiech got the ball rolling for the Poles in the 8-ball match-up before Riku Romppanen levelled things up for the Finns in 9 balls.
That left the stage for Adam Swadzba to bring it home for Poland as he led throughout against Jori Narvola, eventually getting over the line 6-4. For Narvola it was a third silver of the championship following runners-up spots in the 8 and 10 ball.
Poland had gone undefeated through the competition using four players in total – Michal Wiech, Dominik Homza, Adam Swadzba and Tomasz Gorski. The win was further evidence that Poland’s pool talent factory shows no sign of slowing down.
For Swadzba, the gold added to the bronze medal he won in the 8-ball division, to crown a marvellous week: “I feel very good – for me and for Poland it’s very important when we win a gold medal. We have beaten a very strong nation like Finland. Michal beat a very good player in Sasu Hietamies and I won a good game against Narvola.
“I was very nervous because at the beginning I was 5-0 up but he came back and got to 5-4 which made me really stressed!”
Wiech was highly satisfied in his first outing with the national squad; “It was my first European Championships and in straight pool I won a silver medal and it was a great feeling. It’s different in a team because you’re fighting for your country. It’s a really great moment.”
In the Girls’ event it was once again Poland who took gold against Austria in a tense shootout following wins for both countries in the two matches. With each player having three attempts, it was Austria who missed the opening ball of the shoot-out. That gave the Poles the initiative and despite Austria not missing again, the two Polish players had a 100% record to seal the victory.
It was sweet revenge for the two Polish girls – Izabella Jonska and Dominika Pawelczyk – after they were relegated to the losers’’ side of the bracket following a shoot-out defeat to the same Austrian team in the Winners’ Qualification round. Poland though, fired back with wins over Norway and then Germany to guarantee at least a silver medal.
For Dominika Pawelczyk, it was her second gold of the Championships, following glory in the 10 ball earlier in the week. After her team mate, Izabella Jonska went down 5-0 to Lena Primus in the first match, Pawelczyk stepped up to win her 9-ball game and set up the shoot-out victory.
She said, “It feels great! I think we played very solid throughout and we knew what we had to do to get the gold medal and go home.
“The shootout is very difficult. When you’re nervous and you have it in your head that you can lose just like that if you miss a ball, it’s hard. Potting that ball is so difficult but we’re so excited that we did it,” she added.
Austria 1 – 1 Poland (Poland win 6-5 in a shoot-out)
Lena Primus 5 – 0 Izabella Jonska (8)
Sarah Kapeller 2 – 6 Dominika Pawelczyk (9)
Bronze medals went to Germany and the Netherlands.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
The destination of the Girls and U17 Boys 10 ball gold medals was decided as two more finals played out at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships for Youth in Petrich, Bulgaria. 14-year-old German Felix Vogel looked nerveless in claiming the U17 title while Poland’s Dominika Pawelczyk claimed a wonderful gold under testing personal circumstances.
Vogel won his title with a 6-3 win over Finland’s Jori Narvola and was ecstatic at the conclusion; “It feels very good to win this. I was surprised myself that I could win this tournament. With each round I played better and better and that was very good for me.
“It was not easy and I had to play my best billiards. I didn’t really feel any pressure. At the last 32 I played not my best match but that was an important match as I won and I felt really good. It was difficult for sure but nothing is impossible!”
Narvola got off to the best possible start as he opened up a two-rack lead but Vogel though, battled back to regain parity at two racks each. The next hinged on a missed 10 ball as Narvola went awry with a difficult table-length shot. Vogel did no such thing as he moved into a 3-2 lead in the race-to-6 match. That soon became 4-2 as the young German hit his stride. Things went even better for Vogel as he put himself on the hill by taking the seventh game.
Narvola could afford no mistakes now but he missed a simple 3 ball into the centre pocket with one eye on the position. With the 9 ball blocking, Vogel could not find a way and the Finn looked set to run out but he overran the cue ball going from 9 to 10 and subsequently missed. Vogel had a fine cut for match ball but he too missed as Narvola took the rack for 5-3.
The ninth turned into a safety battle with the two players swapping some tidy snookers before Narvola pocketed the 3 ball with a fine jump shot but saw the cue ball fly into the centre pocket to give Vogel a golden chance to close the match out. However, he landed too close on the 6 ball and the safety battle resumed. Vogel got another chance though and it looked on as the youngster held himself together to run out for a superb win.
Bronze medals went to Maks Benko (SLO) and Riku Romppanen (FIN).
Dominika Pawelczyk (Poland)
In the Girls event, it was 18-year-old Pole Dominika Pawelczyk who beat Alara Ghaffari (Northern Cyprus) by 5-1 to claim victory. The
performance was all the more brilliant given her distressing personal news prior to the event.
“It feels great to win and I felt so confident in the final and was glad to be here to win this title. I was thinking about my brother and to win this for him as he died three days ago so this is for him.” (Dominika’s brother was 23 at the time of his death).
“I wanted to show everyone that I can play pool and show my best game. I felt nervous but I have my team with me and they helped me get through this,” she concluded. As for the match, Ghaffari and Pawelczyk shared the opening two racks before the Pole took the next. A missed bank shot on the 9 ball by Ghaffari allowed the Polish girl to take the fourth game for a good-looking 3-1 lead in the race to five match.
In the fifth game, a foul by Ghaffari, kicking on the 1 ball gave ball-in-hand to her opponent. Pawelczyk looked good for 4-1 but missed the 6 ball. It ran safe, however, and Ghaffari’s jump attempt left an open table for Pawelczyk. This time she made no mistakes for a 4-1 lead.
Looking set for victory, Pawelczyk nudged the 9 ball giving her a harder shot on the 8 but she made it with aplomb and then duly polished off the 9 and the 10 balls for what was a wonderful victory.
The bronze medals in the 10 ball went to Tina Gulic (CRO) and Lena Primus (AUT)
Play continues on Sunday 31st July with a continuation of the 8 ball events.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected
matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
Three World titles were to be won on this final day of the 2021 Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships in Kalgenfurt, Austria. In the morning, the faces of the youngsters warming up for their D-day showed the enormity of what could be achieved. To have their name added to the WPA hall of fame and tohave their name cemented in 9-ball history.
Austria, being the organizing country fared well in the girls’ division. One Austrian semi-final guaranteed one in the final. Kapeller, already having survived a hill-hill decider in the quarterfinal, had yet another one in the semi-final against her compatriot Lena Primus. This time she found herself on the receiving end though, falling victim to Primus’ fighting spirit.The other semi-final was contested between Polish Pawelczyk and Korean Kim. This turned out to be a much more one-sided affair. Kim barraged through to the final with a 9-4 victroy.
The final was what one can expect, filled with great shots, unforced errors and drama. Of the two, Primus was the one keeping her composure best in the first half of the match. What impressed in the second half was firstly the ferocious fightback by Kim, refusing to roll over. Then, when Kim was breathing down Primus’neck, the question was whether the Austrian would be able to withstand the pressure. She did just that and more. It unleashed her true potential and she powered on to victory. 9-7 the victory, a spot in the World 10-ball Championship for women in september here in Klagenfurt, Austria, but most importantly….the title for life, the World Champion 2021.
In the U17 division it was Netherlands versus Poland. Two young guns, two European champions who have fought it out more than once in the European Championships. Jastrzab from poland the reigning European 8-ball Champion, Dutch Pongers the current European 9-ball Champion. The were favourites to make it to the final from day one, but it had by no means been easy. Pongers beat wildcard Rompanen from Finland in the semi-final with the narrowest of margins. Jastrzab beat young Japanese Oda by a score of 9-7. Young Oda, it must be said, won the hearts of the fans with his stroke, his demeanour and table presence. What a character and player…but this time he would have to settle for bronze.
The final was a lopsided affair. Where after an error-strewn opening phase, Jastrzab clicked into gear, Pongers continued to struggle with the shotclock, his gameplan and his timing. Little mistakes did Jastrzab need from his Nederland-opponent, who looked dim and down in the chair. The Polish Champion put on a clinic and showed the world what a classy player he is. Textbook perfect alignemtn and cue-action and truly a perfect temperament for our game. Hail Dominik, the World U17 Champion!!
In the U19-final, with German Neuhausen and Polish Kural battling it out, the title-fight had even more gravity than the two previous finals. Neuhausen was the U17 World Champion two years ago, winning today meant he could join an even more elite group. Kural, after Jastrzab earlier, could become World Champion and thus the second on the day for Poland. On a sidenote, Riley Adkins became only the fourth US-medalist in a Junior World Championship ever. He fell prey to Kural in the semi-final with a clear scoreline of 11-5. Riley is learning the trade from his father Dee, who is a former All Around Champion at the Derby City Classic.
Neuhausen was the favourite in this final. The final was for him to lose more than for Kural to win, so was the thought of many. The German has more experience and therefore more composure in the pressure-packed arena. That is a big burden, a lot of weight to carry. He was not flawless in the opening phase, but exactly that experience and composure seemed to prove the difference. After another missed opportunity by Kural, Neuhausen looked to extend his lead to 5-1. But as Neuhausen failed to convert, a different script was put to paper. Kural from Krakow sensed fragility, managed to put his own into perspective and started to look the better player of the two. Once Kural levelled the score and put his neck in front a couple of times, it looked like hill-hill was written allover this final. It was 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8.
Krakow, or Poland for that matter started believing their boy could go all the way and secure a second gold on the day. The shift in the way this match evolved helped Neuhausen. No longer the clear favourite, no longer the thought about how it should be…pure survival. He managed to produce a solid and robust 10 minutes at the right time. He pulled away and finish clinically to clinch his second World title. It reminds of the saying:”Soccer is 90 minutes 11 against 11 and then the Germans win”. He came with it when it was needed the most and that is what champions do. It was the last Junior World Championship for young Moritz and he looks well on his way to follow the footsteps of many iconic compatriots that have gone before him: Ortmann, Souquet, Hohmann, Filler.
And so this festival in Klagenfurt comes to an end. Predator and its team have fueled the engine for the growth of the sport. They have brought great pool to the audience with a triple-A production and a beautifully suspenseful shootout-format. We, the people, crave for more of the same. Lastly, this would not have been possible without the commitment of the local organizers, the volunteers and the billiard-loving community of Klagenfurt. We all leave for home tired, satisfied and very much looking forward to the next gathering.
One of the most striking and surprising athletes today was Lena Primus (AUT). The young Austrian already attracted attention last night with her eagerness to train. Today, when it got serious, she showed no nerves and convinced with a good performance in all three games. Yvonne Ullmann-Hybler (GER) was the first to go. Primus prevailed at the end of a hard-fought match with 7:5. The next victim of the young Austrian was Pia Filler (GER). The wife of the exceptional German player Joshua Filler did not have enough to offer Primus today and the match ended 7:5 in favour of Primus. In the qualifying round of the winners, Primus finally defeated Nathalie Rohmer (FRA) and booked her place in the single knockout of the last 16 women.
The draw did not go well for the two Polish friends. In a field of 40 women from over a dozen European nations, Monika Zabek and Ewa Bak (both POL) had the misfortune to meet directly in the first round. Of course, they have known each other for ages and train together regularly. Today they had to find out which of the two would go via the winners’ round and who would have to be sent to the left side of the roster. After a really intense match, Zabek won 7:6 against Bak. In the following match, the Pole met Diana Stateczny (GER). She was also victorious in the end and marched undeterred into the round of the last 16 women.
Another rather unknown player is Chantal Stadler (GER). She eliminated her compatriot Christine Steinlage clearly in the first round with 7:2. After that she won just as clearly with 7:3 against Vania Franco (POR). Her next opponent Lynn Pijpers (NED) made life a bit more difficult for her. Nevertheless, Stadler won 7:5 against Pijpers in the end and reached the round of the last 16 players.
Defending champion Chang Jung-Lin made it through the first round of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship with an 8-6 success over Dutchman Tim de Ruyter on the opening day of play at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
