Rubilen Amit is out of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, while Jasmin Ouschan suffered her first defeat of the event at the hands of Germany’s Pia Filler.
It means Ouschan will now face Bojana Sarac, the runner-up of last year’s Austrian Open, in the losers’ qualification round on Friday. Allison Fisher will also have to return on Friday morning having lost to ‘Amber’ Chia Hua Chen for the third time in the last four weeks.
Amit won the World Women’s 10-Ball last time it was staged – in 2013 – but her long-awaited title defense came to an end at the hands of Poland’s Monika Zabek, who won 7-3 against the Filipino but was later eliminated herself when she lost 7-3 to Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.
After Amit’s defeat to Zabek, a re-run of the recent Canada Open final between Allison Fisher and Chen took center stage on one of the two feature tables. Chen had also faced Fisher in the opening round in Canada, and both matches in that event went to shootouts won by Chen. There was no chance of a shootout in this tournament though, but it was another very close match. It nipped and tucked with neither player able to establish more than a one-rack advantage at any time, but Chen pulled away at the end to win 7-5.
The session’s final match on the main table saw Ouschan take on Filler. Ouschan had registered two 7-2 wins to remain in the winners’ side of the draw, but things wouldn’t be so easy against her German opponent in the qualification round. Filler is European 8-ball champion and stayed neck and neck with Ouschan, treating the spectators to a hill-hill thriller.
Filler’s break left a layout which promised a dramatic final rack and it delivered some nail-biting drama. Ouschan twice missed the 5 but was first to get an opening on the 6, which had been tied on the side rail with the 8, however, in the end, it was Filler who landed the victory, and with it a place in the last 16. For Ouschan, she’ll return tomorrow with another chance to qualify against Bojana Sarac.
Play continues from 9am on Friday.
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.
Fresh off her undefeated win two weeks ago at the WPBA’s Northern Lights Classic in Minnesota, where she faced Allison Fisher for the first time in a final match since 2016, Kelly Fisher came to the CSI/Predator US Pro Billiard Series’ Alfa Women’s Las Vegas Open, held this past weekend (March 31-April 3) and went undefeated a second time to capture her second straight WPBA title. Though Allison Fisher was, once again, ‘in the house,’ the two did not meet up at this latest event. Allison was eliminated in the opening round of the single-elimination final phase to which they’d both advanced. The event drew 64 entrants to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The event was divided into two phases; an opening, 64-entrant, double-elimination Phase 1, followed by a 16-entrant, single-elimination Phase 2 that eventually crowned Kelly as the champion. The format was best-two-out-of-three races to 4. If the competitors were tied after two matches, a “spot shootout’ followed to determine the winner.
Kelly, who was in a 16-player, Phase 1 bracket that included eventual runner-up, Brittany Bryant, advanced to be among the eight winners’ side entrants in Phase 2 without having to play a third match. She played a total of 27 games against three opponents in Phase 1 and gave up only three of them, downing Sarah Kapeller (4-0, 4-1), Ashley Burrows (4-0, 4-0) and Cathy Metzinger (4-1, 4-1). To join Kelly in advancement to Phase 2, Bryant, in the meantime, had to play 44 games and lost 18 of them. She got by Anna Riegler and junior competitor Savannah Easton, both 4-2, 4-2, before facing Jennifer Baretta, who won the opening set 2-4. Bryant came back to win the second set and the “spot shootout,” both double hill.
Angela Ticoalu got by Jeannie Seaver, Nicole Keeney and Woojin Lee with an aggregate score of 24-15 to qualify for Phase 2, as did Susan Williams from the same 16-entrant section of the opening bracket. Williams sent June Maiers, Vang Bui Xuan and Joanne Ashton to the loss side to join Ticoalu in the winners’ side advancement to Phase 2.
Allison Fisher chalked up an even more impressive Phase 1 than Kelly had. She, too, advanced to Phase 2 without having to play a third match against any of her three opponents, downing Susan Wilbur, Veronique Menard and Naomi Williams and giving up only two racks (to Menard, in their second race-to-4). Kyoko Sone joined Allison in advancement to Phase 2 from the same 16-entrant section of the opening bracket, downing Sandy Badger, 13-year-old junior competitor Sofia Mast and Amalia Matas Heredia.
Rounding out the field of eight winners’ side competitors to advance to Phase 2 were Jasmin Ouschan and Line Kjorsvik. Ouschan got by two of her opponents without having to play a “spot shootout” third match, downing Tamami Okuda 4-2, 4-1 and Beth Fondell 4-1, 4-2, before splitting her first two against Mary Tam 1-4, 4-3. Ouschan won the shootout 3-2 to advance. Kjorsvik did not play a third, tie-breaking “spot shootout” against any of her first three opponents either, joining Ouschan in advancement after defeating Gigi Callejas (4-1, 4-2), Camille Campbell (4-2, 4-0) and Melissa Helland (4-0, 4-1).
After five losers’ side rounds, Kaylee McIntosh, Woojin Lee, Angela Janic, Heather Cortez, Melissa Helland, Mary Tam, Amalia Matas Heredia and Ashley Burrows joined the eight winners’ side competitors in advancement to Phase 2, which in some ways, was notable for those left behind as much as for those who advanced. Among those who failed to make the cut were long-time WPBA veterans (in no particular order) Stephanie Mitchell, Teruko Cucculelli, Monica Webb, Jeannie Seaver, Liz Cole, Kim Newsome, Emily Duddy, Dawn Hopkins, Loree Jon Brown, Janet Atwell and Caroline Pao. It should also be noted that while both 13-year-old junior competitors, Sofia Mast and Skylar Hess, failed to advance, one (Mast) fell to an opponent (Angela Janic) who was among the final 16 and the other (Hess) was eliminated by someone (Cucculelli) who arguably should have been. It was the first appearance for these two extraordinarily talented and professionally-composed young women and WPBA competitors should be on notice that these two will be back and barring any unforeseen life changes, for many years to come.
The Final Four in this event competed in plenty of time for those so inclined to turn their attention to the NCAA Final Four, which got started well after the four ladies in Vegas got underway at about 2 p.m. on Saturday. It was an International Final Four, which was absent representation from the United States.Kelly Fisher, representing the UK was matched up against Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan. Spain’s Amalia Matas Heredia, who, in February, chalked up her first win on the European Ladies’ Tour, faced Canada’s Brittany Bryant.
Kelly Fisher had kept her no-third-match streak going through the opening round against Heather Cortez, whom she defeated 4-1, 4-0 before drawing Angeline Ticoalu, who took the opening set against Fisher 4-2. Fisher came back to win the second set 4-1 and then, in something of a nail-biter, the “spot shootout” 6-5. Ouschan, who got by Kaylee McIntosh 4-0, 4-1 in the opening round of Phase 2 had her own nail-biter in the second round, where she won two straight double hill fights against Kyoko Sone to draw Kelly.
Advancing to the other semifinal, Bryant had played 24 games against two opponents, eliminating Woojin Lee 4-2, 4-1 and then Ashley Burrows 4-2, 4-3 to advance. Heredia proved to be Allison Fisher’s downfall in the opening round of Phase 2. Fisher took the opening set, double hill, but Heredia came back to win the second set and the “shootout,” double hill. Heredia went on to down Mary Tam 4-1, 4-3 to pick up Bryant.
Kelly Fisher downed Ouschan 4-2, 4-1 in their semifinal matchup. She was joined in the finals by Bryant, who’d defeated Heredia 4-2, 2-4 and 4-2 in the “shootout.”
It’s not hard to imagine Fisher’s “I’ve got this,” and Bryant’s “Uh, oh, trouble right here in Sin City” when Fisher shut Bryant out in the opening set of the final. It’s also not hard to imagine the spectator’s rooting for Bryant in the second set when she and Kelly finished the 6th game, tied at 3 apiece. Fisher, though, completed her undefeated run by winning the second set to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, as well as sponsors and partners the WPBA, Alfa Coin, CueSports International, Predator Group, Kamui, Seybert’s, Medalla Light, Rums of Puerto Rico, BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League.
After 11 days of play, the 42nd annual Dynamic Billards European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair users concluded on Saturday 12th March. With 15 separate events to contend for, nearly 200 athletes from across Europe came to the picturesque Slovenian town of Lasko.
In the end it was the German squad who topped the medal table with five gold, three silver and three bronze to total 11 medals overall. They were some distance ahead of Finland in second place who secured five medals – three gold, a silver and a bronze. In total, 21 different countries were among the medals.
Individually, there were four multi-medallists in the men’s divisions. Veteran Niels Feijen (NED) headed the table with a gold medal in the 9 ball plus two bronzes. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) grabbed a gold in the 10 ball plus a bronze in the 8 ball. Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk took two silvers in the 10 ball and team event respectively. Finally, Mario He of Austria took a silver and a bronze.
In the ladies’ events, it was the fast-improving Pia Filler of Germany who led the way. She collected gold medals in the 8 ball and the team competition as well as a silver in the straight pool. In total, seven other players collected two medals each. Amalia Matas (ESP), Oliwia Zalewska (POL), Tina Vogelmann (GER) and Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR) all won a gold plus a bronze while Ana Gradisnik (SLO) took two silvers. The other two multi-medallist women were Line Kjorsvik (NOR) and Sara Rocha of Portugal.
In the wheelchair division, it was once again Finland’s Jouni Tahti who came out on top with two gold medals. The other gold was won by his long-time rival Henrik Larsson who also left with a silver and a bronze. Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore came close twice but had to settle for two silver medals and a bronze. The remaining double-medallist was Britain’s David Beaumont who collected a brace of bronzes.
Janni Siekkinen, Casper Matikainen, Jani Uski and Petri Makkonen
In the penultimate day at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships in Lasko, Slovenia, it was an evening of drama and excitement as the destination of the medals in the men’s and women’s team events was determined. And it was Finland in the men’s and Germany in the ladies’ who took the gold medals in a pair of thrilling finals.
In the men’s event, there were three matches playing simultaneously with the first team to achieve two wins carrying off the gold medals and the trophy. The featured match was on the TV table and involved Casper Matikainen (Finland) facing off against Daniel Maciol of Poland in 9-Ball.
The willowy Finn was always ahead of the game with some quality shot-making while his opponent never quite got to grips with the match. Matikainen had led 3-1 and 4-2, while the other two tables saw it at 3-3 in the 10-ball match between Petri Makkonen and Sebastian Batkowski, with the 8-ball encounter between Jani Uski and Wojciech Szewczyk also tied up at 3-3.
Always staying ahead of his opponent, Matikainen maintained his two-rack margin before leaping into a 6-3 lead. The Finn enjoyed some beneficial fortune as that became 7-3 and victory was in his grasp. At that same juncture, the other two games were in Poland’s favour as they led 6-4 in the 10-Ball encounter and 4-3 in the 8-Ball.
A fruitless break from Maciol gave the table back to Matikainen and with the balls spread nicely, he cleared up to reach the hill with a five-game cushion. Maciol relaxed a little as he won the next for 8-4 but in what was the final rack, Matikainen made an excellent bank on the 2 ball, leaving a difficult 3/9 combo but with a comfortable lead, he took it on and made it, giving the first of the three available points to Finland.
The focus now shifted to tables two and three as Petri Makkonen moved to the hill in the 10-ball match, having overcome a two-rack deficit to leave Finland within a rack of the gold medals. Makkonen, with the break, delivered an enormous shot to down three balls. Sucking down deep breaths to keep himself calm, Makkonen rattled the jaws with the 1 ball to give the table back to Batkowski as the 8-ball match moved to five racks each.
Makkonen though got back to the table and had a terrific opportunity to bring home the gold. The balls were all there for the Finn as he pocketed the orange 5 into the centre pocket. The 6 was down the rail and the 8, 9 and 10 all out in the open. The seasoned Finn composed himself and took them down as his two jubilant team mates ran into the arena to celebrate their first ever team gold medal.
Commented Matikainen, “It feels great! I have a really nice team with me and we all trust each other. We didn’t really think it was going to be this time but this feels really good. It was a good match for me in the final but throughout the tournament I think everybody played good.”
For Petri Makkonen it was a nerve-racking affair but potting the championship 10 ball was a supreme moment; “I was one rack down all the way until I was 6-4 down but I dug deep. I had a few hiccups but I overcame them. I saw Casper was winning and Uski was playing good so it was easy to play and I relaxed a little bit when I saw we were one up and Uski was 6-5 up.
“I played good, we played good and here’s the result. Watching your team mates winning and at the table really gives you energy and it’s much easier to overcome things in your own match. Relieved is the word and we got the result we wanted,” he added.
Final
Finland 2 – 0 Poland
Casper Matikainen 9 – 4 Daniel Maciol (9 Ball)
Petri Makkonen 8 – 7 Sebastian Batkowski (10 Ball)
Jani Uski v Wojciech Szewczyk (8 Ball) Did not complete
Semi Finals
Finland 2 – 0 Poland
Jani Uski 8 – 5 Diego Pedro Simon (8 Ball)
Casper Matikainen 9 – 7 Jonas Souto (9 Ball)
Petri Makkonen 8 – 1 Francisco Diaz Pizarro (10 Ball)
Poland 2 – 1 Denmark
Wojciech Szewczyk 8 – 5 Jeppe Thyde (8 Ball)
Daniel Maciol 9 – 3 Mickey Krause (9 Ball)
Sebastian Batkowski 5 – 8 Andreas Madsen (10 Ball)
Veronika Ivanovskaia, Melanie Subenguth, Tina Vogelmann and Pia Filler and German National Coach Tom Damm
In the women’s event it was Germany who prevailed with the winning duo of Pia Filler and Tina Vogelmann who defeated the Norwegian pairing of Line Kjorsvik and Nina Torvund via a deciding shootout after the two teams couldn’t be separated in regulation play. The format of the Dynamic Billards Women’s Team event saw two matches in 8 ball and 9 ball, with a shootout in operation should the two teams be tied at one match apiece.
After defeating Switzerland 2-0 in their semi-final, the German pair had a tougher proposition against Norway. The first match to finish was Pia Filler’s 7-1 9-ball win over Torvund, leaving the medal destination resting on the other game of 8 ball. With a big lead though, Kjorsvik closed out a 6-2 victory over Vogelmann to leave a shoot-out decider, where the black ball rests on the spot, with and the cue ball positioned at the centre of the head-string.
It took 16 shots to separate the pair as Norway missed with the score at 7-7 and the Germans converted to give themselves team gold, breaking a run of two consecutive silver medals. As well as Vogelmann and Filler, who collected her second gold of the Championships, medals also went to team members Veronika Ivanovskaia and Melanie Suβenguth who had won the team’s winners’ qualification match, also against Norway.
Commented Vogelmann, “It’s amazing, I can’t believe it at this moment. I was sure we were well-prepared; we’re a good team and we have so many good players in Germany at the moment, many more than the four playing in this tournament. You have pressure because you know you want to win it and you can win it but I think we are a shoot-out monster team!”
Suβenguth added, “I’m very proud of the team and of course the final was very exciting to watch and I’m very happy we got the win.”
For Ivanovskaia who had played her part in the earlier rounds, it wasn’t an easy experience; “It was very nervy watching. There’s a lot of support between each other and a lot of belief in ourselves and they both played very good in the final.”
Finally, for Pia Filler, who is still alive in the 9-ball event which concludes on Saturday, it was another great day at the ECs; “It was my first time playing in the team event and I’m very proud of us, I think we did a really good job. I know the job for today was done very well but there’s another gold medal to be won and of course I’ll be trying my very best to win that too.”
Final
Germany 2 – 1 Norway
Pia Filler 7 – 1 Nina Torvund (9 Ball)
Tina Vogelmann 2 – 6 Line Kjorsvik (8 Ball)
Germany 8 – 7 Norway (Shoot Out)
Semi Finals
Germany 2 – 0 Switzerland
Tina Vogelmann 6 – 2 Claudia Von Rohr (8 Ball)
Pia Filler 7 – 2 Christine Feldmann (9 Ball)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events
across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool –
plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four
divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Pia Filler of Germany won her maiden gold medal at the Dynamic Billard European Championships as she triumphed in the 8-Ball division, over-turning local hope Ana Gradisnik in Lasko, Slovenia. Having won silver in the Straight Pool earlier in the week, Filler cemented her rapid ascent to the top level of ladies’ European pool and she can now look forward to the 9-ball division with renewed confidence and a realistic hope of another gold.
It was disappointment for Gradisnik who was looking to give her host country their first gold medal of the Championships but she will have to regroup for the final division of 9-ball. Bronze medals went to perennial podium finisher Line Kjorsvik (Norway) and 10-Ball gold medallist Eyllul Kibaroglu of Turkey.
Filler said post-match, “I’m absolutely over the moon right now! I’ve been working so hard over these past two years with my husband and coach Joshua, and our common coach Gunter Geisen. All that work paid off and I’m just enjoying the moment right now.”
“It was tough to really find time to prepare for the Europeans as Joshua was playing a lot of world ranking events but I think we made the best out of it and we always try and prepare for whatever is up next. We don’t always have that much time but it obviously worked out!” she added.
WOMEN’S
Final
Pia Filler (GER) 6 – 3 Ana Gradisnik (SLO)
Semi Finals
Pia Filler (GER) 6 – 1 Eyllul Kibaroglu (TUR)
Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 6 – 5 Line Kjorsvik (NOR)
Henrik Larsson
WHEELCHAIR
In the wheelchair division, it was that man again, as Sweden’s Henrik Larsson added to his overall medal tally with another gold in the 8-Ball division, his 12th gold on his European Championship journey. With just the 9-Ball division to play out, the multi-titled Swede has a great opportunity to top his long-time rival Jouni Tahti as the two of them continue to dominate the gold medal positions at successive Dynamic Billard European Championships.
Larsson had too much in the championship match as he defeated Ireland’s Fred Dinsmore, himself no stranger to gold medals, by 5-2.
He said afterwards, “I’m really happy about this final and happy to have a full field. We have 22 players and we have absolutely the strongest players here, and that makes it worthwhile. The standard and the level in wheelchair have been rising and rising, and in this event Jouni got knocked out in the quarter finals by Matej Brajkovic who is a phenomenal player so I think it’s just a matter of time before you finally get rid of us! 9-Ball is my favourite game; a lot of cue action, so I’m really looking forward to that and we’ll see what happens.”
Final
Henrik Larsson (SWE) 5 – 2 Fred Dinsmore (IRE)
Semi Finals
Henrik Larsson (SWE) 5 – 1 Kurt Deklerck (BEL)
Fred Dinsmore (IRE) 5 – 4 Matej Brajkovic (SLO)
Emil Andre Gangflot
UNDER 23s
With a system in place that continues to produce the best players in the world, the Under 23 events at the Dynamic Billard European Championships are a terrific pointer to tomorrow’s global stars of the game. This week, Emil-Andre Gangflot of Norway made his mark as he took the gold medal in the 8-Ball division, defeating Finland’s Arseny Sevastyanov 8-4 in the decider.
Gangflot, from Fredrikstad, turned 19 just two weeks ago and was playing in his first Under 23 division at the Euros, having tasted success in the juniors. As one of the youngest players in this age category, the win was a testament to his maturity as a player as well as his red-hot prospects for the future.
“I’m really surprised. I didn’t think I could win this one in my first year but I’m really happy. It was a great tournament as usual and I’m obviously delighted. In the whole tournament, I was just trying to stay focused and take one game at a time and one ball at a time and to win this title is amazing. I’m going to just try my best in 9 ball and see what happens,” said Gangflot.
Final
Emil-Andre Gangflot (NOR) 8 – 4 Arseny Sevastyanov (FIN)
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship sees 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
The opening discipline of the 2022 Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships saw gold medals for Germany’s Joshua Filler and Spain’s Amalia Matas in the men’s and women’s straight pool events respectively. Following two days of play – double then single elimination – it came down to the final four in Lasko on Thursday night, and it was Germany and Spain who prevailed.
Filler always had the upper hand against his veteran Czech opponent Roman Hybler. An initial visit of 68 gave the German a cushion but at this level, any player can make match-winning visits. Hybler got to 18 points before losing position and missing, before Filler reached 94 then missed himself.
Hybler, though, failed to make an impact before a succession of fouls saw a re-rack with the scores set at 101-6. A scratch from Filler while on 113 saw Hybler back into the fray, and with his opponent nearing the finish line, he realistically needed to win the match in this visit.
He got to 50 but lost the cue ball down table and couldn’t manage anything with a speculative power shot. That left the stage to Filler who closed the match out for a 125-50 victory.
The German star has the ability to make the game look easy but explained, “What nobody sees is the hard work I’m putting in with my coaches. That final means a lot to me as six years ago straight pool was my favourite game. Actually, in my heart it is my favourite game as it’s what I started with. I wasn’t good at the beginning but I kept learning and learning and then I played ECs as a youth then won a couple of European Championships in straight pool.
“This was the first time I’ve ever played straight pool in the senior men’s division, and the fact I’ve won the first time is just unbelievable. My goal was actually to get to the quarters because I know how good the standard is and everyone can make 100 balls.
“I felt good though. I’d lost three finals in a row this year but it’s my fifth event and fifth final so I feel just amazing. I’m playing in all the other events here but I’ll always give 110% but it’s going to be a crazy week!” he added.
Final
Joshua Filler (GER) 125 – 50 Roman Hybler (CZE)
Semi Finals
Joshua Filler (GER) 125 – 100 Niels Feijen (NED)
Roman Hybler (CZE) 125 – 83 Mario He (AUT)
Amalia Matas celebrates her win
In the women’s final, Filler’s wife Pia, playing in her first European Championship straight pool, gave it her all but came up short against outstanding Spanish talent Amalia Matas, who had earlier won the women’s Euro Tour event at this same venue.
“I have a lot of confidence winning two successive tournaments and I can’t wait for the next one tomorrow. I’m very dedicated and put in lot of practice in this sport. This means a lot when I think of my family and friends and it gives me a lot of pride to know that I’m representing my country,” commented Matas.
She now competes in the ladies 10 ball division and will be highly-fancied to go deep, given her rich vein of form.
There are 15 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the men’s and women’s team competitions. In total there are four divisions; men, women, under 23 men and wheelchair users.
Amalia Matas of Spain is the 2022 Predator Women’s Lasko Open champion as she out-paced Poland’s Oliwia Zalewska by 7-3 to claim her first ever win on the Tour. The match was never a classic but the Spanish lady remained focused throughout and got the job done in impressive style. Cheered on by a bank of Spanish players, Matas could barely contain her delight after she pocketed the winning 9-ball.
“It was a difficult match being the final but I started well and just tried to stay focused on every ball. You can never look too far ahead in any match and she started to come back at me a little. I knew I would get a chance though and thankfully I was able to take it,” said Matas after the game.
From 38 starters these were the last two ladies standing. Matas, ranked No.15, had earlier defeated Hannan Memic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 7-1 in a comfortable semi-final match, while Zalewska had prevailed in a hard-fought contest against Norway’s Line Kjorsvik.
Matas took the opener and added to her lead with some careful potting in the second rack. There was more confident play from the Spanish girl as she closed out the third to take a very useful 3.0 lead. She got back to the table in the next following a dry break from Zalewska and did well to clear to increase her lead.
With no balls on the break from Matas, Zalewska had a great opportunity to stop the rot but missed the 1 ball, The rack then became scrappy as both players missed a succession of balls and when Matas scratched playing a safety, it gave Zalewska the chance to get on the scoreboard and calm herself at 4.1.
The Spaniard took the next as Zalewska’s nerves began to show as she struggled to settle at the table. With a 5-1 lead in the race-to-7 match, it looked as if Matas had done all the hard work. Both ladies had multiple visits in the next but Matas gained ball in hand when Zalewska failed to extract herself from a snooker. From there, Matas ran out to put herself on the hill at 6-1.
Zalewska delivered her best break of the match in the next as she spread the balls out and left an easy pot on the 1 ball. She then ran out to reduce the arrears and give herself a massive confidence boost.
Breaking for the match, Matas fell foul of the three-point rule to hand the table back to the Polish girl. Needing to win every rack now, Zalewska looked much more comfortable as she ran out to get to 6-3. Unfortunately, she scratched off the break in the next to give Matas the table and a chance to run out for the win. Looking at her maiden Euro Tour title, she grabbed the opportunity to crown a 7-3 victory.
“To win my first ever Predator Euro Tour event is something fantastic for me. I practice hard and come to the tournaments but this win makes all the difference. Hopefully, it will give me more confidence so I can compete at the same level for the rest of the year,” added Matas.
The Predator Women’s Euro Tour was the first in a series of six events over 2022, with the remaining five tournaments taking place in Treviso, Italy (April), St. Johann im Pongau, Austria (June), Petrich, Bulgaria (August), venue to be announced (October), and Treviso, Italy in November.
Matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com
Today, the 9-ball competition was launched at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 in NH Conference Centre Koningshof, Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Several interesting results could be witnessed.
One outstanding match was definitely the encounter between Fedor Gorst (RUS) and Andreas Madsen (DEN). Both players have earned their merits in the junior’s divisions in the previous years. Madsen is 21-years-old, Gorst is 18 years of age these days. The match started out quite promising for Gorst. He had the first break shot and pocketed two balls, having a perfect position for the 2-ball. He played a good safety shot and forced Madsen to commit a foul. Then he ran the balls but missed an easy 6-ball, leaving it all for Madsen. What an unnecessary miss that was! Madsen ran out and took the next three consecutive racks as well, advancing to a 4:0 lead over Gorst. Finally in rack #5, Gorst was able to open his account in the match, getting to 1:4. But Madsen struck back and won another two racks, leading 6:1 now after 7 racks. Having executed the break shot in rack #8, Madsen could play the 2-ball but not pocket it. He played a good safety shot. Gorst was able to play a correct shot and come up with a resafe position. Madsen hit the 2-ball but left a shot for Gorst. The Russian came tot he table and won his second rack, turning the scoreboard to 2:6. The match continued with Gorst committing unbelievably easy mistakes while Madsen was rock solid and focussed on the table. He continued shooting pretty self-confident and consequently won the match with 9:2. Andreas Madsen will advance into the round of the last 64 players single elimination while Gorst awaits the winner of the match Erol Kayas (TUR) v Michel Bartol (CRO) for his chance to be drawn into the single elimination stage as well.
Other remarkable results from today include „The Siberian Express“ Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) wiping the floor with Miha Zajc (SLO) 9:1. Ralf Souquet (GER) even whitewashed his opponent in the first round, handing Iker-Andoni Echeverria (ESP) a 9:0. Ivar Saris (NED) sent Joshua Filler (GER) to the loser’s side with 9:5 in their opening match. Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN) came up with a bit of a surprise, winning 9:6 over Spain’s #1 David Alcaide. Kim Laaksonen (FIN) won a heartbreaker with 9:8 over favoured Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). Laaksonen’s teammate Jani Siekkinen (FIN) took down newly crowned 8-ball Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) with 9:6.
In the girls’ division, two medallists from this week met in the first round of their 9-ball quest for glory. 8-ball Champion Darya Siranchuk (UKR) took it up against 10-ball runner-up Daria Cheprasova (BLR). The match was determined by many mistakes. Especially Cheprasova came up with a lot of positioning errors which Siranchuk was able to capitalise from. In the end, Siranchuk was a deserved 6:3 winner over Cheprasova.
In the women’s division, Line Kjoersvik (NOR) was drawn against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED). The winner of that match would go up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR). The match was quite even for the first 9 racks. Kjoersvik was up 5:4 with her own break shot coming up. She had a ball down and a tough shot on the 2-ball which she missed. Peeters had the chance to level the match at 5:5. But she missed an extremely easy 2-ball to the corner pocket and gave second live to Kjoersvik in that rack. Both athletes had several more attempts at the table but Peeters always missed one shot too many. Kjoersvik took the rack and went on the hill with 6:4. To make matters worse, Peeters scratched when breaking the balls in rack #11. Kjoersvik got to the table with ball in hand and that sealed the deal for the Norwegian. She finished all balls on the table and won the match with 7:4. Kjoersvik will be up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR) in the next round.
The seniors’s, ladies’ and U17 division had their first round matches played with no big upsets. In the Under 19 division however, Tin Petljak (CRO) surprisingly managed to defeat Christian Froehlich (GER) by a hair’s breadth with 8:7 in the first round. Another top gun who was put in the loser’s round was Wiktor Zielinski (POL). The stellar talent from Poland had to accept a 7:8 defeat against Ilia Nekleenov (RUS). The only wheelchair match played so far today was Daniel Savic (AUT) winning with 7:4 over Gintas Jonauskas (LTU).
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with the first matches from the 9-ball individuals competition. The team’s finals are scheduled for 17:00 CET.
The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
It was anything but bland. The 3rd Annual Bland Cup tournament, held on Friday, June 24 at the home of Doctor Richie Bland in Carrollton, GA, a few miles west of Atlanta, featured 10 of the top women in the sport; five, playing for the USA (Monica Webb, Ewa Laurance, Vivian Villarreal, Jeanette Lee and Megan Smith) and five, for Europe (Allison Fisher, Kelly Fisher, Jasmin Ouschan, Line Kjoersvik and Helena Thornfeldt). Entering the tournament, the two squads were tied at one Bland Cup victory apiece. In the end, Europe chalked up its second win; this one, by a match score of 21-17.
This annual tournament came about as the result of a geographic proximity between Dr. Bland and Monica Webb. Bland, a world-renowned archer, and Medical Director of the Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center in Carrollton, is a pool enthusiast and plays in a local APA league, which utilizes facilities owned by Webb (Stix in nearby Villa Rica, GA). Three years ago, they arranged the first Bland Cup Tournament to benefit West Georgia College's Athletic Foundation. Webb transports two tables from her room to add to the single table Bland has in his home. They sell tickets to the single-day event (approximately $100 per ticket, with some variation for the sale of blocks of tickets), which attracts luminaries from the area like Carrollton's mayor, state congressman, and (on this particular occasion), the grandson of the founder of Coca-Cola. In all Webb estimated that there were 200 or so spectators at this year's exhibition event.
"It's a very laid back, cocktail party-like arrangement," she said.
It's so laid back that no one kept scores of any kind, or remembers who played against whom at any given point. The lone exception is the one score that mattered; the race to 21 points (one point awarded for each individual game victory). While they played primarily one-on-one, there were a few Scotch Doubles games played, as well. It began at around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and finished at around 8:30 p.m, after which the women played challenge matches until just after midnight.
"We try to arrange this when (the women) are all here in the US," she said, "and we use it, basically, to get together once a year."
Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) just won the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open Women’s Euro-Tour event with a convincing 7:2 victory over Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) in the final match.
Czuprynska had the better roll of the balls in the final. Leading 3:2, she missed an 8-ball but the cue ball went snookered behind the 9-ball, leaving no shot for her opponent. Polovinchuk tried to hit the 8-ball over one rail and succeeded in doing so but the cue ball scratched in the side pocket. That brought Czuprynska to 4:2. Later on in the match, Czuprynska grew stronger while Polovinchuk obviously seemed to struggle to get going. Whatever the Ukrainian tried, she could not come up with something to put into her account. Trailing 2:5, Polovinchuk tried a kiss shot off the 1-ball and pocket the 9-ball. She did not make it; to the contrary, she left the 9-ball having over the pocket for Czuprynska who accepted the gift and went on the hill with a 6:2 lead. The final rack again was determined by the strong play of Czuprynska who finally pocketed the final 9-ball and won the match and the tournament with 7:2.
"I am so happy", stated Czuprynska, "this is my first victory in a Women’s Euro-Tour event. I am now looking forward to making it to the World Championships again and maybe finish with a 9th place or better", added Czuprynska.
Earlier today, Polovinchuk took care of two major upsets in the event. She ousted former Champion Monica Webb (USA) with 7:5 in the loser’s qualification round. Then she went on and defeated European star player Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) with 7:6 in the round of the last 16 players. In the quarter-finals, Polovinchuk took care of Kristina Tkach.
Top Eight Finishers Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2015 Women’s Euro-Tour
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 womeneurotouronline.com , or contact our press office.
Rubilen Amit is out of the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, while Jasmin Ouschan suffered her first defeat of the event at the hands of Germany’s Pia Filler.
