The owners of brand-new Berlin-based pool hall Bata Bar & Billards didn’t think about it too long when they got the chance to host the only European qualifier for the prestigious ANDY CLOTH 74th World Tournament of 14.1. And so it came that 18 of the top european players met last weekend to fight for two spots for New York and 800 Euro each for travel expenses. The qualifier was played with a double elimination format, races to 125.
Fans and players can attend the once a year special event August 4th-9th, 2014 at Steinway Billiards Cafe or watch online at www.worldstraightpool.com . It will be a star studded gala with billiard super stars such as Mika Immonen, Shane Van Boening, John Schmidt, Stephan Cohen, Johnny Archer, Darren Appleton & many more with Charlie Williams as the event MC. The ANDY CLOTH World Tournament of 14.1 is sponsored by ANDY CLOTH, Kamui Brands, OB Cues, Amsterdam Billiard Club, Realrealcool.com, Pool & Billiard Magazine , Aramith Balls, and George Beckman Kinetic Sculptures. Official patron 14.1 aficionados are Stu Mattana, Tom Gleich, Harold Siegel, and Dr. Greg Diehl Plastic Surgery. Dragon Promotions and Dr. Michael Fedak are pleased to also bring the 4th Annual Straight Pool Hall of Fame inducting "King" James Rempe and Frank "Sailor" Stellman. Since 1912, this will be the 74th production of the oldest billiard event in the world.
On the first day, Andre Lackner and Frank Scharbach fought their way through the winner’s bracket and should clash on sunday to play for the first spot in New York. Scharbach won two very close matches, one against Tobias Bongers with 125:120 and the next one 125:119 against Sebastian Ludwig, where he trailed 60:119 and sealed the deal with a very nice 65 and out. Lackner crushed the competition on day one, none of his opponents got more than 50 points, some of them names like Dieter Johns and Jörn Kaplan. In the loser’s bracket, Manuel Ederer, Marco Spitzky, Tobias Bongers, Jörn Kaplan, Thomas Damm and Sebastian Ludwig survived day 1.
Spectators also saw some well-known players drop out early: Dieter Johns, Tobias Hoiß and Stefan Nölle had to pack their stuff after day 1.
Sunday was decision day for the remaining eight players. Andre Lackner and Frank Scharbach clashed in a race to 150 for the first spot in New York. The winner would be qualified, the loser would get another chance later in the tournament. One could tell that both players were aware of what they were playing for. Gone was the relaxed and confident play both showed on saturday. Both were struggeling to get a feel for the table, with Lackner getting a better start and leading somewhat like 100:50. But Frank Scharbach never gave up and almost tied the match. But finally, he made one or two mistakes to much while Berlin local Andre Lackner made some crucial high-pressure shots and won the match with 150:107.
In the loser’s bracket, Marco Spitzky dominated Ederer, Ludwig and Kaplan and deserved his shot for the ticket to NY. In the match for the second spot, he faced Frank Scharbach again. In a race to 150, we saw a fight between traditional and modern 14.1. Scharbach used his meticulous planning skills, carefully splitting clusters and superb pattern play, while Spitzky favored the powerfull smash-and-runout style of modern straight pool players. Unfortunately, he was a little too dynamic, ran out of position a couple of times and made more mistakes than he could afford against Scharbach. Scharbach played the tournament high-run of 73 on these tight Diamond tables and sealed the deal with a clear 150:101 win. So finally, Andre Lackner and Frank Scharbach will be taking part in the 74th World Tournament of 14.1 in New York and joining the legends!
Pool fans are invited to have dinner with the world's greatest players at the 4th Annual 14.1 Straight Pool Hall of Fame Banquet by clicking here . The Straight Pool Hall of Fame Induction videos will be produced by Jerry Tarantola of www.NYCGrind.com and Ron Mason of www.GothamCityTechnologies.com . The Hall of Fame ceremonies will be streamed online for free on Ustream by Upstate Al of AZBtv.
People who can't make the dinner can watch the complete ceremony for free online at www.ustream.tv/channel/AZBtv
Live stream Pay Per View of the matches from Day 1 – Day 6 of the World 14.1 can be bought at www.worldstraightpool.com
"Every year the Straight Pool Hall of Fame sells out with over a hundred people attending. It's a classy, entertaining, and emotional celebration of the greats of the sport", says Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions.
Past inductees include live inductions of Ray Martin, Jerome Keough, Jack Colavita, Danny Diliberto, Oliver Ortmann, Gene Nagy. Group inductions by decades include 14.1 Hall of Famer legends Ralph Greenleaf, Frank Taberski, Erwin Rudolph, Jimmy Caras, Andrew Ponzi, Thomas Hueston, Alfredo de Oro.
The match was equal – on paper and on the slate. Both players are part of the European elite for many years now. So it was no wonder that the fight between the two was close and on a high level. Majid had the better start and got s small advantage over Muratore, taking a 5:3 lead. Muratore struggled with his position play but he never showed any sign of surrender to Majid. He hung in there and even managed to tie the match at 6:6. Then Majid was able to take the next rack and get on the hill first. The pressure was on for Muratore. The Italian hope tied the match again and made it 7:7 – hill-hill! What a drama. Then Muratore broke the final rack. He allowed Majid back to the table and the layout of the pool balls looked very promising to Majid. No problems, just making a few more shots to win the match. But Majid missed an easy 4-ball in the side pocket. That was more than Muratore needed. He ran the rack and tore the match away from Majid, winning 8:7.Muratore will stay in the winner’s round while Majid needs to make his way through the loser’s bracket now.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
The last two medals of this year’s Dynamic European Pool Championships were taken by the Polish women’s team and the Spanish men’s team.
In the women’s final, Oliwia Czuprynska drew first blood for the Polish team by winning her 8-ball match over Ine Helvik with 6:2. Line Kjoersvik tied the match result to 1:1 by winning the 9-ball match with 7:2 over Katarzyna Wesolowska. The shootout had to decide. There, the Polish team showed the better nerves and won the match with 5:4.
In the men’s team lineup between Germany and Spain, Ralf Souquet got the first point for the Germans by winning his 9-ball over newly crowned Francisco Diaz with 9:2. At that time things looked promising for team Germany. Jentsch and Ederer were both leading in their matches. But then David Alcaide overtook Dominik Jentsch and won the 8-ball match with 8:4. That must have been an incentive for Francisco Sanchez Ruiz. He came from trailing 1:3 to Manuel Ederer and shifted in to overdrive. He allowed one more rack for Ederer to win and finally won the 10-ball match with 8:4 and brought the Gold Medal to Spain.
Final Medals table:
1. Finland 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
2. Austria 2 Gold, 7 Bronze
3. Spain 2 Gold, 1 Bronze
4. Russia 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze
5. Germany 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
6. Great Britain 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
7. Norway 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
8. Netherlands 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
9. Poland 1 Gold
10. Ireland 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Sweden 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
12. France 1 Silver
Ukraine 1 Silver
13. Albania 1 Bronze
Estonia 1 Bronze
This concludes the coverage of the event.
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.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office
Ortmann, Ederer, Drago and Grabe also on their way into the last 64 player’s field
Friday, 23 March 2012:Dominic Jentsch (GER) has eliminated Evgen Novosad (UKR) from this year’s 10-ball Dynamic European Championships. He defeated Novosad with 8:4.
Both players showed really good pool and played extremely strong in the beginning of the match. They both had only one problem: The break shot! Jentsch won the lag, broke, came up dry and Novosad ran out. Then the other way around, Novosad broke dry and Jentsch ran out. That was repeated until the 7th rack. There, Novosad missed a ball and Jentsch took the lead for the first time making the score 4:3. The next rack provided the first useable break shot, executed by Novosad. Two balls went in the pockets but he did not have a shot on the 1-ball. This time, Jentsch missed the 1-ball and Novosad started pocketing balls until he found himself snookered on the 5-ball.
Suddenly something funny happened: He seemed to have forgotten his jump cue and asked Jentsch whether he could borrow his. Jentsch agreed with a smile and Novosad pocketed the 5-ball and ran the rack. Both players smiled about that. The score was even again, 4:4. Then Jentsch broke and Novosad played a strange safety which Jentsch handed back. Novosad left a shot for Jentsch and the German ran out. The next rack, Novosad came up dry again and Jentsch ran out again, now leading 6:4. The next two racks went into Jentsch’s account in a similar way and Jentsch proceeded to the round of the final 64 players. Novosad’s dreams have been shattered for this year’s 10-ball competition.
In the women’s division, Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) defeated Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) with 6:3. Ana Gradisnik (SLO) and Darya Sirotina (RUS) both won their matches with 6:0 and will join the other winners from today’s last round in tomorrow’s single elimination stage.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
Jasmin Ouschan had to deal with youngster Natalya Seroshtan (RUS) in the women’s final. That was the exact rematch from last year, when the encounter was a clear affair for Ouschan. Seroshtan, 14-years old at the time, lost 1:6. This year, Ouschan still seemed to be the high favourite for the title. But the match turned out into an unexpected thriller. Seroshtan played much better than last year. “She was already playing well last year but she became much stronger now. She played extremely well”, said Ouschan after the final match. Ouschan seemed to struggle much and could not get her momentum going. “I just returned from Taiwan before I came here and I feel like I have not enough power at the moment”, Ouschan stated. Seroshtan was even able to get a 4:2 lead over Ouschan. But then Jasmin focussed and grew stronger. Safety battles took place and both of them played on an equal level. In the 10th rack when Ouschan was leading 5:4, she was aiming on the 10-ball but missed it and gave Seroshtan another chance. The youngster pocketed a long and difficult 10-ball and tied the match at 5:5. Then, the match again developed into a safety battle with Seroshtan to make the wrong choice first. She went for a combination instead of playing a safety shot and missed it, leaving an open door for Ouschan. The Austrian defending champion took the chance and won the rack and the match with 6:5.
In the men’s division, Dominic Jentsch (GER) defeated defending champion Stephan Cohen (FRA) with 8:5. Jentsch played rock solid throughout the whole event. He never seemed to let anyone even think of beating him. He took a comfortable 4:1 lead in the match before Cohen got his game going. However, 4:5 was the best Cohen could do before Jentsch shifted into overdrive and snatched almost all remaining racks, winning the match with 8:5
In the wheelchair division, Daniel Luton (GBR) won unexpectedly clear over Fred Dinsmore (IRE) with 6:3. Luton was dominant throughout the whole match and Dinsmore did not find a way to stop his opponent.
High quality matches during the single elimination stage
Thursday, 22 March 2012: With a very good performance, Niels Feijen (NED) ousts Albin Ouschan (AUT) from the straight pool event with 125:1 . The setup itself was really interesting. On two of the three tables in the final arena we had favourite players playing against “underdogs” that are known to be strong and dangerous. But in all three cases, the favoured player won. Probably the best performance was offered by “The Terminator” Niels Feijen. He made exactly one mistake in the whole match. That was when he was leading 85:0 over Ouschan, he missed a shot. Ouschan came to an open table but missed his second ball already, only to et Feijen run another 40 balls and take the match. Feijen, a 4-times European straight pool champion and one-time World Champion in that discipline, made the game look easy since he played it so solid and strong. He was like a “train on a track”, rolling along without giving anyone the chance to stop him. Ouschan, who just recently won the Dynamic Euro-Tour in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, could only sit in his chair and watch Feijen tear his medal dreams apart.
Next to that table, David Alcaide (ESP) won against Aki Heiskanen (FIN) with 125:105. The match was much closer but not of the same quality as the match next to them. Both players missed quite some shots and Heiskanen was leading 80:39 before Alcaide received the wake-up call. Then, the Spaniard who became European straight pool champion in 2010 in Zagreb, Croatia, played more to his ability and finally was able to turn the tide in the match, winning with a comfortable lead in the end.
Other notable results include Marco Teutscher (NED) beating Manuel Ederer (GER) with 125:47. “Napoleon” Marcus Chamat (SWE) was still waving the Swedish flag in the men’s straight pool division. He won with 125:68 over Dmitry Chuprov (BLR) and continued his quest for glory in the next round when he had to face Artem Koshovyi (UKR). The Ukrainian ended Chamat’s hopes with a clear 125:85 victory.
In the women’s division, Line Kjoersvik (NOR) defeated Sara Roche (POR) with 75:28.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
Thursday, 01 March 2012: In the 2nd winner’s round, Dimitri Jungo (SUI) creamed Stephan Cohen (FRA) with 9:7.
Jungo definitely had the better start in the match. The table opened up in his favour and he was able to benefit from that. He succeeded in achieving a comfortable 5:1 and 6:3 lead over Cohen. Then, the French hopeful got better into stroke and he tied the match at 6:6 by playing solid and very focussed. Then the tide turned against him again and went in favour of Jungo. The winner of last year’s Dynamic German Open Euro-Tour in Brandenburg went ahead 7:6. Cohen answered and tied the match again, 7:7. It was again Jungo to go in front and achieving an 8:7 lead over Cohen. He put a lot of pressure on Cohen and in end won the match with 9:7. Cohen will have to go through the loser’s side of the field while Jungo is still on track on the winner’s side.
Other notable results include Tony Drago (MLT) defeating Ralf Souquet (GER) by a whisker with 9:8. The same result was good for Babken Melkonyan (ARM), a Romanian resident who surprisingly won against “Maharaja” Imran Majid (GBR). German young gun Manuel Ederer (GER) showed British top player Mark Gray (GBR) his limits and defeated him quite clearly with 9:5. In the heavyweight clash between two former World Champions, Thorsten Hohmann (GER) came out on top of Huidji See (NED), winning 9:7.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
Former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) has won against one of the last remaining Italian hopes at the Treviso Open, Fabio Petroni, with a clear result of 9-3.
His victory was never really in danger. The match looked like it would be close in the first four racks. After the score was 2-2, Peach played more solid and Petroni also got a bit unlucky in scratching with the cue ball and running out of position. Peach played merciless and did not get impressed by the fact that most people in the arena wanted to see him go down. Maybe that even motivated him more. Peach took five straight racks in a row, achieving a comfortable 7-2 lead over Petroni. “Fabulous” Fabio Petroni tried to fight back but all he could get was one more rack. His striking back was interrupted by another cue ball that scratched. Peach took his chances and ran two more racks, winning deservedly with 9-3. Since this was the winner’s bracket, Petroni will get one more chance to make it to the final 32 players while Peach has secured his seat in the single elimination part of the tournament.
Other notable results in the winner’s qualification round include Roman Hybler (CZE) destroying “Napoleon” Marcus Chamat (SWE) 9-4. Thomas Engert (GER), very experienced player and several time German and European Champion, fell to the blade of youngster Mario He (AUT) 7-9. Another favorite who had to give in was Darren Appleton (GBR). The US-Open and Champion of Champions winner was defeated by his fellow countryman Imran Majid 9-6. The matchups: Nick van den Berg (NED) v David Alcaide (ESP), Artem Koshovyi (UKR) v Christian Reimering (GER) and Manuel Ederer (GER) v Serge Das (BEL) all had one thing in common: They all ended 9-8 and made van den Berg, Reimering and Ederer walk to the loser’s side where they will need to win one more match in order to make it to the last 32.
Also notable was the match in the 4th loser’s round where Tony Drago (MLT) met with Alexander Kazakis (GRE). Tony “The Tornado” was almost there, being on the hill and leading 8-5 when Kazakis started an impressive comeback. He took rack after rack from Drago and achieved what no one would have believed: He won the match 9-8 over Drago and proceeded to the loser’s qualification round where he will fight Petri Makkonen (FIN) for a seat in the single elimination stage of the tournament whereas Tony Drago is eliminated.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
Thursday, 01 December 2011: In a close encounter, Christian Reimering (GER) defeated Albin Ouschan (AUT) by the score of 9-7 at the Eurotour’s Dynamic Treviso Open. Reimering seemed to be the more focused player and Ouschan appeared to play negligent at times. In the 14th rack, Reimering was leading 8-5 and he scratched on his break shot. Ouschan had an open table but was unable to finsh off the rack. He missed a makeable 4-ball but when Reimering got back to the table he had a bad position. With this “strategy”, Ouschan managed to tighten the score to 7-8 with Reimering breaking. This time, the break worked for the German and he ran out, winning the match 9-7. “I think it was a chequered match with a lot of ups and downs” commented Reimering afterwards. “In the beginning we both played quite steady but then Albin lost it a bit. He seemed to be standing in his own way. He also seemed to be playing a bit careless at times. This psyches the opponent up and it destroys one’s own game”. When asked whether this could be a question of age or experience, Reimering replied: “Yes definitely! I was also not always the calmest player. I had my stormy times and still have them. Pool is a sport where you are very often put before great challenges and it can be hard at times to stay focused and control yourself.”
The most unexpected result happened in the first loser’s round. Unheralded Juan Carlos Exposito (ESP) ousted Ralf Souquet (GER) and eliminated him from the tournament after only two matches. Souquet, who looked like the sure Tour winner for 2011, now has to wait and see how the tournament unfolds and who wins in order to see whether he will still be the number 1 ranked player after Saturday.
Other notable results from the winner’s side include Manuel Ederer (GER) creaming World 10-Ball Champion Huidji See (NED) 9:2. Andreas Gerwen (SWE) sent Mark Gray (GBR) to the one-loss side 9-8 and the same result was good for Chris Melling (GBR) who in turn made Jim Chawki (SWE) join Gray to the go to the wrong side of the field.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
