Judgement day has arrived at the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open in Leende, The Netherlands. The single elimination round of the last 32 players has been played tonight and probably the most remarkable and spectacular result was Alexander Kazakis’ (GRE) triumph over Mario He (AUT) with 9:8.
Actually, the match went very much as expected. Both contestants are able to perform on a very high level and so they both did in the beginning of the match. They knew that valuable points and prize money was at stake. Kazakis turned out to have a better roll of the balls and played quite confident. He was up 7:5 and 8:6 with a promising look at the finish line. But He struck back and got to 7:8. Then, Kazakis cleared the rack and lined up a straight 9-ball which was lying 20cm away from the pocket with the cue ball being 20cm away from the 9-ball. The shot was as easy as it can get. But what happened then can hardly be described. Kazakis was probably already celebrating the victory and his promotion into the last 16 players of the event when he executed the shot because… he missed it! It remained hanging over the pocket. Kazakis kind of collapsed on the table since he could not believe what he’d just done. Mario He also could not believe what he saw. He received an additional life in the match, completely unexpected for him! So He went for the break shot in rack 17 and made a ball with a shot on the 1-ball. The 6-ball was close to the 9-ball and lined up in the direction of the corner pocket but it needed to be hit from a certain angle. So Mario He went for the balls and lined up the winning shot but he placed the cue ball a little bit too high. So he had to fire the shot at a high speed in order to prevent the cue ball from obstructing the 9-ball on its way into the pocket. The Austrian fired the shot, the 9-ball went in and the cue ball kissed the 7-ball at high speed and scratched in the side pocket. What an exchange of emotions in that match. Kazakis was now in the seat, still struggling with his mistake from the rack before and got to the table with ball in hand and four balls left on the table. He ran them and won the match with 9:8. That could probably very well be seen as an early Christmas present for him. Kazakis will meet David Alcaide (ESP) tomorrow who eliminated Karol Skowerski (POL) 9:6.
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) v Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP)
Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) v Wojtek Trajdos (POL)
Fedor Gorst (RUS) v Mieszko Fortunski (POL)
Alexander Kazakis (GRE) v David Alcaide (ESP)
Mark Gray (GBR) v Denis Grabe (EST)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) v Imran Majid (GBR)
Roman Hybler (CZE) v Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Petri Makkonen (FIN) v Niels Feijen (NED)
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open will continue at 10:00 CET with matches from the last 16 players single elimination. From that round the match between Mark Gray and Denis Grabe will be broadcasted LIVE and FREE on the EPBF Facebook page. The semi-finals are played at 14:00 and 15:30 with the final match scheduled for 17:30 local time.
The Euro-Tour is played on 11 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 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 is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
In the quarter-finals of the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open, Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) ousted number one ranked player Mark Gray (GBR) with 9:5.
Mark Gray and Niels Feijen are in direct competition with regards to making it on the Mosconi Cup team this year. While Feijen needed to get further than Gray, the Brit would have been in ending the Dutch Open ranked equally high than Feijen. But Szewczyk also had something to say about that. He encountered Gray in the quarter-final match and has played a magnificent tournament so far. He ousted Maximilian Lechner (AUT) and Imran Majid (GBR) for his spot in the match against Gray who defeated Albin Ouschan (AUT) and Denis Grabe (EST) in the knock-out stages. The heat was on for Gray in that match while Szewczyk could play a bit more relaxed since his pressure was not that high. So the match started to the liking of Szewczyk who took a quick 4:0 lead over Gray. That was actually the advantage the he kept throughout the match. Whenever Gray scored a rack, Szewczyk answered that and scored one back so the four-point distance remained until the very end of the match. Gray could not get closer to Szewczyk and lost 5:9.
All Gray needed now to still make it on the team definitely was Feijen to lose his quarter-final match as well. Feijen dealt with Roman Hybler (CZE). Unlike in Gray’s match, Feijen was always leveled with Hybler. In fact, Feijen always even had small one or two point lead over Hybler. When leading 8:7, Feijen lined up a nice 3-9 combination shot and pocketed it to win his match 9:7 over Roman Hybler. That victory puts Feijen in the semi-finals of the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open against Wojciech Szewczyk but also guarantees him a spot in this year’s Mosconi Cup team.
The Euro-Tour is played on up to 11 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 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 is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Today, many favorite players had a tougher job in front of them than expected at the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open in the Golden Tulip Jagershorst Hotel in Leende, The Netherlands. Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) for example, long time Euro-Tour powerhouse and currently ranked number 28 in Europe, was ousted by unheralded Marco Spitzky (GER) with 7:9 in loser’s round two.
After yesterday and this afternoon, when Daryl Peach and Nick Van Den Berg went down to their opponents, the run for the dark horses continued here. Stepanov was the next victim of such a constellation. He fell to the sharp blade of Spitzky who made it to the next round on the loser’s side. Stepanov was able to get the better start in the match. The first three racks belonged to him. But then Spitzky seemed to wake up and also started potting balls. When Spitzky even overtook Stepanov, the Russian went for his time-out. But that did not help him. Spitzky always kept his nose in front of Stepanov and reached the finish line first, winning the match 9:7.
Marcus Chamat, „The Napoleon“ from Sweden just escaped that fate in the tournament. After having received a cruel bashing by Max Lechner (AUT) with 2:9 yesterday, Chamat needed to get some wins on the loser’s side. His first opponent was Michal Turkowski (POL) who was not much of an obstacle for Chamat. 9:6 was the final result in favor of the experienced Swede. Then he encountered young Kestutis Zadeikis from Lithuania. The young man showed absolutely no nerves and got Chamat in the back seat from the very beginning of the match. 5:1 and 6:2 were the intermediate results in favor of Zadeikis. But then Chamat fought his way back into the match. After several mistakes from the young Lithuanian, the scoreboard showed 8:8 with Chamat having the break in rack 17. What a drama unfolded! Chamat just had a possible layout and one ball down on his break shot. He deployed all his skill and energy in the rack and ran it, winning the match with the closest of all results 9:8. That just kept Chamat alive in the event, having survived loser’s round two only.
Other remarkable results from today’s loser’s rounds include multiple European and former World Champion Oliver Ortmann (GER) losing his second match against Ivo Aarts (NED) 7:9. That also ends Ortmann’s quest for glory here in Leende this year. Daryl Peach (GBR) made a statement and wiped the floor with Gino de Ruyter (BEL), sending him home 9:0.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open will continue at 09:00 CET with matches from the loser’s round 3.
The Euro-Tour is played on 11 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 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 is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
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.
