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.
With an absolutely justified 9:3 victory over Alexander Kazakis (GRE), Mark Gray (GBR) took the title at the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2015.
The final match was decided in the first racks already. While Gray continued his performance and played rock solid, Kazakis committed some unforced errors which completely brought him off track. He missed several easy shots in the beginning and could not prevent Gray from capitalizing from it. In rack two, Kazakis missed an easy 6-ball which was a straight shot in the corner pocket. Then in rack four and five, Kazakis missed the 1-ball in both racks. The more mistakes Kazakis played the stronger Gray grew throughout the match. Logically, Kazakis had no chances to win the match and the final result of 9:3 in favor of Gray is absolutely justified. „I am absolutely amazed to win this tournament wit 180 entries“, stated Gray after the match“.
Top Eight Finishers Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2015
Today, also the women’s Euro-Tour event has started. So far, no upsets have come across. However, it can be watched that many matches end with a relatively clear result of 7:0 or 7:1. In the winner’s qualification round, Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) defeated Monica Webb (USA) by a whisker with 7:6. All-time favorite Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) took care of her opponent Ina Kaplan (GER) with a clear 7:4 result. Ouschan teammate Sandra Baumgartner (AUT) just ade it over Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) with 7:6. Nathalie Seichter (NED) won her winner’s qualification round match with 7:4 over Marika Poikkijoki (FIN). Tonight, the winner’s qualification round and loser’s round 3 will be completed.
Action continues tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time with matches of the loser’s qualification round.
The tournament is played on 16 tables of which 12 are in a livestream. 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 eurotouronline.com , or contact our press office.
Defending Champion Niels Feijen (NED) is on his way to defend his title from last year in the 9-ball discipline. Today, he ended the hopes of Imran Majid (GBR) 9:2, Fabio Petroni (ITA) 9:4 and Ivica Putnik (CRO) 9:2. There was not a single match where his domination was in danger at all. He played rock solid and it will be tough for anyone to beat „The Terminator“ in this shape.
Feijen will play Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) in the quarter-final match tomorrow morning at 10:30 am local time. Stepanov had defeated Georg Hoeberl (AUT) 9:2, Roger Rasmussen (NOR) 9:2 and Chris Melling (GBR) 9:7 to book his seat for the match with Feijen. The other quarter-final matches in the men’s division will be played between Huidji See (NED) and Albin Ouschan (AUT), Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and Ralf Souquet (GER), and Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) against Michel Bartol (CRO). Jenisy and Bartol can definitely be regarded as the dark horses in this tournament.
In the women’s division, defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) is not less successful. She won her matches today over Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) 7:6, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) 7:3 and faces Wesolowska’s teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) in the quarter-final tomorrow morning. Czuprynska had taken the better of Veronika Hubrtova (CZE) 7:2 and Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) 7:6. Anna Mazhirina (RUS) will have to deal with young upcoming star Kristina Zlateva (BUL) who eliminated Caroline Roos (SWE) 7:4 and Darya Sirotina (RUS) 7:6 today. The other quarter-final matches will be played between Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) against Silvia Gaudino (ITA) and Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) against Line Kjoersvik (NOR), last year’s runner-up.
In the wheelchair division, Fred Dinsmore (IRL) will meet Matt Duffy (GBR), Roy Kimberley (GBR) will face Emil Schranz (AUT), Kurt Deklerck (BEL) encounters Henrik Larsson (SWE) while Tony Southern (GBR) goes against Jouni Tähti (FIN). All quarter-final matches will be played at the same time, 10:30 am on Wednesday morning.
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 contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
112 Men, 48 Women and 17 Wheelchair players have entered the 8-ball individuals at the 2014 Dynamic Billard European Championships in order to grab the title in their respective division.
Defending Champion David Alcaide (ESP) seems to be hard to stop at this year's Dynamic Billard European Championships. After taking the 10-ball title earlier this week, he is right on track in the 8-ball as well. With victories over Vincent Facquet (FRA) 8:4, Marcus Chamat (SWE) 8:3 and Alex Montpellier (FRA) 8:4, he made his way to the stage of the final 32 players where he will meet his fellow countryman Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time. A big upset happened in the match between Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) and Georg Hoeberl (AUT). The Austrian eliminated the Russian superstar with 8:6 from the event. Somehow, these Austrians seem to be in a perfect shape these days. Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) ousted Tomasz Kaplan (POL) 8:5 from the 8-ball event. Probably the biggest surprise was the victory of Ioan Ladanyi (ROM) over 10-Ball World Champion Hudji See (NED) with 8:0 ! A whitewash for the World Champion from a complete underdog! Albin Ouschan (AUT) could not follow his teammates in to the next round. He lost clearly with 2:8 to Jakub Koniar (SVK). Daryl Peach (GBR) was another famous victim of today's play. He had to bow to Christian Surdea (ROM) with 7:8. Two Romanians taking care of two major upsets. Niels Feijen (NED) just crossed the finish line with an 8:7 victory over Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN).
In the women's division, defending Champion Line Kjoersvik (NOR) is straight on track. She won her first two matches over Alice Marcotte (FRA) 6:0 and Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6:3. She has booked her seat in the single elimination round of the last 16 players. Among others, she is joined by Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) who surprisingly sent Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) to the loser's side with 6:4. All time favorite Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) has also secured her spot in the round of the last 16 players. She won over Claudia Kunz (SUI) 6:3 and Nathalie Seichter (NED) 6:0. Last year's runner-up Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) did not have smooth sailing today. She won her first match with Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) 6:3 but then fell to Martine Christiansen (NOR) 5:6. On the loser's side, Poikkijoki had to deal with Russian Anna Mazhirina (RUS). Mazhirina made too many potting errors and opened the way for Poikkijoki to win the match with 6:3. Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) came up with some impressive 8-ball action today. She defeated Sandra Baumgartner (AUT) 6:4 and Kristina Schagan (GER) 6:1. The strong Polish women Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) and Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) did not have too much luck in their game today. While Czuprynska managed to get back into the round of the last 16 players through the loser's round with a 6:4 victory over Veronika Hubrtova (CZE), Weslowska's 8-ball journey has ended for 2014. She lost to unheralded Severine Titaux (FRA) 5:6.
The wheelchair division saw all favorites making their way through to the quarter-finals today. Defending Champion Fred Dinsmore (IRE) started his journey today with a 5:2 victory over Aslam Abubaker (GBR). Then he just managed to defeat Leszek Blumczynski (POL) with 5:4 to book his seat among the final eight players. Multi-time European and World Champion Jouni Tähti (FIN) took down Joachim Schuler (GER) 5:1 and then Craig Welsh (GBR) 5:0. He was definitely in a good stroke all day long. Belgium's Kurt Deklerck (BEL) won over Tony Southern (GBR) 5:3 and then got the better of Tankred Volkmer (GER) with 5:4. Finally, Henrik Larsson (SWE) won his matches over Daniel Luton (GBR) 5:2 and David Himpe (BEL) 5:1. These four players can be considered the serious favorites in the wheelchair division. However, they will get an opponent from the loser's side and have to continue in single-elimination mode from tomorrow on to find out who will be the Champion in 8-ball.
Play will commence tomorrow morning 09:00 local time with the 8-ball competition. All results and more info can be found on www.epconline.eu. LIVEStream can be viewed at www.kozoom.com.
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 contact our press office press@epbf.com.
CAMBY, IN. — Aspiring young pool players will be offered a rare opportunity to learn from, and interact with, some of the game’s legends at the inaugural Black Widow Junior’s Camp, former world champion Jeanette Lee announced today.
“Our future champions need and want our guidance and friendship,” said Ms.Lee, who established the Black Widow Foundation in order to develop programs like the Black Widow Junior’s Camp. “Students will have the opportunity to interact and bond with other players with similar interests and skill levels. They will also experience first hand the skill and dedication of the professional players.”
The Black Widow Junior’s Camp is designed to bridge the gap between accomplished junior players (age 14-18, with intermediate-to-advanced skill) and professionals. Class sessions will be short, designed to hold the interest of the students, allowing for maximum on-table instruction and demonstration. In addition to on-table instruction, campers will be offered short classes on marketing, public relations, nutrition and fitness, and career planning.
The program will feature core curriculum as well as electives, allowing for an experience that can be tailored to the specific needs and interests of individual campers.
The cost is $1,000 per student, which includes instruction, activities, lodging, all meals, snacks, prizes and 24-hour chaperones.
The Black Widow Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable foundation, established in 2013. The BWF is committed to the positive development of personal character and leadership skill sets of aspiring youth amateur and professional billiard players, as well as supporting the positive development of atrisk youth and individuals facing difficult life challenges.
About Jeanette Lee
Jeanette Lee, known throughout the world as “The Black Widow,” has enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in billiards history. Formerly ranked the No. 1 player in the world, Ms. Lee has won more than 30 national and international titles. She is also a member of both the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame (2013) and the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Hall of Fame (2012), and has been ranked among the industry’s most recognizable and influential people by Billiards Digest.
from L. to R: K. Wesolowska, F. Dinsmore and D. Alcaide
The 10-Ball titles at the 2014 Dynamic Billard European Championships have been awarded. In the women’s division, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) took the title over Ina Kaplan (GER). Fred Dinsmore (IRE) took the title in the wheelchair division over Roy Kimberley (GBR). In the men’s division, David Alcaide (ESP) collected the title with a victory over Ivo Aarts (NED) in the final match.
After she had already taken the bronze medal in the straight pool two days ago, Katarzyna Wesolowska was on a mission. The defending Champion, her teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) lost her quarter-final match against Kristina Zlateva (BUL) with 2:6. That’s when she knew she had to stay in the competition to hold her home nation’s flag high. And she did that with style. Her way into the final match led her over Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) with 6:4, Vania Franco (POR) with 6:1, Silvia Gaudino (ITA) 6:2. Then she had to face a strong opponent in Line Kjoersvik (NOR). However, she did not allow Kjoersvik to get into gear at all. 6:1 was the final result in Wesolowska’s favor. In the semi-final, she dealt with Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) 6:4. That brought her into the final match against Ina Kaplan. The German started her day with a 6:4 victory over favored Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) which gave her a lot of wind underneath her sails. She continued with a hill-hill arch against her teammate Kristina Schagan (GER). Schagan had beaten her in the preliminary rounds so she was up for some revenge. And she took it. 6:5 was the result in favor of Kaplan. After that, she made short work of Louise Furberg (SWE) and defeated her 6:1 in the semi-final. The final match was a „one-woman-show“ most of the time. Wesolowska took a 3:1 and 4:2 lead over Kaplan and the German could not find any way to stop the Polish from collecting rack after rack. With two more racks, Wesolowska won the match 6:4 and the Championship title.
In the wheelchair division, defending Champion Kurt Deklerck (BEL) was dethroned in the quarter-finals with a 4:6 defeat against Tony Southern (GBR). The British went on against his teammate Roy Kimberley (GBR) in the semi-final match which was taken by a hair’s breadth with 6:5 by Kimberly. In the lower part of the draw, Fred Dinsmore dealt with Henrik Larsson (SWE) 6:5 and Aslam Abubaker (GBR) 6:4. The final match provided no challenge for Dinsmore. He ruled at all times and won deserved with 6:0.
David Alcaide’s first step to glory was his match with Daryl Peach (GBR) in the round of the final 32 men. Peach had earlier defeated defending Champion Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and is known to be a fierce opponent. However, Alcaide was better and won this match with 8:3. He then took the victory over Artem Koshovyi (UKR) 8:5. His counterpart in the quarter-final was none other than Nick Van Den Berg (NED). Alcaide managed to get the better of the Dutch and won with 8:6 to meet Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the semi-final. There, he was quite „lucky“ according to his own estimation and he won again 8:6.
The other finalist, Ivo Aarts, also had a tough draw today. He defeated Roger Rasmussen (NOR) 8:6 to meet his teammate, „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen (NED). Today, Aarts was the better player and rightfully went one step ahead into the semi-final, defeating Feijen with 8:4. In the semis, Aarts took care of Petri Makkonen (FIN) with a clear 8:3 result. The final match between Alcaide and Aarts was a bit a clash of the generations. Alcaide representing the more experienced generation and Aarts being a part of the „young orange“ team provided a great show in the final. However, Alcaide had the better run of the balls and took the Championship with an 8:4 victory over Aarts.
The day started rather stormy. The sea which is normally inviting the people for a nice swim was rough and capricious. Maybe that was a presage for today’s straight pool matches. 95 men and 45 women had taken up the challenge to see who will wear the crown in European straight pool in 2014. Defending Champions were Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) and Nick Van Den Berg (NED) and they knew that it will not be an easy task to claim the title again this year.
Van den Berg had a tough opening match against Daniele Corrieri (ITA). The Italian stood out at recent Euro-Tours by always making it to the final stages of the event. So the match was expected to be a tough fight… and it was! Van den Berg made a mistake at 4:0 and allowed Corrieri to enter the table with a clear shot. The Italian thanked him and made 56 balls. Racing to 100 points, that was more than half the points he needed for the victory. Then, van den Berg ran 28 balls but allowed Corrieri again back to the table with a shot. It looked like Corrieri would run the match but he scratched at 74:32 and allowed van den Berg to the table with ball in hand. That was all the Champion needed to send out a signal. He ran the needed 68 balls without allowing Corrieri back to the table. 100:74 was the final result in favor of van den Berg. Corrieri obviously lost too much energy in this match. He lost the next straight match to unheralded Dino Cerimagic (BIH) with 79:100. Van den Berg got Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) in the single elimination round of the final 64 players. Again, things did not look too bright for him in the beginning of the match. In fact, he was trailing 54:99 when Jenisy made a mistake. That brought van den Berg back into the match and woke his killer instinct. He did not allow his opponent any more clear shot in that match; to the contrary, Jenisy only managed to commit two more fouls while van den Berg was able to decide the match in his favor. 125:97 was the final result that puts van den Berg one round further where he will face Aki Heiskanen (FIN) while Jenisy will have to settle for 33rd place.
Niels Feijen (NED), van den Berg’s teammate, did not have a good start. He played Jakub Koniar (SVK) in the winner’s qualification round and was leading 92:78 when he made a mistake. Koniar kept calm and pocketed ball after ball, sending favored Feijen to the one-loss side.
Even BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) could not get through this day unwounded. He lost to David Alcaide (ESP) with 1:100 with Alcaide running 101 balls on him.
As the tournament went on, more tight matches came around. Nicolas Ottermann (GER) just managed to win over Murat Teker (TUR) with 100:96 and get to the single elimination stage of the final 64 players.
In the single elimination, Albin Ouschan (AUT) set a new record for the event. The race was raised to 125 points. Ouschan used only one (1!) inning to win over Mindaugas Salkauskas (LIT) with 125:0. That was an exclamation mark set by Ouschan. Aki Heiskanen (FIN) ended Chris Melling’s hopes for a straight pool title, eliminating him with 125:50. Another big name fell in the first single elimination round. Ralf Souquet (GER) got ousted by Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz with125:77. However, Sanchez’ journey ended in the next round when he unexpectedly fell to Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) with 95:125.
The results in the men’s division prove the high standard of the event. One mistake is very often enough to decide a whole match.
In the women’s division, tight matches could be found very often. Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) had to give her first round match away to Sara Rocha (POR) with 74:75. The same result was final for Ina Kaplan (GER) in her match with Oliwia Czuprynska (POL). Kaplan was leading 74:68, being at the table with a complicated but possible layout. She needed one more ball to win the match. The cue ball was lying in a cluster but a shot at an object ball in the side pocket was possible. Kaplan missed that shot and left an open table for Czuprynska. The young Polish went to the table and pocketed the remaining balls, sending Kaplan to the loser’s side with 75:74. There, Kaplan was able to recover and eliminated Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) with 75:41 from the straight pool competition.
Defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) had no mercy with her opponents. She defeated Martine Christiansen (NOR) with 75:53 and then Kristina Schagan (GER) with 75:7 to book her seat in the single elimination field of the last 16 women. She will be joined there by Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) who won a tough fight over Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) with 75:64 in the loser’s qualification round. Another big name in the round of the final 16 women is Louise Furberg. She won with 75:66 over Anna Mazhirina (RUS), then 75:45 over Zrinka Antonijevic (CRO) and finally 75:37 over Silvia Gaudino (ITA). Line Kjoersvik (NOR), Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS), Ana Gradisnik (SLO) and Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) complete the names of the women who made it through the winner’s round. The other eight names will be determined after the 09:00 round on Monday, March 31st.
The action will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time.
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 contact our press office press@epbf.com.
(Shenyang, China)–Korea’s Ga Young Kim and Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher are two giant names in today’s world of women’s professional pool. And today, as the 2012 Women’s World 9-ball Championship entered the knockout stages, the two put on a show that will surely enhance their reputations many fold for years to come.
Kim is a two time former world 9-ball champion and US Open champion who lights up arenas wherever she plays. Besides her prodigious talents on the table, Kim is about as good an ambassador as the sport will ever find. In addition to her native tongue, she speaks fluent Chinese and English. And her looks, charm and fashion sense are impeccable.
With her rugged looks and style, world number 2 Fisher can appear at first to be almost the antithesis of Kim. But the affable Brit is just as deadly on the pitch, and just as nice off of it.
So when the two met up today in the round of 32 inside the ultra hip Richgate Shopping Center here in Shenyang, the match had the feel of a finals showdown. For some reason the organizers decided not to put this match on the TV table, and instead stuck the pair in the very back of the 2nd floor trade hall where all the outside table matches have been played. Perhaps it was just as well because the barebones setting gave the match the feel of a back alley brawl, which is what it turned out to be.
The few dozen fans squeezed into the small space who watched the pair slug it out will not soon forget what they saw. Both players, who know each other’s games well, played their usual manner of fast and aggressive pool. And they combined that fan-friendly style by playing just about as perfect as one could play over the course of 17 racks.
Up early, Kim, fiery and intense, continually repulsed every effort by Fisher to grab the lead. Along the way, Kim continually pushed her lead up then always saw it shrink back again. The pair executed one amazing shot after the next, as if the contest was a great heavyweight fight of years past, where every bomb was answered with another bomb back. Stellar banks, pots off kicks, lock down safeties, great escapes, you name it; this was championship 9-ball at its best.
Eventually Kim found herself on the hill, up 8-6. But Fisher would have the last laugh, as she pounced on Kim’s one missed shot in the match, in the last rack, and took a 9-8 win, to move into the final 16.
“That was one of the best matches I’ve ever played,“ an obviously ecstatic and relieved Fisher said afterward. “The standard was so high. I had to play that good to beat her because when she’s on fire, she’ll kill me. She has in the past.”
Fisher has to like her chances as the world championship heads into the last two days, but with the quality of the field remaining, she knows the deal.
“Just give 100% and hope that the luck is on my side,” she said. “I can win here. But this is 9-ball and anything can happen. I just have to take it one match at a time.”
Fisher will now face the lone American entry in this year’s championship, Monica Webb, on Wednesday. Webb came off the losers side in the group stages today and took down China’s Bai Ge in the round of 32, 9-4 in a fairly sloppy match.
The remaining two days are shaping up to be a fascinating slugfest of epic proportions as the race to the world title intensifies. Unlike last year where the Chinese had already taken over by the final 16, this year the remaining field is much more varied; six Chinese, four Taiwanese, two Brits, 2 Japanese, 1 Korean and 1 American.
China had 33 players in the field of 64 but the six remaining are all capable of taking the title. 18 year old Chen Siming looks like she is going to be very difficult to stop. First out on the TV table today, world number 1 Chen demolished former world champion Shin Mei Lui of Tawain, 9-3. 2010 World 9-ball Champion Fu Xiao Fang, and 2009 World 9-ball Champion Liu Shasha also looked ready for glory as they easily won their matches.
One of the surprises of the day came when Japan’s Sone Kyoko shocked the home town fans by defeating defending champion Bi Zhu Qing of China 9-7 on the TV table. Kyoko will join compatriot Chichiro Kawahara in the round of 16 after Kawahara easily beat the Philippines’ Rubilen Amit, 9-2.
Hall of Famer and four time world 9-ball champion Allison Fisher made it a bummer of a day for the Philippines, as she knocked out Iris Ranola, 9-6.
The contingent from Taiwan is looking very strong so far, especially 2008 World 9-ball champion Lin Yuan Chun and two time and current Amway champion Chou Chieh Yu, who both advanced today.
Two dark horses fans should look out for are Korea’s Park Eunji and China’s Yu Han. Yu made it to last year’s semi-final where she barely lost to Chen Siming. Yu is quietly playing strong pool and can beat anyone in the field. Park is surely a bit of a longer shot but this stylish young lady seems to have a knack for finding the finish line.
The round of 16 begins Wednesday in Shenyang at 10am local time(GMT +8). The field will be down to four after tomorrow’s play. The semi-finals and finals will take place on Thursday June 21. The winner will receive $40,000 while the runner up gets a check worth $20,000. The total prize fund is $160,000.
The WPA will be providing full coverage of all the action from the 2012 Women’s World 9-ball Championship in Shenyang on our website,www.wpapool.com. There you can get all the latest updates with live scoring of all matches, articles offering insights and analysis, updated brackets and photos. Fans around the world can also follow the tournament via the WPA Twitter feed, @poolwpa.
Round of 16 Matches Wednesday June, 20, 2012 Race to 9, Alternate Break
Chen Siming(CHN) vs. Chichiro Kawahara(JPN) Lin Yuan Chun(TPE) vs.Fu Xiao Fang(CHN) Yu Han(CHN) vs. Li Jia(CHN) Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) vs. Shou Chieh Yu(TPE) Sone Kyoko(JPN) vs. Park Eunji(KOR) Kelly Fisher(GBR) vs. Monica Webb(USA) Allison Fisher(GBR) vs. Tan Ho Yun(TPE) Chen Xue(CHN) vs. Lui Shasha(CHN)
Day 2 Results, Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Round of 32 Knockout Stage. Race to 9, Alternate Break
Chou Chieh Yu(TPE) 9 – 7 Lin Hsiao Chi(TPE) Li Jia(CHN) 9 – 4 Han Fang(CHN) Lin Yuan Chun(TPE) 9 – 4 Line Kjorsvik(NOR) Chen Siming(CHN) 9 – 3 Liu Shin Mei(TPE) Yu Han(CHN) 9 – 4 Ren Qiuyue(CHN) Fu Xiao Fang(CHN) 9 – 4 Wei Tzu Chien(TPE) Chichiro Kawahara(JPN) 9 – 2 Rubelin Amit(PHI) Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) 9 – 5 Lai Hui Shan(TPE) Kelly Fisher(GBR) 9 – 8 Ga Young Kim(KOR) Monica Webb(USA) 9 – 4 Bai Ge(CHN) Sone Kyoko(JPN) 9 – 7 Bi Zhu Qing(CHN) Park Eunji(KOR) 9 – 5 Angeline Ticoalu(INA) Lui Shasha(CHN) 9 – 4 Wu Jina(CHN) Allison Fisher(GBR) 9 – 6 Iris Ranola(PHI) Tan Ho Yun(TPE) 9 – 5 Caroline Roos(SWE) Chen Xue(CHN) 9 – 5 Marika Poikkijoki(FIN)
1st Session. Losers Bracket. Winner is through to final 32, loser is out
Group A Wei Tzu Chien(TPE) 7 – 0 Jing Siya(CHN) Li Jia(CHN) 7 – 2 Liu Yichen(CHN)
Group B Ren Qiuyue(CHN) 7 – 5 Masami Nouchi(JPN) Kim Ga Young(KOR) 7 – 2 Chan Ya Ting(TPE)
Group C Iris Ranola(PHI) 7 – 6 Charlene Zhai Zeet Huey(SIN) Angeline Ticoalu(INA) 7 – 2 Keiko Yukawa(JPN)
Group D Kyoko Sone(JPN) 7 – 4 Sylvia Lopez(ESP) Marika Poikkijoki(FIN) 7 – 6 Jung Bo Ra(KOR)
Group E Caroline Roos(SWE) 7 – 2 Junko Tsuchiya(JPN) Monica Webb(USA) 7 – 5 Wu Zhiting(TPE)
Group F Line Kjorsvik(NOR) 7 – 6 Zhou, Doudou(CHN) Lin Hsiao Chi(TPE) 7 – 5 Kaori Ebe(JPN)
Group G Tsai Pei Chen(TPE) 7- 1 Gao Meng(CHN) Liu Sha Sha(CHN) 7 – 3 Akimi Kajatani(JPN)
Group H Liu Shin Mei(TPE) 7 – 5 Zheng Xiaochun(CHN) Kawahara, Chichiro(JPN) 7 – 4 Liu Liying(CHN)
Denis Grabe, Peteris Ermasons, Marika Poikkijoki and Marius Śiaudkulis
The host for the second stage of the Olympic-Online Baltic Pool League 2012 was Entry Poolclub in Kaunas, Lithuania and the game was 10-ball. Both men and women division were won by Team Olympic-Online players Denis Grabe (Estonia) and Marika Poikkijoki (Finland).
Grabe remains unbeaten
Mens division started on Saturday morning with 60 participants. Semi finals were played on Sunday and it was all about two Estonian and two Lithuanian athletes. In the upper side of the chart Grabe did not leave any chances for the current Lithuanian number one Mariuś Śiaudkulis when he cruised to a comfortable 8:0 win. The lower side of the chart featured only twelve years old wonderboy Mark Mägi from Estonia and last stage finalist Henrikas Strolis from Lithuania. The extremely interesting semi final ended with a shock result when Mägi won 8:7 and progressed to the final. Although his game was solid throughout the whole event Mägi was unable to produce another shock as he had to acknowledge the supremacy of Grabe. In the final Grabe did not leave any chances for his young countryman and clinched yet another title with a score of 8:2. „The tournament turned out to be easier than I initially thought. I managed to produce solid game and overcome my opponents quite firmly. I would like to thank the organisers, sponsors and all other related personnel for another great event. Now I must prepare for the WC and after that a well deserved summer holidays,“ commented the happy winner after the final.
As on all the previous stages Grabe won all his matches on this event, so he has been unbeaten an unbelievable five stages in a row!
The flying Finns successful debut
The raining european champion Marika Poikkijoki (Team Olympic-Online) made her debut of Olympic-Online Baltic Pool League. Although she was hot favourite for women division it was not that easy after all. Last stage winner Agne Jaruśauskaite from Lithuania came close to overcome Poikkijoki twice. In the preliminary rounds Poikkijoki managed to win Jaruśauskaite by a score of 5:4 and in the nervecracking final she won 6:5 although Jaruśauskaite managed to claim a lead 3:0. The losing semi finalists and therefore bronze medalists were Simona Miliśauskaite (LIT) against Poikkijoki 6:1 and Anna Grintśuk (EST) against Jaruśauskaite 6:2.
After another great event the organisers were very content with the outcome. „I am very happy to see that so many players are attending our events. It is a great reckognition for our work and motivates us to work even harder. This event was great, especially the rise of Estonian young gun Mark Mägi. To reach the final of the most prestigious and challenging event in the Baltics is really tremendous achievement for a twelve years old boy. I would like to thank all the players, owners of the Entry, sponsors and especially Tomas Brikmanis for their tremendous input for this event. Now we have a summer break and continue with the next stage in Riga, Latvia, 8th of September. It will be interesting to see whether someone is finally able to challenge Grabe,“ commented organiser Juri Talu.
“Again I am very happy to see so many top level players participating in OOBPL event. Six countries is something new for us as well. I am certain we are going in right direction and that baltic pool league is exactly what we need now to develop pool in Baltic region. Special thanks for Marika Poikkijoki. Because of her presents we finaly got some attention from media. I am certain baltic girls will learn a lot from her. For sure I’m missing resistance from other players to unstopable Dennis Grabe, but it only prooves that he is true leader. Maybe Mark Mägi who is still so young can create some competition for Denis. Looking forward to see everybody in September in wonderful city of Riga,” said Tomas Brikmanis.
In total 72 athletes from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway and Poland participated on the second stage. The event was held thanks to great sponsors Olympic-Online, Entry Poolclub, Mezz Cues, Kamui Tips, Strachan Super Pro, Ultimate Breakmaster, Baribal Poolclub, Biljardai, Tieto, Aveiras Reklamos Agentura, Best Western Hotel Santaka, Renault.
Please find the videos and results of the matches here:
Men – http://ebc-billiard.com/en/events/baltic-leaque.html?finstand=2359
Women – http://ebc-billiard.com/en/events/baltic-leaque.html?video=2358
In the early stage of the match, both players were playing at equal strength and none of the two was able to gain an advantage over the other. That changed after the 9th rack. Heiskanen seemed to have lost his focus a bit and Chamat took his chances, running away with 7:4. In the 12th rack, Heiskanen had the chance to close the gap a bit but he made too many mistakes which were not tolerated at all by Chamat. “Napoleon” went to the table and conquered the match with 9:4. In the other men’s 9-ball semi-final, Francisco Diaz (ESP) remained the upper hand over Nick Malai (ALB) with 9:6.
In the women’s division, favourite Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) got smashed by dark horse Jasmin Michel (GER) with 7:3! Ouschan was not able to perform up to her abilities while Michel was focussed and in the zone at all times. The other semi-final was won by Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) with 7:3 over Line Kjoersvik (NOR).
In The wheelchair division, favoured player Jouni Tahti (FIN) eliminated Fred Dinsmore (IRE) with 7:4. He will play the final against Daniel Luton (GBR) who won against Roy Kimberley (GBR). This final is an exact replay of this year’s 8-ball final.
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
