Mohammad Soufi of Syria after beating Sebastian Batkowski – Image – Taka G.Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Defending champion Shane Van Boening has been knocked out of the World Pool Championship 2023 by Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang in Kielce, Poland at the Last 16 stage live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Van Boening started the day looking to replicate what only Earl Strickland has done before by successfully defending his title but Hoang had other ideas as his dream week continued. Hoang put Van Boening under the gun early doors to lead 4-1 and leave the five-time US Open champion reeling. A timely break and run for Van Boening in the 12th brought him level at 6-6 but it was short-lived as the pair traded blows to the very end at hill-hill. Van Boening struggled to take control with six balls left on the table blowing it open for Hoang to step in and complete a memorable win.
Only eight remain going into the evening session of which six have never lifted the world title before. Two who will be looking for a slice of history are Albin Ouschan, who beat Mateusz Sniegocki convincingly 11-3 as he looks to claim a historic third world title whilst Niels Feijen beat rising star Aleksa Pecelj 11-4 in the Terminators hunt for a second world title.
Nineball World No.1 got the better of Denis Grabe 11-8 whilst Chang Jung-Lin downed another home favourite in Wiktor Zielinski meaning no Polish players made the last eight. That being after Sebastian Batkowski lost heartbreakingly hill-hill to Mohammad Soufi of Syria. US Open runner-up Max Lechner’s run was ended at the hands of Chinese Taipei’s Wu Kun Lin meanwhile.
The evening action begins from 6:30pm (CET) where only four can progress to the final day of action tomorrow. See the action live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.
Saturday 4, February 6:30 pm (CET) – Quarter-Finals
Table 1
6:30pm – Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)
Wiktor Zielinski (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Only 16 remain at the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland with the likes of Shane Van Boening, Albin Ouschan, and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz all looking to make a run to the finish line live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Van Boening came up against his stiffest test yet in his mission to keep ahold of the title he won 12 months ago with a victory of Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp in a 11-9 win that saw the South Dakota Kid struggle to shake off the 2022 US Open runner-up. 2021 champion Ouschan was taken to the dying ember by Daniel Maciol of Poland to secure his passage whilst Sanchez Ruiz got the better of former world champion Thorsten Hohmann to book his place in the Last 16.
Mohammad Soufi, Denis Grabe, Max Lechner, and Wu Kun Lin all progressed to the penultimate days with wins over Mika Immonen, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, Johann Chua, and Japan’s Naoyuki Oi. Neils Feijen meanwhile came from behind to beat Petri Makkonen of Finland as he hunts for a second world title.
The final moments of the day were John Morra‘s to be had with a remarkable 11-10 thriller win over Jayson Shaw from 6-4 and 10-8 down. Shaw had his opportunities to seal the win but a poor safety let Morra in to complete a huge victory in a World Pool Championship classic. It sees Morra meet Mario He next after the Austrian beat Ko Ping Chung 11-9.
Saturday 4, February – Last 16 from 12:00 pm (CET)
Table 1
Wiktor Zielinski (POL) vs Chang Jung-Lin (TPE)
Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Duong Quoc Hoang (VIE)
Table 2
Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
NB 2:00pm – John Morra (CAN) vs Mario He (AUT)
NB 3:30pm – Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) vs Denis Grabe (EST)
Table 3
Max Lechner (AUT) vs Wu Kun Lin (TPE)
NB 2:00pm – Sebastian Batkowski (POL) vs Mohammad Soufi (SYR)
NB 3:30pm – Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) vs Niels Feijen (NED)
Joshua Filler survived being knocked to the loser’s side by Alex Pagulayan on day two of the World Pool Championship 2023 in Kielce, Poland as only 64 remain after two days of action live on Sky Sports, Viaplay, DAZN, Matchroom.Live and TV networks worldwide.
Filler faced Pagulayan early on for a spot in the Last 64 to avoid an extra match in Losers’ Qualification round this evening. The Killer fell to a 9-7 defeat, his second defeat to the Canadian in a matter of days after a loss at the Derby City Classic. It left Filler having to beat Daniele Corrieri to ensure his hunt for a second world title would continue and he did so in emphatic fashion in a 9-1 dismantling. Crucially, defeat to Pagulayan meant Filler lost his seeded position in the bracket ahead of the Last 64 redraw.
Last year’s semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef suffered a 9-3 defeat to USA hotshot Shane Wolford to be sent home at the first major hurdle whilst Oliver Szolnoki suffered the same fate in a hill-hill finish against Ajdin Piknjac. 2021 runner-up Omar Al-Shaheen struggled for his groove against Denis Grabe as the Estonian came good to knock the 2021 runner-up out the competition. There was frustration for 1996 champion Ralf Souquet also, the Kaiser well beaten by Pole Daniel Maciol in Winners’ Qualification before defeat at the hands of Dimitri Jungo. Home favourite Mieszko Fortunski was also knocked out with the World Pool Masters semi-finalist knocked out by Lars Kuckherm.
The 32 players who qualified through Winners’ Qualification were seeded in the Last 64 redraw against an unseeded player who came through the Losers Qualification matches with Karl Boyes completing the draw with Rachel Casey on the Matchroom Pool YouTube page. Pagulayan and Filler will have to dance again after being drawn against each other whilst defending champion Van Boening will come up against Uski.
Action returns from midday local time tomorrow on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA and Italy as well as on Matchroom.Live and broadcasters worldwide. Table 2 and Table 3 are on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube Channels respectively and Viaplay in above listed territories. See where to watch here.
Shane Van Boening (Taka G Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Shane Van Boening will begin the defense of his World Pool Championship title against Japan’s Masato Yoshioka in Kielce, Poland from February 1-5 live on Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia and the Baltics, DAZN in the USA as well as Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide.
The American will look to become only the second player in history to defend the title following in the footsteps of Earl Strickland in a packed arena at Targi Kielce. 46 countries will be represented in the 128-player field as it is whittled down to the Last 64 over the first two days of action before it’s straight knockout to the end where one will claim the $60,000 first-place prize and the world crown.
The draw was completed with the top 64 players from the Nineball World Rankings against an unseeded player from the other 64 in the hat. Standout first-round ties include 2015 world champion Ko Pin Yi facing James Aranas of the Philippines whilst 2022 semi-finalist Abdullah Alyousef faces the tricky prospect of Johann Chua. 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan was unseeded and will meet Michael Schneider.
World Cup of Pool winner David Alcaide takes on Billy Thorpe and Shane Wolford‘s mission for a spot on Team USA at the 2023 Mosconi Cup takes on Pia Filler. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had a year to remember last year and will begin his Nineball campaign against So Shaw of Iran.
Double elimination matches are all race to 9, with all matches from the Last 64 a race to 11 except the final, which is a race to 13.
Table 1 will be live on broadcasters worldwide including Sky Sports in the UK, Viaplay in Poland, Scandinavia, Baltics, and the Netherlands, DAZN in the USA, Canada, and Italy, as well as on Matchroom.Live and networks worldwide. See where to watch here.
Table 2 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Table 3 will be live on Viaplay in selected territories as well as on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom Multi Sport YouTube channel.
Joshua Filler crashed out of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship as only four remain at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia, Poland, and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries.
Filler came into the quarter-finals off the back of a dominant display over Jayson Shaw and the home country favourite was looking to get the better of Mario He, someone who had flew under the radar so far this week. He let Filler make the mistakes to let him in early doors and he lead 2-1 after three racks. The Austrian was strolling around the table with ease leading 5-1 when he opened up a chance for Filler after a miss on the one ball brought the Mosconi Cup star his chance to get back on the board at 5-2.
It seemed that Filler would pull back into the contest at this stage but Filler wasn’t at his best and He was back in during the eigth rack after a dry break. He was relentless and playing almost perfect pool as he ran the racks up to leave Filler in a perilous position at 9-2 down needing only two more to book a maiden semi-final appearance in a Matchroom singles event.
The 12th rack saw He break well but leave no potting angle on the one, he opted to push out only for Filler to force him back in, with that He left it open for Filler to get back in at 9-3. A quick break and run in the resulting rack put the difference to only five racks, something Filler wouldn’t be too fazed by. Filler was struggling at times with the table and a cut on the five illustrated just that to bring He back to the table who took full advantage to get on the hill at 10-4.
He broke dry in the 15th rack to bring Filler back to the table. Filler laid a brutal hook on the six which opened up the table for the German to get another rack on the scores and gather some momentum once again. Both have won the World Cup of Pool in recent times and the drama wasn’t done just yet, Filler looked to be clear through to take another rack off He only to rattle both sides of the middle pocket on the six leaving a simple table for He to book his spot in the semi-finals against former World Cup of Pool winning partner Albin Ouschan.
“I am very happy. I know it would be tough to beat Filler. I played him three or four times and it’s so hard to beat him. I had some lucky shots which helped me get off my feet. I felt like he was coming back, he always does that but then he missed the six ball and he gave me two games and let’s say, it was an easier win than it could’ve been. I was kicking good. The balls went for me. It could’ve gone the other way. I am happy I played good and the luck was on my side.” He said.
“It means a lot to be in the last eight. It is always my goal. Maybe two more matches! I hope I play like today!” – Mario He speaking to Hannah Wilkes after victory
With He and Filler doing battle, another story was unfolding on Table 2 where Spain’s Jose Alberto Delgado was making his intentions clear against Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski. The pair traded blow after blow as the contest got heated and Fortunski took control for the first time at 4-3. Fortunski came into the competition looking to go on better than his best performance in a Matchroom event to date at the World Pool Masters where he reached the semi-finals earlier this year. The Butcher had the full length of the table to deal with to make the eight on the bottom rail at 4-4 and he couldn’t do that as Delgado came back to the table to soon establish a two rack lead at 6-4 for the first time.
Fortunski wasn’t going away that easy though as it went 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, and 9-9 before Delgado seized his change to reach the hill and be one away from his first-ever Matchroom semi-final. Delgado came up dry in the penultimate rack for Fortunski to level and force a hill-hill finish. With Fortunski breaking in the last rack, he had his chance to steal it only to be caught up in a safety battle on the four which Delgado made him pay for to seal victory to shouts of ‘VAMOS!’ in the arena.
World Champion Shane Van Boening came up against a spirited Mateusz Sniegocki who was looking to cause an upset on the main table. Van Boening struggled early on despite leading 4-0 after the opening exchanges. Sniegocki breathed a sigh of relief as he got on the board at 4-1 and soon 4-2 to be closing in on the American. The South Dakota kid though already has one huge title to his name this year and he soon lead 6-2. Sniegocki had chances on a plate to keep on Van Boening’s tail and a major one came when he aimed to kick the seven ball only to scratch and put Van Boening back in to be 7-4 up.
Van Boening’s break is usually the pièce de résistance of his game but it was causing him a heap of problems as he scratched in the resulting rack. It was his second scratch of the match so far with five dry breaks, much to the USA hero’s bemusement. Sniegocki cut the deficit to two at this stage at 7-5.
SVB has been pushed hard already in this tournament and he wasn’t going to let Sniegocki get the better of him as he broke and run for the second time to make it 9-5 and be two away from the magic 11 racks. The work of Van Boening wasn’t done yet though after reaching the hill, Sniegocki pounced on another Van Boening dry break to be four away and with the break in his favour.
At 10-7, Sniegocki was left to rue bad time management that left him to rush the one ball and let the table open for Van Boening to seal his passage to the final day.
Albin Ouschan became the last player into the semi-finals minutes after Van Boening thanks to an 11-5 win over Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn. Ouschan took the opening few racks and after five he led 3-2. The Austrian’s pedigree can’t be understated and he was running racks for fun to lead 7-2 and seemingly already put the contest past Juszczyszyn in no part thanks to a 98% pot success rate at that stage.
Juszczyszyn had his moments but Ouschan was too strong and was two away from victory after 12 racks. The contest looked done for the most part as Juszczyszyn come back at 9-5 only for safety on the four to be in ample range for an Ouschan bank which aided him to the hill. A routine break and run gave Ouschan his victory to meet He in the first semi-final tomorrow.
Schedule – Sunday, 14 August @ 12 pm (CEST)
Semi-Final 1 – Albin Ouschan vs Mario He
Semi-Final 2 – Shane Van Boening vs Jose Alberto Delgado
Final – Race to 13 – @ 6:30pm
Sunday, action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia, Poland, and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. See the full where to watch list here.
Shane Van Boening (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Nineball World Numbers One and Two in Shane Van Boening and Joshua Filler both made it through to the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda in Germany live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries.
Filler came up against Mosconi Cup teammate Jayson Shaw in the opening contest on Table 1 with the Killer looking to make it through to the next stage on home soil whilst his opponent was looking for their first taste of singles glory in a Matchroom event since 2017. Shaw took an early lead with a golden break in the first rack but Filler came back including a golden break of his own to lead 3-1 and set early pace.
There were some tetchy moments from both players and after five racks Filler edged it 3-2 and took control from then on opening up an assertive lead at 8-2 to put him only two away from a clash with either Mario He of Austria or Besar Spahiu of Albania for a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow. Shaw played a full-length bank to make the one in the 11th rack and from there ran out to cut the deficit but it was short-lived as Filler came true appeasing the home fans with a break and run in the final rack which included an inch-perfect jump shot on the one.
Van Boening’s task to reach the quarter-finals was one of trials and tribulation against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sanjin Pehlivanović. The pair couldn’t be split after four racks in a high-quality encounter in a meeting of generations. Pehlivanović trailed 4-2 when Van Boening had seemingly left the youngster hooked but he had other ideas playing a full-length bank of his own whilst jumping the six ball only for SVB to get back to the table and establish a three-rack lead at 5-1. The performance from Van Boening wasn’t what he would describe as clinical and it’s something that Pehlivanović bayed on to level matters back up swiftly at 5-5 and sending a warning sign to the World Champion.
Pehlivanović had his chances to take the game to Van Boening and establish a lead of his own but a scratch on the break from the former Junior World Champion put him under the cosh and Van Boening in the commanding position to run out and amass an 8-5 lead. Van Boening broke dry in the next rack to allow Pehlivanović a chance to get back in it again at 8-6. Another scratch on the break later from Pehlivanović and Van Boening was on the hill.
On the hill, Van Boening and Pehlivanović faltered with varying degrees of opportunity to take it one way or another only for the former to have the final say on things and book a quarter-final date with Mateusz Sniegocki tonight. Sniegocki was rampant at times against Jonas Souto Comino who was playing in his first Matchroom Last 16 tie but the experience of Sniegocki made Souto Comino head home before the evening session.
Elsewhere, Mieszko Fortunski got the better of fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan on Table 2 10-4 to meet Jose Alberto Delgado in the last eight who had overcome Ronald Regli in a spirited fightback where it looked like it would be Regli who would face Fortunski next only for Delgado to dig deep from behind to defeat the Swiss cueist 10-7. Mario He meanwhile made lightwork of Besar Spahiu of Albania to meet Filler next whilst Konrad Juszczyszyn became the third Polish player into the quarter-finals with a win against Canada’s John Morra.
Albin Ouschan (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Albin Ouschan became the final name into the quarter-finals after the two-time World Champion got the better of Denis Grabe in a hill-hill thriller that saw him from behind on several occasions to dispatch the Estonian. Ouschan got to the hill first but it was Grabe who was breaking for the match only to scratch and leave the Austrian with a routine run out for victory.
Quarter-Finals from 18:00 (CEST)
Table 1
Joshua Filler (GER) vs Mario He (AUT)
Shane Van Boening (USA) vs Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL) vs José Alberto Delgado (ESP)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) vs Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
This evening and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel this evening. See the full where to watch list here.
Joshua Filler passed the test of Mosconi Cup teammate Eklent Kaçi and the USA’s Oscar Dominguez to reach the Last 16 of the inaugural European Open Pool Championship at Hotel Esperanto, Fulda, Germany live on the Matchroom Pool Facebook/YouTube and Matchroom.Live.
Filler had a good day of it coming from behind to defeat Kaçi 9-8 when his goose had looked cooked when Kaçi had a 5-9 combo to seal victory at 8-7 only for the Albanian to offer the gift that the Killer needed to get back into it. Kaçi didn’t get a look in from then on as Filler broke in the final rack but it was far from easy with the 7, 8 and 9 all glued together and the rack penned underneath it. Filler kept his cool in the moment though despite the glaring problem to complete victory and set up a Last 32 tie with Oscar Dominguez of the USA.
Dominguez had came from 4-1 down against Tyler Styer to peg him back at 5-5 and 6-6 before pulling through to meet his old Mosconi Cup rival to reach the Last 16.
Filler came into the contest on the back of two hill-hill showings in his last three matches in the tournament and he was in no mood for a similar scenario. Filler hit the front early on but Dominguez was playing freely and causing the German a whole heap of problems. The home crowd were out for their star man and he delivered a 10-7 victory to book his spot in the Last 16 in what proved to be a successful day that also saw him become the first player on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup off the Live Nineball World Rankings.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was the only player who could beat Filler to the first Mosconi Cup spot with $14,000 separating the pair heading into the tournament but his hopes were ended in the Last 32 at the hands of Albania’s Besar Spahiu who mounted an impressive comeback to steal it 10-8 and confirm Filler’s spot on Team Europe for the 2022 Mosconi Cup at Bally’s Las Vegas from November 30 to December 3.
Jayson Shaw (Taka Wu – Matchroom Multi Sport)
Jayson Shaw is next up for Filler after the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP saw off Petri Makkonen earlier on in the day before a grueling battle with Italy’s Daniele Corrieri to book his place in the Last 16. Corrieri took the game to Shaw and had the better of the opening exchanges with a 1-9 combo the pick of the bunch as he found his rhythm early doors with Shaw not doing too much wrong.
Eagle Eye found his mojo at the midway stage and he didn’t do too much wrong from then on as he led for the first time in the match at 7-6. Shaw from there was imperious as he set up a mouthwatering clash on Table 1 with Filler next.
Team USA‘s charge for glory on home soil will be led by Nineball World No.1 Shane Van Boening who came through his own tests against Germany’s Sebastian Staab in the Last 64 before Wojciech Szewczyk stood in his way of a weekend appearance. Szewczyk took the early initiative to lead 2-0 before Van Boening pulled back to 2-2. The pair were entertaining the crowd with some of the best safety play witnessed all week as Van Boening came back to lead only for Szewczyk to soon lead 5-4 and be at the halfway point. Van Boening was dominant to lead 9-5 only to break dry in the next and Szewczyk to bite back. The Pole was struggling for position on the 1 ball. and had to play safe and from there Van Boening played a kick and stick that would rival any in history to leave Szewczyk in knots. A short safety battled ensued for Van Boening to come on top and meet Sanjin Pehlivanovic in the Last 16 tomorrow.
Alexander Kazakis defeated David Alcaide 9-2 to reach the Last 32 and meet John Morra. The Greek had a battle on his hands against Morra who lead at various points and most importantly was 8-6 up in the Race to 10. The Canadian looked to have control but Kazakis has demonstrated in recent times his steely nature with some clutch pots to pull it back and looked to be in to level at 9-9. Kazakis lost position on the penultimate ball to leave it over the pocket and give Morra the easiest route into the Last 16 to meet Konrad Juszczyszyn next.
Tomorrow and Sunday, Table 1 action is available on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland as well as on Viaplay in Scandinavia and the Baltics and various other broadcasters worldwide including Matchroom.Live in relevant countries. Table 2 will be on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel. See the full where to watch list here.
The Predator Germany Open has reached the single elimination stage after players battled through the last double elimination rounds of the Pro Billiard Series event on Thursday.
Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan had to win through three rounds and will now face two-time Pro Billiard Series champion Kelly Fisher in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Division.
The Open division moves to single elimination for the last 32 and Germany’s World Junior Champion Moritz Neuhausen won 4-3, 4-1 against Hong Kong’s Ip Tung Pong to make it five players from the home country to reach the second stage. Ralf Souquet had won through the winners’ side of the bracket and will now face Mahmut Sami Koylu of Turkey. Can Salim also came from the winners’ side and will face German countryman Tobias Bongers, who scored a win against Vincent Gomez to reach the single elimination phase. Yuma Dorner is the fifth German into the last 32 and will play Mateusz Sniegocki.
Both divisions of the Predator Germany Open have added money of €45,400 and both champions will earn €20,000, along with a spot at the 2023 World 10-Ball Championship for the Open winner and a spot in the 2022 World Women’s 10-Ball Championship for the Women’s Division winner.
In the Women’s Division, Ouschan won a shootout against Kim Witzel and then defeated Angeline Magdalena Ticoalu to meet Amalia Matas for a place in the quarter-finals. Matas already has a Women’s EuroTour title this year but her run in Germany was ended with a straight-sets defeat to Ouschan. Germany’s Veronika Ivanovskaia is drawn against Bojana Sarac.
Among the players to reach the final 32 of the Open division is Finland’s Petri Makkonen, a winner on the EuroTour in 2015. He had been defeated on the first day of play by Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Alghamdi and the Finn then had to battle through three rounds on the losers’ side, which culminated in a shootout against Alex Montpellier of France.
Makkonen won the first set 4-2 but France’s Montpellier, who came to the losers’ qualification round after a shootout defeat against Pijus Labutis, took advantage of Makkonen’s struggles in the second set to win 4-1. That was the end of the tournament for Montpellier, as Makkonen regrouped and didn’t miss in the shootout while his French opponent missed on each of his last two innings.
Play resumes at 9am local time in Bremen, Germany, and Friday’s play on the TV table will commence with Nick van den Berg facing Mickey Krause.
Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski received the full U.S. Pro Billiard Series experience on Saturday night.
Playing on the final day of the Alfa Las Vegas Open, he shut out Switzerland’s Dimitri Jungo 4-0 in the first set of the quarterfinals only to have Jungo defeat him by the same 4-0 score in the following frame. He survived back-to-back shootouts, first against Jungo and then against Billiard Congress of America Hall of Famer Mika Immonen in the semifinals. And in the finals against Aloysius Yapp, he looked like he’d miss his chance to snag the opening set only to have a fortunate roll toss it right back into his lap.
Through it all, the 21-year-old persevered, defeating Yapp in straight sets 4-3, 4-0 to win the Open at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, pocketing $30,000 and an automatic invitation into next year’s World 10-Ball Championships. Zielinski not only won, but did so in an event that was equal parts double-elimination tournament and endurance test, with a record 192 players competing over four days to crown a champion.
After Yapp climbed onto the board in the first set with an opening rack win, Zielinski used a victorious safety exchange and a missed 2 ball from his opponent to jump out to a 2-1 advantage. Yapp snagged the next two games when he ran out the fourth rack after his opponent couldn’t pocket a ball on the break, then added a break-and-run but relinquished table control in the sixth game when he failed to pocket any balls on the break. Zielinski cleared the table to tie the match only to break dry again in the seventh game.
As Yapp worked his way through the rack, he appeared positioned to clear the table and snatch the set until he overran position on the 6 ball and played safe. Zielinski left an opening after a safety attempt of his own but watched as Yapp left the object in front of the side pocket, handing his opponent a routine shot and a 4-3 first set victory.
The second Set was all Zielinski, taking advantage of a Yapp miss, a victorious safety exchange and a break-and-run to build a commanding 3-0 lead. The young man from Singapore had one last chance to mount a comeback in the fourth rack but watched as the cue ball caromed off of another ball into the side pocket after he pocketed the 1 ball. Zielinski cleared the table then tossed his cue on the table and raised both arms in victory.
The three-time EuroTour champion earned the victory despite struggling with his break throughout the championship match, failing to pocket balls on the opening shot four times and scratching once.
Zielinski reached the finals by overcoming unforced errors and breaking struggles of his own to down a resurgent Mika Immonen in a shootout in the first semifinal match of the afternoon.
After Zielinski used a foul and scratch by Immonen in the first two games to take a 2-0 lead, the Hall of Famer tied the score by capitalizing on a dry break by his opponent in the third game then tacking on a break-and-run. As Immonen worked his way through the fifth rack, he misplayed position on the 4 ball then fouled when he failed to make contact with the ball. Zielinski cleared the table to grab a 3-2 lead then took advantage of an opening left by his opponent on a safety attempt in the following game to claim the set, 4-2.
The young man from Poland would struggle in the second set and Immonen took advantage, capitalizing on missed shots by his opponent in the first and fifth games and a dry break in the fourth rack to steal victories. Zielinski continued to battle, taking advantage of two Immonen breaks where he failed to pocket a ball to snag wins of his own. Standing at the table with a 3-2 advantage, the Hall of Famer broke and ran to send the match to an extra set shootout.
Immonen struggled in the spot shot extra frame, missing on his first and third attempts while Zielinski managed only one missed shot in three tries. The 49-year-old Immonen continued to apply pressure to his young opponent, making his fourth and final attempt and forcing Zielinski to either make his last attempt and secure the victory or miss and move on to sudden death. The young man from Poland calmly executed the shot, ending the match and sending Zielinski to the championship match to face Yapp.
Playing in the quarterfinals against Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, Yapp controlled the opening set from the start and cruised to a 4-1 victory. Sniegocki, a three-time winner on the EuroTour, was far from finished, taking advantage of a couple of openings and squeaking out a 4-3 win to force sudden-death shootout.
When Yapp and Sniegocki locked up to determine who would advance to the semifinals, it practically looked like two guys practicing free throws at the end of a basketball game. Neither one missed, as 10 ball after 10 ball continued to tumble into the corner pocket. They remained deadlocked after the opening innings, then remained tied after the first round of sudden death, then the third, and then the fifth. Finally, in the 11th frame of the set, Yapp successfully pocketed his ball and watched as his opponent blinked, handing the young man from Singapore the win.
As he advanced to the semifinals, Yapp had to be wondering who he may have upset in Warsaw to receive the draw he did. Waiting for him was Wojciech Szewczyk, a 27-year-old who twice won the European Pool Championships as a junior.
The Pole jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage in the first set thanks to a victorious safety exchange and a missed 4 ball by his opponent in the second rack. Yapp climbed onto the board in the third game after his opponent failed to pocket a ball on the break but lost control of the table in the next game when he lost a safety exchange with Szewczyk, who cleared the table to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Yapp tied the score with back-to-back victorious safety exchanges on the 1 ball but forfeited the table again when he failed to pocket a ball on the break. Szewczyk appeared positioned to clear the table but missed a cut shot on the 6 ball, handing Yapp the table and the victory, 4-3.
After Yapp won the first rack of the second set he scratched on the break in the next game, handing the table back to his opponent who tapped in a combination shot on the 10 ball to tie the score. Szewczyk added another rack after his opponent scratched after pocketing the 6 ball but misplayed a safety on the 1 ball in the next game that allowed Yapp to carom the cue ball from the 1 ball into the 10 ball and tie the score. Standing at the table with a chance to regain the lead, Yapp failed to pocket a ball on the break once again and watched as his opponent walked to the table and once again fired in a combination shot on the 10 ball to regain the lead. Yapp had the chance to tie the match after Szewczyk failed to pocket a ball on the break but misplayed position on the 6 ball, then lost a safety exchange on the ball which allowed his opponent to win the set and send the match to a shootout.
Shockingly, the player who had pocketed 11 consecutive spot shots in the previous match, missed his first attempt. Then he missed his third. Thankfully for him, Szewczyk was struggling as well, missing three straight shots down the stretch to hand Yapp the victory, 3-2.
Matches can be watched on Billiard TV and World Billiard TV, the official YouTube channel of CueSports International.
The Alfa Las Vegas Open takes place March 23-26. The Alfa Las Vegas Open is followed by the Predator World 10-Ball Championship, which runs March 28-April 1 and The Alfa Women’s Las Vegas Open, which runs March 30-April 2.
The events coincide with the CueSports International Expo, which brings thousands of amateur pool players for the BCA Pool League World Championships as well as the USA Pool League National Championships.
Day one is complete at the Dynamic Billiard Laško Open as a whopping 215 matches took place across 28 tables in double elimination play. With a big field of 217 players gathered in Slovenia, the play was unrelenting as stars of the game, seasoned pros and young up-and-comers battled to avoid an early trip to the one loss side.
An opening match defeat generally means a minimum of a further six wins to reach the last 32 single elimination stage, while staying on the winners’ side throughout means that only three victories are needed to reach a similar stage.
Hosted by the smart Hotel Thermana Park, there were a few big names that succumbed on the opening day. English duo of Chris Melling and Darren Appleton both lost; to Spain’s evergreen David Alcaide and rising Polish star Daniel Maciol respectively, which puts them both under pressure on day two. Former Euro Tour winner, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, also fell early, losing 9-8 to young Greek player Nick Chatoupis. The Finn bounced back winning his next match but has it all to do on Sunday.
Petri Makkonen
The seasoned Polish duo of Karol Skowerski and Mateusz Sniegocki also suffered defeats. Wiktor Zielinski, winner of the last Euro Tour event – in Treviso last November – was beaten 9-2 in a shock upset by fellow countryman Kamil Szaszor. 2021 Euro Tour finalist and European Under 21 Champion Aleksa Pecelj of Croatia also lost his opener and will have it all to do on Sunday.
On the winners’ side, most of the big names here in Lasko progressed without a stutter including Joshua Filler, Eklent Kaci, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, and Alexander Kazakis. Play gets underway in earnest on Sunday morning as the field play down to the final 16 competitors.
The tournament concludes on Monday 28th February, starting at the round of 16 and playing down to the championship match. This is a new time slot for the tour, made to accommodate a live TV broadcast, initiated for 2022.
This the first of six events in the 2022 Dynamic Billiard Euro Tour series and players battle for Tour ranking points, as well as world ranking points for the newly implemented system operated by Matchroom Sport.
All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com
