The finals of the 8-ball division played out this afternoon at the 2022 Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships Seniors and it was Reiner Wirsbitzki (Germany) and the Netherlands’ Melissa Rademakers who comfortably took home the gold medals. It was Wirsbitzki’s second medal of the championship’s following a silver in the 10-ball division, while Rademakers made it two golds out of two, following up on her victory in the Ladies’ 10-ball.
Wirsbitzki was up against Poland’s Roman Wasilewski, who was part of Poland’s gold medal-winning team the previous day. However, the Pole missed too many balls to sustain a challenge in the final as the German ultimately ran away with it.
Wirsbitzki got the final underway and selected the stripes after a successful break. With just the 10-ball left, the German ran out of position and his safety attempt left a ball on for Wasilewski who looked good for the run out. He missed on a long 2-ball though, and Wirsbitzki took advantage to open the scoring.
It was the same story in the next, as following a Wirsbitzki miss, the burly Pole made the same mistake as the first rack in missing his final ball. Wirsbitzki was happy to accept the gift and increased his lead to 2-0.
Back on the stripes, Wirsbitzki soon ran out of position, leaving the white too close to the 9-ball to affect a pot. He left the cue ball in the corner and Wasilewski couldn’t make the on ball. Coming back to the table, the German cleared up for a 3-0 lead.
A missed 2-ball from Reiner got Wasilewski back to the table with both sets of balls available. He elected solids and looked good for the rack before missing the penultimate solid down the rail. It was another golden chance for Wirsbitzki and he took it to increase his lead to 4-0 in the race-to-seven match.
Reiner dropped a solid in off his break and chose stripes to continue his visit. They were nicely out in the open and he ran out to increase his lead. Wasilewski really needed something now and a good break gave him options. He took the solids and went through the balls. The 8-ball just about passed a stripe and he rolled it in to open his account, trailing 5-1.
Wirsbitzki scratched on the break to give Roman ball in-hand behind the headstring. He split an awkward cluster with his first shot but then missed the pink 4 to hand the table back to the German. With no hesitation, he ran out to put himself on the hill. Wasilewski took the solids off his break and he could ill-afford a single slip up. To his credit, he played the rack well to reduce his deficit to 6-2.
Three balls off the break, though, gave Wirsbitzki every chance to close the match out. However, a miscue, pocketing a 2/1 combination saw him lose position. There was an easy safety available which left Wasilewski in a very tight spot. His escape made contact with a stripe but it left the 4-ball on for his opponent and he grasped the opportunity. The final 8-ball was a slow roll into the centre pocket and Wisbitzki completed it for another German gold medal.
For Wisbitzki it was a successful defence of the title he won last year in Treviso, Italy. In fact, it was his fourth European seniors 8-ball gold, having also won way back in 2011.
Said Wisbitzki, “There were some very tight matches, 7-6, 7-6 so I’m very happy to win my second title in a row in 8-ball. I’ve been invited into the World 8-Ball Championship in Puerto Rico but I can’t go there in November so I hope that next year I can go there and play.
“It was very difficult as I played five matches today in 8-ball and now I must play two matches in 9-ball, it’s a little bit late, it’s complicated to play but I get it!” he added.
Bronze medals were won by Andrea Grosso of Italy and Portugal’s Henrique Correia.
In the ladies’ division it was Melissa Rademakers who claimed her second gold of the event, having come out top in the 10-ball division earlier in the week. Following that triumph, Rademakers stated that 8-ball was her best discipline and so it proved as she ran undefeated through the field before beating GB’s Alexandra Cunha 5-1 in the championship match.
Commented Rademakers after her win, “I came here for the 8-ball, that was my main priority and I’m really, really happy that I won that. 10-ball, of course was nice but 8-ball, that’s my game. I had a big mouth before the tournament so I’m glad I did it well and now we go for No.3.
“They were very happy and very surprised back home after the 10-ball win. My dad passed away a few months ago and he was my coach and trainer so I did it for him; he must be very proud and it seems like everything falls into place.
“I tried to hold myself at the presentation ceremony but I had to think about him and he must be so proud,” she added.
She now goes for her third gold medal in the 9-ball division which gets underway on Friday morning.
Jum Zwijnenburg (The Netherlands) and Birgit Heidorn of Germany took the bronze medals. It was Heidorn’s second bronze of the championships.
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship Seniors and Ladies comprises nine separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool for men and teams.
Play continues later today with action in the men’s’ 9-ball division.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
Harald Stolka’s marvellous week continued in winning style as the 47-year-old German took 10-ball gold at the 2022 Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships Seniors to add to the straight pool title he claimed on Sunday. This time he defeated Jorge Tinoco (Portugal) by 7-4 to give him a 100% record at the annual gathering of Europe’s over-45 players.
Stolka travelled to Slovenia on his first ever visit to the European Seniors and it was likely beyond his widest dreams that he would win the opening two events. Today he was up against a player who collected two golds himself at this same event last year but the German’s determination and all-round play saw him through.
“I’m pretty happy today because this is my 20th match right now and I felt the pressure today. I didn’t play real free earlier but played good enough to give my opponents a strong fight and when I came to the semis I started to play well so that was great and thank you very much, billiard god!
Stolka won the lag to get the final underway but could not drop a ball off the break. Tinoco missed a difficult long 2-ball, leaving it on for Stolka, The German ran out of position going from 4 to 5 and missed the cut into the centre pocket. Tinoco stepped up to steal the rack for 1.0. Tinoco delivered another dry break and Stolka looked set for the run out but again missed a cut on the 8 ball into the centre pocket to gift the rack to Tinoco.
A superb snooker from Stolka saw a great escape attempt from Tinoco miss the 1 ball by a hair’s breadth to give ball-in-hand, from where Stolka made no mistakes to get onto the scoreboard. A missed 1 ball from Tinoco allowed his opponent to level things up at 2-2 and then Stolka ran out from the break to take the lead for the first time at 3-2.
A good safety in the next allowed Stolka to increase his lead to two-racks and the seventh game was the longest of the match as both players went back-and-forth on the 2-ball before Tinoco nailed it but with a 7/9 cluster down-table it was no formality. However, some excellent positional play enabled the Portuguese to run out for 4-3.
A failed kick on the 1-ball from Tinoco in the next gave ball-in-hand to Stolka but he missed a tough 2-ball. It was Tinoco’s turn to miss next, this time on the 4-ball and Stolka took his chances to restore his two-rack lead. Stolka came with some championship winning form in the next as he ran out from the break to put himself on the hill as he moved the score to 6-3.
Tinoco won the next as Stolka missed the 4-ball, trying to squeeze it past the 9. It was a lifeline for Tinoco who dished up to reduce the deficit. In what would be the final rack of the match, a safety from Stolka left the 1-ball on for Tinoco. With no room for error, Tinoco played safe on the 5-ball and it was a good effort. There were multiple visits and safeties but the Portuguese always had the advantage until a loose one allowed Stolka a good look at the 5. He made it and gained position on the 6-ball and from there, he ran out for the gold medal.
Stolka added, “I’m staying here for two more disciplines but I won’t feel the pressure as every discipline is a new tournament and there are so many strong players. I can’t believe that I’ve won twice right now but I won’t be giving up for the next ones.”
Bronze medals went to Markus Kamuf of Germany and Norway’s Jorgen Nilsen.
In the ladies’ 10-ball it was the Netherlands’ Melissa Rademakers who claimed her first ever European Championship gold medal as she defeated Tuuliina Paluna (Finland) by 5-2. It was a welcome change of fortunes for the Dutch girl as she had earlier been beaten by the same opponent in the Winners’ Qualification stage.
Rademakers had the ideal match, racing out of the traps for a 4-0 lead in the race-to-five final. Paluna pulled two back but a missed 10-ball from the Finn gave her opponent a long look at the championship ball and she firmly planted it in the corner pocket for the gold.
Commented Rademakers, “She came back at me but I didn’t do anything wrong at that point and I knew I was waiting for a chance and I got it! 8- ball is my game but it’s hard to say how that will go but 10-ball was not a priority but 8-ball, I love to play so I hope I can go far in that one.”
Rademakers also looked shaky in her semi-final match, trailing 3-0 to Karin Michl (Germany) but managed to turn it around.
“It was tough but I was playing well and trusted in that. The 3-0 was probably not the way the match went but I felt good and that I could come back at any time. It’s only a race to five and anything could happen. “
Bronze medals went to Alexandra Cunha (Great Britain) and Birgit Heidorn of Germany.
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship Seniors and Ladies comprises nine separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool for men and teams.
Play continues later today with action in both the mens’ and ladies’ 8-ball divisions.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
Mark Gray (GBR) has already taken four victims down in the Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal. Today in the round of the last 32 men single elimination, Gray wiped the floor with Daniel Tangudd (SWE) and handed him a doughnut, winning the match 9:0. Before that match, Gray’s route to the single elimination stage of the event led over Athanasios Vrakas (GRE) 9:3, Sergey Lutsker (RUS) 9:3 and Marcus Chamat (SWE) 9:1 even. Altogether, Gray allowed his opponents to win seven (7!) racks against him in four matches! What an impressive performance from the Brit so far.
Other remarkable results from today’s rounds include Ronald Regli (SUI) conquering Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9:8 in winner’s round 2. Regli then went on and also defeated Roman Hybler (CZE) 9:8 before he fell to the sharp blade of young Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 4:9 in the single elimination round which puts in in 17th place. Mats Schjetne (NOR) upset current World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) and overran him with 9:5. Then he was overrun himself, losing 4:9 to Sebastian Ludwig (GER). In the loser’s qualification round, Schjetne went up against Fortunski. The Norwegian managed to win that encounter 9:7 and advanced to the single elimination stage. There, he won 9:7 over Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and will meet Joshua Filler (GER) tomorrow at 10:00 GMT for a spot in the quarter-finals.
In the women’s division, Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) is playing a nice tournament so far. Last night, she defeated Vivien Schade (GER) by a margin of 7:6 and advanced to the winner’s qualification round where she met Melissa Rademakers (NED) today. Polovinchuk proved stronger than Rademakers and handed her a 7:5 defeat to secure her spot in the single elimination round of the last 16 players. There she will receive an opponent who still needs to qualify and will be drawn in the match against her at 12:00 GMT. Also well on track is Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) who took down Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) by 7:6 only. The same result was good for Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) who made it over Ine Helvik (NOR) in the round of the last 16 remaining women.
Another interesting incident occurred during today’s matches. For quite some years now, EPBF conducts anti-doping tests on a random basis at the events. These tests are requested by IOC and WADA these days and all sports federations must follow this procedure. Today, one test was arranged and four matches were determined from which the losing players had to go to the testing. However, one player denied being tested although he was drawn for it. After being informed that denying a doping test would result in the same penalty as having a positive finding in the sample, the respective player still did not want to take the test. This behaviour was immediately reported to the higher authorities and the outcome will very likely be that the player in question will receive a long ban from international as well as national billiard events, according to the WADA code which is binding for all sports federations worldwide. Conduct like this can and will not be tolerated and is regulated for all sports by the WADA codes and regulations.
The Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal will continue tomorrow at 10:00 GMT with matches from last the 16 single elimination in the open event and at 09:30 GMT with matches from the loser’s qualification round in the women’s event.
Every day, one match from the event will be shown LIVE on the Facebook page of the EPBF. All Facebook users may check out the high standard of quality which is provided for all the events and see what the Kozoom members receive all the time. You can see all the matches on up to 24 tables live via www.kozoom.com who stream the whole event on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard Italian Open starting Thursday 30thMarch at 09:00h
The event will be 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.epbf.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The first titles at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes have been assigned. In the women’s division, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) defended her title from last year and won the final match over Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) with 75:19. In the men’s division, Niels Feijen (NED) prevented his teammate Nick Van Den Berg (NED) from winning three straight pool titles in a row and defeated him 125:50.
Ouschan started her day with a clear 75:28 walk over Melissa Rademakers (NED). Then she faced a tough opponent in the quarter-final. Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) proved to be hard work for Ouschan who stayed on top of the match, winning it with 75:54. In the semi-final match, Ouschan eliminated Line Kjoersvik (NOR) with 75:46. These victories booked her a seat in the final match. Oliwia Czuprynska started her day with a 75:44 victory over Kristina Grim (GER). She then finished Sara Rocha’s (POR) hopes with 75:39, just to meet her friend and teammate Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) in the semi-final. 75:48 was the final results in favor of Czuprynska.
The final match was pretty single-sided in Ouschan’s favor. She hardly missed any shot and left no chance for Czuprynska. That is clearly demonstrated by the high final score of 75:19 for Ouschan. Jasmin Ouschan took her 30th title on European level. She managed to defend her title in straight pool from last year. What a promising start for the Austrian superstar player.
Niels Feijen started his journey to glory, wiping the floor with Josip Susnjara (CRO) 125:6. Then, he finished Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) with 125:71. He continued in the quarter-finals with his splendid form, leaving no chance to Finland’s Petri Makkonen 125:17. In the semi-final, he stopped Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) with 125:50 to make it to the final match.
Defending Champion Nick van den Berg took care of Aki Heiskanen (FIN) with 125:25. Then he marched on and defeated Mariusz Skoneczny (POL) 125:42. His next opponent was former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR). But also Peach had no chance against van den Berg who took the match clearly with 125:14. In the semi-final, the Dutch ousted Tomasz Kaplan (POL) with 125:77. That match was almost a replay from last year’s final with the same winner.
The final match between Feijen and van den Berg was filled with ups and downs. Feijen ran 96 points on van den Berg and took a 111:12 lead. However, he then missed a makable break shot and allowed van den Berg back to the table. But the defending Champion was sitting in his chair for over 30 minutes and had to watch Feijen making point after point. Both players made some errors and in the end, Feijen was the more consistent player when he potted the final ball to win the match with 125:50. Feijen ended van den Berg’s winning streak in straight pool.
It can be noticed here that team Poland came out quite unlucky today. They had 4 players in the semi-final matches and had to settle for 3 bronze and 1 silver medal. However, it can be stated that the Polish contingency had a good start; just like the Dutch players. It will be interesting to see how the event will continue.
Play will commence tomorrow morning 09:00 local time with the 10-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.
