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.
Germany’s Harald Stolka won the first gold medal of the 2022 Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships Seniors as he defeated countryman Reiner Wirsbitzki 75-52 in an entertaining final to claim victory in the men’s Straight Pool division. Both players had plenty of visits but it was Stolka’s more dominant scoring that saw him through.
For Stolka, it was a wonderful moment, given that this was his first event at his first ever European Seniors, “That’s incredible. I’m really proud to beat my friend Reiner as I have a lot of respect for him because of his victories in the past. I’m really proud of what I’ve done and this is great!
“Last year I played the German Championships and lost to Reiner twice and I couldn’t win any title and that’s why I was mentally prepared for a tough tournament right here. Right now, I’m real happy. I will be trying now to play to win a medal in each division but if I travelled home right now that’s OK!” he added.
Stolka got proceedings underway in the race to 75 match but scratched on his second shot of the run. Wisbitzki could only add one point and Stolka returned to the table with an opportunity. The German veteran cleared the table, leaving the green 14 as his break ball for the next rack, leading 12-1.
He cleared the next rack to increase his lead to 26-1, leaving the 1-ball available as his break ball. With the 1-ball so close to the pack, the split wasn’t great but Stolka worked away trying to get some movement on the pack and picked any off the loose balls.
Stolka completed the rack with a handy 40-1 lead but his break ball in the next looked too straight to gain much impact on the rack. He did well to nudge a ball or two out to keep it going but he missed the 10-ball and allowed Wisbitzki back in, trailing 42-1.
Wirsbitzki needed a significant visit and he cleared to the table to reduce the deficit to 42-13, leaving the brown 7 out with a great angle to move the rack. He managed to split the pack, pocketing two balls in the process and negotiated his way around the table to complete it and move the score to 42-27.
Wirsbitzki though, missed his break ball, a relatively easy 9-ball to the corner pocket, and Stolka was back in. Stolka set about his task but with three balls left he missed a straight 8-ball leading 54-27. Wirsbitzki, completed the rack and left a straightish looking 2-ball, situated just outside of the rack.
Wirsbitzki got bogged down in the next, chasing position, but good work allowed him to mop up the table to get within 11 points of Stolka, trailing 54-43, and leaving the red 2-ball out at a nice angle. The break didn’t quite work out for Wisbitzki as the cue ball landed stuck on the bottom rail. A table length attempt on the 1-ball missed and Stolka returned to the table needing 21 points for victory.
There was still a bit of congestion as Stolka worked his way around the balls and he managed to loosen them up sufficiently to complete the rack and leave himself within 8 points of victory. With the cueball finishing within the confines of the triangle, Stolka started the rack from behind the headstring and did a terrific job in loosening the balls required for victory.
He was derailed by a bad scratch as the moving white just clipped the 5-ball, detouring it into the centre pocket. With the position of the balls, safety was the only option for both players as they looked for an opening. A great angled long pot on the pink 4, gave Wirsbitzki a chance to develop the table. However, with three balls left, he missed a bank on the 14-ball, giving Stolka the chance to close the match out.
He left He left the 14-ball on the rail with a good enough angle to release sufficient balls from the rack and he played it perfectly and downed the final two balls for victory.
Wirsbitzki said, “Firstly, I’m very happy about the silver medal. I didn’t start so well in the tournament and from match to match I played a little bit better. Harald played better across the tournament, better than me, and the best player of this tournament is the European Champion so congratulations to him.”
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’ 10-ball divisions.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
The penultimate discipline of the 2021 EPBF / Dynamic Billiards European Seniors Championships – the 8-ball – played out this evening at the BHR Treviso Hotel in Italy and there were gold medals for Reiner Wirsbitzki in the men’s division and Cristina Moscetti in the ladies.
In the ladies’ division, Italian Moscetti defeated Finland’s Tuuliina Panula 5-4 in a terrific comeback victory, while Germany’s Wirsbitzki defeated Gianluca Capella of Italy 7-5 to take his third medal of the championship after a bronze in straight pool and a silver in the 10-ball division.
In the men’s final, the match stood at 2-2 with both players having a break and run as well as taking a rack off their opponent’s break. The German took the next with his break to restore his lead. In the sixth game, Capella missed a cut on the 2-ball with just one other solid remaining on the table. Wirsbitski ran through his balls smoothly and deposited the 8-ball into the centre pocket to take a 4-2 lead in the race to seven match.
Wirsbitzki let fly with his two-feet-off-the-floor power break but left a messy table. He took the solids but was unable to dislodge the red stripe from the 1 ball so played safe but running out of time, he scratched and presented an opportunity to Capella, who grabbed it with both hands to reduce arrears to 4-3.
A bad kick, going for the 7-ball derailed Capella’s comeback, but Reiner missed a straight orange stripe to hand the table back to his opponent. Eventually Wirsbitski gained the initiative, though and took the rack to lead 5-3.
Capella got back to within a rack of his opponent including an excellent three ball finish when the black with tied up with two of his opponent’s balls. With the balls in the open following his break, Capella made an unforced error to scratch and hand Wirsbitzki a golden chance to reach the hill. There was nothing difficult in front of him and he cleared up to be breaking for the title.
Staring victory in the face, Wirsbitzki missed a relatively easy 9 ball and Capella got himself back in the match at 5-6 down with the break. The German potter however, got chances in the next to end the Italian’s great escape as he pocketed his way to a marvellous 7-5 victory.
Wirsbitzki was naturally thrilled with his win; “I lost the final in the straight pool then I lost the semi-final in the 10-ball and so I really wanted to win the 8-ball. It’s my third title at the European Seniors and I wanted it. I break with my hand open, normally it’s a closed hand and it’s difficult to control. Breaking softly is not good for my brain, I need the power! I played five matches today and the break was constant, really good.”
In the ladies’ final, Panula had steamrollered her way into a 3-1 lead and when Moscetti missed a difficult orange 5-ball down the rail, the Finnish lady cleared the remainder of her balls, including a pressure black to reach the hill at 4-1.
Moscetti got to the table, looking to save the match, but could only play safe. She missed the pink 4 ball to allow the straight shooting Panula back to the table but a poor positional shot gave the Italian an opportunity which she gratefully accepted to keep herself alive.
A dry break from the Italian when she least needed it put the Finn back in command and with her solid potting game, she tried to get home. Again, a poor positional shot let Moscetti back in but there was nothing on for her. The rack got a little scrappy with several visits from both players but Moscetti got the 8-ball down to get with one of Panula and put the pressure back on her opponent,
With the table looking good, Moscetti didn’t quite get the correct position with two of her balls left and played a containing safety. Panula managed to fluke an impossible snooker, trapping the cue ball between the red solid and the centre pocket and the Italian fouled. Panula missed two pocketing attempts, but try as she may Moscetti couldn’t negotiate the table with just two of her balls left.
Panula had a long 8 ball for the match but wasn’t even close. Moscetti then slammed home her remaining stripe but left the 8 ball on for Panula who promptly missed it again. The Italian didn’t though as the match went to 4-4.
They went back and forth in the decider, before an amazing jump shot by Moscetti from some distance kept her run going. Nothing was easy at this stage but the opportunity for gold was there and instead of the tentative play of early, she showed full confidence to take her remaining balls and then the 8-ball for the championship.
The win completed a full set of gold medals for Moscetti, having won 9-ball and 10-ball titles previously.
“It feels so good as I was missing the 8-ball gold – it was the only one I didn’t have and finally I’ve got it. At 4-1 I was beginning to think I was going to lose the match but then she gave me some chances and I’m like a diesel – I power up!
“Then I started to play good and with the score at 4-4 I made a miracle jump shot and a very good shot after that and I took the title. I’m looking forward to the 9 ball tomorrow so why not? It’s the European Championship’s in my home country and I really wanted this 8-ball title.”
Medals – Men’s 8-Ball
Gold – Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER)
Silver – Gianluca Capella (ITA)
Bronze – Timo Hofmann (GER)
Andrea Grosso (ITA)
The 10 Ball Division concluded today at the EPBF / Dynamic Billiards European Seniors Championships in Treviso, Italy and there were gold medals for Ulrike Andersson of Sweden in the ladies’ division and Switzerland’s Sascha Specchia in the men’s’.
13 players contested the ladies’ tournament and it was Andersson who prevailed in the final, beating Germany’s Susanne Wessel 5-3 in an exciting encounter in which both players’ lack of success on the break shot added to the drama.
Earlier in the competition Andersson had been defeated 5-1 by Wessel at the winners’ qualification stage so her success in the final was all the sweeter. With the match finely poised at 3-3, Wessel frustratingly delivered her fourth dry break of the final and it was Andersson who got things rolling with a tremendous pot.
She made a poor positional shot though, making the orange 5 more difficult than it should have been and consequently missed it. Wessel then took up the running but heartbreakingly scratched going from 7 to 8. With ball in hand, Andersson cleared to reach the hill with the break in her favour.
Another dry break though saw Wessel return to try and save the match. Working her way through the table, the German lady fell short on the 6 ball. The balls were there for the taking and Andersson composed herself to run through to the 10 ball before her opponent conceded it to hand her the title.
The win completed a career hat trick of senior European Championship titles for Andersson as she added to 8 ball and 9 ball titles won at previous European Championships.
“After losing to Susanna earlier, I improved through the day and played my best game of the tournament in the final and I’m really happy about that. I won my first European Championship title in the straight pool division in 1999!
“Of course, now I’m going to try for the 8 and 9 ball divisions. Try to love the game as much as I do and maybe you will in it,” She added.
In the men’s division it was Sascha Specchia who put in a dominating performance in the championship match to defeat compatriot Murat Ayas by 7-1. The 47 year-old from Lyss, Switzerland, moved effortlessly through the winner’s side of the 72-man field, winning seven matches in total on his way to the gold medal.
Wins against Gianluca Boni (7-0) and Zdenko Lisik (7-4) got the Swiss into the last 32 where he defeated Tuesday’s straight pool gold medallist Jorge Tinoco. A brace of Italian players – Riccardo Sini and once again, Boni, were his last 16 and quarter-final victims respectively.
A win over Sweden’s Morgan Norberg saw Specchia guarantee at least a silver medal. His opponent in the final, Murat Ayas, lost his opening game which always adds pressure, but he battled through to the semi-final where he defeated Reiner Wirsbitzki, to hand the German a bronze medal to add to the silver he had already won in the straight pool division.
The final itself didn’t really take off as Specchia ran away with it to earn the coveted gold medal.
Commented Specchia; “I don’t know what to say! I’ve won gold in the Junior’s, silver in the Men’s and silver in the Seniors and now gold so it’s been a beautiful day for me.
“It’s not really easy to play against a friend and team mate, but a final is a final and we play pool and pool is a single sport and we both wanted to win,” he added.
Medals – Men
Gold – Sascha Specchia (SUI)
Silver – Murat Ayas (SUI)
Bronze – Morgan Norberg (SWE)
Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER)
Medals – Ladies
Gold – Ulrike Andersson (SWE)
Silver – Susanne Wessel (GER)
Bronze – Alexandra Cunha (GBR)
Karin Michl (GER)
Play continues on Friday the men’s and ladies’ 8 ball divisions.
Jorge Tinoco, the 44 year-old Portuguese was the recipient of the opening gold medal at the EPBF / Dynamic Billiards European
Championships as he put in a series of solid performances to win the Straight Pool division, overcoming Germany’s Reiner Wirsbitzki 75-30 in the championship match.
Hailing from Lagos, on the Algarve coast in southern Portugal, Tinoco got the better of a strong field of 62 players, running undefeated through the tournament. With seven wins in total, the Portuguese was the best player there although he had some close matches en route to gold. The European Seniors Championships is for players of 40 years and over.
Commented Tinoco; “I have no words to describe how I’m feeling as this is my first time in the Seniors. This is a difficult competition in straight pool as it was my first time playing competitively. I practiced for two weeks and worked hard and I’ve won a gold medal which means that my work was well done.”
Entering his 11th European Seniors Championship, Wirsbitzki lost his opening game against Italy’s Riccardo Sini (75-28) and needed to battle his way through the losers’ bracket, playing ten matches in total.
Tinoco enjoyed a comfortable 75-6 win over Sweden’s Mahmut Mutto in the quarter-finals to ensure a medal and he went on to defeat the Norwegian Didrik Vatne 75-34 in the semi-finals. That ensured at least a silver and Wirsbitzki, who had earlier beaten countryman Steffen Gross 75-38 in the other semi-final, stood between him and the gold medal.
However, another comfortable performance from the Portuguese ensured his first ever European Championships gold medal. He can now look forward to taking that form to the remaining three divisions.
“I have no expectations for the other divisions; I just want to play good pool. I’m in the losers’ side in the 10 ball, so I have a big match tomorrow. It’s another day and another competition and there are a lot of good players so I’ll have to adapt as 10 ball is a totally different game to straight pool,” added Tinoco.
For Wirsbitzki, a loss in his opening match proved to be a telling factor; ““I had a cold start yesterday and lost my first match and then I found my game a little better. I played five matches yesterday and then five matches today. Ten matches in two days are too much for me!
“Against team mate Steffen Gross, it was a good match for me because I won and it was also the first that Steffen achieved a medal so I’m happy for him but I played very well and made 45 balls. At 9.00 in the evening, I didn’t feel so fit and relaxed but Jorge played well so congratulations to him.”
Play continues today in the men’s 10 ball and the ladies’ first event, also the 10 ball division.
The titles at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors & Ladies 2019 9-ball have been awarded today. Ine Helvik (NOR) and Ricardo Sini (ITA) have snatched the last two remaining titles.
The final in the seniors 9-ball division was played between Ricardo Sini and Sami Karttunen (FIN). Sini had a furious start and ran away with a 4:1 score after 5 racks played. But then he started committing several unforced errors which brought Karttunen back into the match. After 9 racks played, the Finish was even leading 5:4 over Sini. Throughout the whole match, Sini had the better break shot but his easy mistakes almost cost him the match. He recovered after rack 9 and got back to his earlier shape, winning the match with 8:5 over Karttunen. This was mainly since Sini got the breaks right and Karttunen had some unfortunate scratches in the latter stage of the match.
In the final of the ladies 9-ball division, Ine Helvik met Susanne Wessel (GER). Helvik got off to a 3:0 lead and never allowed anyone to think that she was giving this lead away at any time. Wessel tried to recover but Helvik played too strong and too consistent for her today. 6:3 was the final result which brought the title to Helvik in the ladies final match.
That concludes the coverage from the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors & Ladies 2019. The next event to be covered will be the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019, October 10-12, and the Predator Klagenfurt Women Open, October 12-13.
The Championships are played on 24 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 obtained 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.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The titles in the 10-ball competition of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors & Ladies 2019 have been awarded. Susanne Wessel (GER) won the ladies event while Henrique Correia (POR) took the crown in the seniors event.
The final match in the seniors division between Henrique Correia and Timo Hofmann (GER) was determined by several uncharacteristic mistakes. Correia came out strong and went up 2-0, but then was plagued by multiple errors that Hofmann benefitted from. The German took the lead at 3-2 before he too, saw errors get the best of him. With three major mistakes in three consecutive racks, Hofmann gave the match away. allowing Correia to take racks which he should have won himself. Instead of being 6-3 in front, Hofmann found himself trailing 3-6 before he won another rack to get to 4-6. Then, in the 11th rack, both players disregarded an 8-ball in a precarious position. Correia missed the 7-ball, leaving it for Hofmann, but it was Hofmann who quickly discovered that the 8-ball could not be sunk in the side pocket. Hofmann missed a difficult shot and left 3 easy shots remain for Correia who used this chance to win his 11th title on a European Championship level.
In the final of the ladies division, Susanne Wessel met Nathalie Rohmer (FRA). Wessel was favoured and it looked like she was living up to that expectation when she took a quick 4-0 lead over Rohmer. The nerves of being one game away from the title then seemed to get to her, as she missed important shots. In rack six, she missed an easy 10-ball which left the fans wondering if she would lose the match to her nerves. Finally, in rack seven, Wessel sealed the deal and cleared the table, winning the final match 5-2 over Rohmer for her 8th Gold Medal on European level.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies 2019 will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches in the 9-ball individuals competition.
The Championships are played on 24 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 obtained 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.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The medals for the 9-ball individuals, the final event of the amazing Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships in NH Conference Centre Koningshof, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, have been awarded. Nine new titleholders from nine different nations were crowned today.
In the men’s division, Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) took the title after an intense match against dark horse Stanimir Ruslanov (BUL). Both players had a heartbreaker to make it to the final. Juszczyszyn defeated Joshua Filler (GER) 9:8 while Ruslanov just made it over Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (ESP) with 9:8. The final match went back and forth with both players being in full swing, but Juszczyszyn had the better end on his side, winning the first men’s gold medal in the 9-ball European Championships ever. „This is a historic moment, not only for me, but also for my country“, said Juszczyszyn after the final match. „I am so happy I can to describe in words how I feel.“
Top 4 Men
1. Konrad Juszczyszyn POL
2. Stanimir Ruslanov BUL
3. Joshua Filler GER
Francisco Diaz-Pizarro ESP
In the women’s final match, Kelly Fisher (GBR) took down Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) with 7:4 and defended her title form last year. The US-based Brit just came to the European Championships for the 9-ball division and defended her title in an impressive way.
In the senior’s division, Jimmy Worung (NED) won this first gold medal ever on a European level, winning the final match with 8:6 over Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER). Worung has won several Bronze Medals in the past but never managed to make it to the final. „When I realised I had a chance to win the match, my arm felt like jelly,“ Worung stated after the match. „I got goosebumps when the match was announced and all my Dutch teammates, friends and family were routing for me. That was an amazing feeling,“ added Worung.
In the Under 19’s division, Sanjin Pehlivanovic managed to come up with an impressive victory over his final opponent Christian Froehlich (GER). Pehlivanovic dominated the division pretty much and won the final match as clear as 8:2 over the German.
In the Under 17’s division, Dennis Laszkowski (GER) secured his first title in 9-ball and won the final match over Kristian Mrva (SVK) with 7:6. That secured the german team position as #1 on the overall medal table.
Top 4 U17
1. Dennis Laszkowski GER
2. Kristian Mrva SVK
3. Dominik Jastrzab POL
Ole-Kristian Rudshavn NOR
In the girls’ division, the final match ended with a very dramatic shot. My Nguyen (SWE) took the title against Valeriia Trushevskaia (RUS) who left the 9-ball hanging over the pocket at 5:5.
Top 4 Girls
1. My Nguyen SWE
2. Valeria Trushevskaia RUS
3. Palina Chernik BLR
Alina Brummer GER
In the ladies’ division, Cristina Moscetti (ITA) dethroned defending Champion Ine Helvik (NOR) with a 6:2 victory in the final match.
Top 4 Ladies
1. Cristina Moscetti ITA
2. Ine Helvik NOR
3. Ortenzia Haflinger SUI
Annika Nilsson SWE
In the wheelchair division, all-time favoured Jouni Tahti (FIN) won the match and his 24th title with a convincing performance over Fred Dinsmore (IRL) with 7:0.
Germany has pretty clearly won the team competition at this year’s overall European Championships.
That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018, the 4th anniversary event of the EPBF. On Thursday, the Dynamic Billard Veldhoven Open Euro-Tour tournament will commence.
The Euro-Tour will be played on up to 60 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 obtained 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 or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The team competition at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 have been decided. Team Germany once again dominated the day and took 4 out of 7 Gold Medals.
Probably the most prestigious division was won by team Poland today. The Polish team was up in the final match against the „hometown heroes“, the Dutch team. The match was action-packed and filled with excitement and pressure. The first point went into the account of The Dutch team when Ivar Saris took the 8-ball match with 8:4 against Konrad Juszczyszyn. Some time later, Tomasz Kaplan was able to tie the match for the Polish team, winning the 10-ball match with 8:6 over Marc Bijsterbosch. The tension rose and the atmosphere was great. Karol Skowerski had to deal with „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen in 9-ball. That match was almost over when Feijen missed a shot, trailing 7:8 to Skowerski. But the Polish also showed some nerves and missed one of the four remaining balls, letting Feijen back to the table. „The Terminator“ went for it and cleared the table, levelling the match at hill-hill 8:8. The crowd went crazy and supported Feijen big time. One could hear a pin drop when Skowerski broke the rack in the deciding 17th rack. The 1-ball went in the side pocket but the 3-point-rule was violated so Feijen came to the table. He did not have a shot at the 2-ball so he passed the table back to Skowerski. The 2-ball was lying in the area of the corner pocket with the 6-ball blocking its way in. Skowerski played a push-out so that the 2-ball way playable but it did not have a pocket to go in. Feijen passed the shot back and Skowerski’s moment of glory was there. He took careful aim and fired the 2-ball into the 6-ball which was pocketed. From then on, the table had no more problems and Skowerski cleared it in order to win the 9-ball over Feijen with 9:8 and take the title with a 2:1 team result over team The Netherlands. „We are all playing at an equal level“, stated Skowerski after the final match, „we win together and lose together. We eliminated some really strong opponents and are now back on top with the team after 2015.“ „Hopefully, this victory will give a big boost for the game in our country“, Konrad Juszczyszyn added.
Top 4 Men
1. Poland
2. The Netherlands
3. Croatia
Estonia
In the women’ team competition, the final match between Portugal and the Ukraine was pretty surprising since the „usual suspects“ got eliminated in earlier rounds. Team Russia who played the final match in the previous four years and won it twice got ousted by the Ukraine in the semi-finals this year. However, the final match went to the liking of team Portugal. Sara Rocha quite quickly took the 9-ball with 7:4 over Kateryna Polovinchuk. Also Vania Franco did not have many problems with Viktoria Nagorna, winning the 8-ball clearly with 6:2.
Top 4 Women
1. Portugal
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
The Netherlands
The senior’s division was taken by team Germany, defeating the team from Portugal 2:1. Like in the men’s division, the first point went quite promptly into the account of the losing team. Henrique Correia who is known to play as fast as a whirlwind took the 10-ball over Germany’s #1 senior player Reiner Wirsbitzki with 7:3 after 1 1/2 hours. Around that time, Mario Maerz was 5:5 with Sergio Silva in 8-ball and Dirk Stenten was 6:6 with Manuel Pereira in 9-ball. The match was totally open with all odds in favour of the Portuguese team. But Germany managed to turn the tide in that match. Almost at the same time, Stenten and Maerz finished their respective matches, having not given away any more racks to their opponents from the moment mentioned. Maerz won in 8-ball 7:5 while Stenten took the 9-ball 8:6.
Top 4 Seniors
1. Germany
2. Portugal
3. The Netherlands
Finland
The next Gold Medal of the day was collected for the German team by the Under 19’s team in their match against Russia. Christian Foehlich and Alen Salic took their matches pretty clearly. Foehlich won the 10-ball over Egor Trifonov 7:1 while Salic defeated Ilia Nekleenov in 9-ball 8:5. Only Luca Menn was outplayed by Dmitrii Shkodov in 8-ball with 5:7.
Top 4 U19
1. Germany
2. Russia
3. Denmark
Sweden
Also in the Under 17’s division, Germany was victorious today. Having lost the winner’s qualification round to team Norway with 0:2, the Germans won the loser’s qualification round with 2:0 over Bulgaria and then ended the Finish hopes for the title with 2:1 in the semi-final. In the final match, Germany met team Poland. For many years, Poland has strong athletes in the youth. Just like this year. But Germany also seemed to have invested in their youngsters. Jacques Wollschlaeger won his 8-ball with 6:2 over Dominik Jastrzab while Dennis Laszkowski won the 9-ball 7:5 over Szymon Kural. That turned the scoreboard already to 2:0 for Germany. At that time, the 10-ball was aborted with Oskar Jamorski leading 5:3 over Moritz Neuhausen in a race to 6.
Top 4 U17
1. Germany
2. Poland
3. Finland
Norway
In the girls’ division, the final match was played between team Russia and The Netherlands. Valeriia Trushewskaia won the 9-ball very fast with 6:1 over Megan Rademakers. Lynn Pijpers was trailing 2:3 to Viktoriia Gurova at that time. But Pijpers wanted that title. She hung in there and pulled track after rack from Gurova, eventually winning the 8-ball with 5:3. The match had to be decided by a shoot-out. Both teams showed that the pressure was on. Only one athlete stood out: Valeriia Trushewskaia. She pocketed all of her attempts in the shoot-out and brought the victory and the title in the girl’s division to Russia.
Top 4 Girls
1. Russia
2. The Netherlands
3. Belarus
Norway
In the ladies’ division, once again Germany was the winner defeating Sweden in the final match. Annika Nilsson overcame Karin Michl surprisingly clear with 6:2 in 9-ball. Nilsson’s teammate Ann-Sofie Loefgren was all square with Susanne Wessel in 8-ball at 2:2. Then, Wessel took the steering wheel in the match and managed to outplay her opponent with 5:3 in the end. The final match had to be decided in the shoot-out. Here, the Germans were better and won with 3:1, taking the title in the ladies’ division.
Top 4 Ladies
1. Germany
2. Sweden
3. Italy
Switzerland
Medal table after 4 of 5 events
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Having won 4 Gold Medals today only, team Germany is probably already the winner of the medal table of this 40th anniversary European Championships of the EPBF.
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with loser’s round matches in the 9-ball individuals.
The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 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 obtained 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.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
The 8-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 in NH Conference Centre in Veldhoven, The Netehrlands, have been decided. Germany turned out to be the big winner of the day, taking 3 titles and a total of 10 medals in that one day only. This performance catapults team Germany to the top of the medal table after three of five events.
In the men’s division, Bahram Lotfy (DEN) defeated Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) 8:2 in the final match. Lotfy seemed to be on fire throughout the whole tournament. His victims on his way to the final match include Alex Lely (NED), Mario He (AUT), Alexander Kazakis (GRE) and in the semi-final Mieszko Fortunski (POL). This impressive list of players got ousted by Lofty who came to Veldhoven pretty unheralded and can be regarded as a real surprise winner. „I have been focussing a lot on my practice over the last year“, stated Lotfy after the final match. „I practice a lot with Niels (Feijen) and I also do mental training as in meditation“, Lotfy added. „I felt really comfortable throughout the whole competition and I’m looking forward to the 9-ball“.
Top 4 Men
1. Lotfy, Bahram DEN
2. Juszczyszyn, Konrad POL
3. Filler, Joshua GER
Fortunski, Mieszko POL
In the women’s division, Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) took the title in a final match against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) with 6:3. Ivanovskaia literally played against the whole arena since the audience was packed with Peeters’ friends, Family and supporters. But also the German contingency managed to make some noise during the final match. The match for Gold was decided by Ivanovskaia playing more solid than Peeters. The German was a bit unlucky on her break shot but she did not commit any mistakes during the racks. Peeters missed too many shots and especially positions which in the end cost her the match. „I had a tough match against Tamara“, said Ivanovskaia after the final, „I could really feel the pressure from the audience.“ „My toughest matches in the whole event probably was against Oliwia (Czuprynska). At hill-hill, she pocketed the 8-ball and scratched. I won that match on pure luck. Maybe that gave me extra strength against Jasmin (Ouschan) in the semi-final“. Tamara Peeters-Rademakers stated: „I committed too many mistakes in the final match. I had such a great support from everyone here but Veronika simply played better than me tonight“, admitted Peeters-Rademakers.
Top 4 Women
1. Ivanovskaia, Veronika GER
2. Peeters-Rademakers, Tamara NED
3. Schade, Vivien GER
Ouschan, Jasmin AUT
In the senior’s division, Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) claimed the title against Sandor Tot (HUN) in the final with 7:1. Two times already this week, Tot has been the final destination for Wirsbitzki. In straight pool in the quarter-final and in 10-ball in the round of the last 16 players, Tot eliminated Wirsbitzki. Today in the final match, Wirsbitzki wanted payback time. And he received his revenge on Tot. Wirsbitzki played extremely solid and thrashed Tot 7:1 in a single-sided final match. Wirsbitzki has been a constant gold medallist in previous years in the senior’s division, but his last title in the individuals is as far back as 2015 when he won the title in straight pool in Sankt Johann im Pongau in Austria.
Top 4 Seniors
1. Wirsbitzki, Reiner GER
2. Tot, Sandor HUN
3. Cerimagic, Dino BIH
Pereira, Manuel POR
In the „oldest“ division of the youth, the Under 23’s, Casper Matikainen (FIN) snatched the title with an 8:2 victory over Johannes Schmitt (GER). Matikainen pretty much dominated the Under 23 division since he eliminated most of the other favourite players one after the other. Kevin Schiller (GER), Vitaliy Patsura (UKR) and Samuel Santos (POR) are the guns Matikainen put to shame during the 8-ball individuals.
Top 4 U23
1. Matikainen, Casper FIN
2. Schmitt, Johannes GER
3. Labutis, Pijus LTU
Santos, Samuel POR
In the Under 19’s, Christian Froehlich (GER) took his first medal on the European level ever, winning the division in the final match with 7:4 over teammate Alen Salic (GER). The two most contended medals in that division both went to the German team today.
Top 4 U19
1. Froehlich, Christian GER
2. Salic, Alen GER
3. Zielinski, Wiktor POL
Souto, Jonas ESP
In the Under 17’s, Ivan Galic (CRO) took the title against Ole-Kristian Rudshavn (NOR) with 6:4. Ivan Galic already took a medal this week in 10-ball, becoming the runner-up.
Top 4 U17
1. Galic, Ivan CRO
2. Rudshavn, Ole-Kristian NOR
3. Gangfløt, Emil-Andre NOR
Neuhausen, Moritz GER
In the girls’ division, Darya Siranchuk (UKR) won her first title against Palina Chernik (BLR) with 5:1. Siranchuk has already won three medals in the girls’ last year but no title yet. One silver medal and two bronze medals were her achievements in Leende in 2017. Siranchuk had to take the detour over the loser’s side this year in 8-ball since she lost in the winner’s qualification round 4:5 to Aleksandra Guleikova (RUS). Then, she managed to win against Cindy Keller (SUI) 5:0 and Alina Brummer (GER) 5:2 before she encountered Valeriia Trushevskaia. That match turned into a fierce battle. When the smoke settled, Siranchuk was the 5:4 winner in the semi-final. The final match was a more or less clear affair for Siranchuk.
Top 4 Girls
1. Siranchuk Darya UKR
2. Chernik, Palina BLR
3. Trushevskaia, Valerija RUS
Neuhausen, Maximiliana GER
In the ladies’ division, Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) overpowered Anja Hehre (GER) with 5:3 in the final match, winning her 4th European Champion title in the ladies’ division.
Top 4 Ladies
1. Bolfelli, Barbara ITA
2. Hehre, Anja GER
3. Andersson, Ulrika SWE
Haeflinger, Ortenzia SUI
In the wheelchair division, Jouni Tahti (FIN) once more was the guy to beat. He eliminated Henrik Lasrsson (SWE) with 5:2 in the final match. This is the 35th medal for Tahti on European level and his 23rd title. What a domination from Tahti. Unfortunately, the day also saw some donwside. The wheelchair division produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far. The athlete Kurt Deklerck (BEL) was given the black card and therefore disqualified from the whole European Championships and stripped from all his results. Deklerck was judged guilty for cheating in his matches in adding a greasy substance onto the cue ball during his match, manipulating the angles of the game. For that reason, there is only one Bronze Medal awarded in the wheelchair division today.
Top 3 Wheelchair
1. Tahti, Jouni FIN
2. Larsson, Henrik SWE
3. Brajkovic, Matej SLO
Medal table after 3 of 5 events
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This puts Team Germany clearly on top of the medal table after 3 of 5 events with the 9-ball individuals and the team competition coming up.
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with matches in the team competition.
The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 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 obtained 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.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
