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.
In an intense straight pool match, defending Champion Enrique Correia (POR) defeated Pontus Dalen (SWE) in the round of 16 players single elimination of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors & Ladies 2019.
Dalen held an early lead at 47-22 over Correia when the Portuguese player got back to the table and started pocketing balls. Correia took the lead and a unique situation occured with him leading 63-47. Correiea had cleared the table and wanted to rack the balls when he by mistake took the remaining 15th ball and added it to the rack. The tournament management was called and with the help of the referees, the ball was restored to it's original position. Correia was able to continue shooting and cleared the table once again to win the match 75-47 after having trailed 22-47. With a run of 53 balls he went to the quarter-finals of the seniors straight pool individuals.
Earlier today in the winner’s qualification round, Sami Karttunen (FIN) encountered Timo Hofmann (GER). That match was determined by a strong playing Karttunen who quickly got out to a 46-2 lead over the German. Hofmann fought back and ran 24 balls before he missing a routine shot. Hofman was pocketing the difficult shots, but missing the easy ones. Karttunen benefited from those mistakes and consequently increased his lead to 60-26 in a race to 75. An exchange of safety shots then took place with Hofmann getting the better of his opponent, but again, he missed his second shot and Karttunen used his oppurtunity to finish the match, winning 75-27. This victory took Karttunen to the round of 32 players single elimination while Hofmann took the detour over to the loser’s side. There, he encountered Milan Mrva (CZE) who he defeated 75-48. In the single elimination, Hofmann and Karttunen both got ousted in the round of the last 32 players.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies 2019 will commence tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with quarterfinal matches in the straight pool individuals competition for the seniors. The final match is scheduled for 13:00 CET.
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.
Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) at the table against David Alcaide (ESP)
The first day of the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships in NH Conference Centre Koningshof in Veldhoven, The Netherlands, came to an end with as many as 462 straight pool matches played on 60 tables. Expectations were met on some occasions while other athletes had to settle for second best. Some hopes came treu, some were brutally destroyed.
In the men’s division, two former Champions surprisingly met on the loser’s side in the qualification round. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and David Alcaide, both from Spain, met in a match where one of them had to go home. This was especially tough for them since they live in the same town and are good friends and training buddies for many years now, they normally even share a room when they go abroad on tournaments. But the pool gods had them meet in this do-or-die match. Sanchez had execute do the opening shot. He left an open shot on the 8-ball for Alcaide. But instead of pocketing the 8-ball, Alcaide scratched and allowed Sanchez back to the table with 0:-1. Sanchez cleared one rack and also pocketed the break shot for a 15:-1 lead. He was in a good shape and the balls were nicely spread out on the table in front of him. He pocketed another shot and then scratched on the following attempt which brought Alcaide to the table at 15:-1. With a few safety shots, Alcaide managed to get back to 15:13 with Sanchez Ruiz still being in the lead. At that score, Alcaide missed an easy cut into the side pocket. This time, Sanchez showed no more mercy for his long-time friend. he cleared the table and ran the match out with an inning of 85 points, winning the match with 100:15 to terminate Alcaide’s hopes for another straight pool medal this year.
Defending straight pool Champion Niels Feijen (NED) clearly won his opening match over Stefan Noelle (GER) with 100:0, running out in one inning after Noelle gave him a shot in his second visit at the table. Then, Feijen had to deal with Jaroslav Polach (SVK) in the winner’s qualification round. He did not quite find his rhythm as he did in the match before and Polach used his great chance, taking down the Champion with 100:26 after 3 visits to the table. Polach is now through to the single elimination stage of the last 32 players while Feijen needs another victory over Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL).
Definitely one surprise today was the grandmaster Stephane Cohen (FRA) taking down David Alcaide (ESP) as clearly as 100:5. While Cohen had smooth sailing, Albin Ouschan (AUT) really needed all his power to defeat unheralded Lukas Kovac (SVK) 100:91.
Another well known face in the European pool world is former European Champion Nick Van Den Berg (NED). For private reasons, van den Berg stopped playing the Euro-Tour and international events since the end of 2017 but since this event was on his home soil, he wanted to find out whether he is still on top of his game. The first discipline straight pool was too much of an obstacle for him though. He really had a tough draw and faced Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) in his first match. The Spaniard played well and won the match clearly with 100:19 over van den Berg. Then on the loser’s side, van den Berg ran into Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). After the break shot, van den Berg allowed Stepanov to see a shot…. and that was the end of the match and the straight pool discipline for him. Stepanov ran 100 and out on van den Berg and played a perfect match in one inning. Van den Berg must now hope to get better draws in the coming disciplines.
[photo id=49644|align=right]
In the women’s division, defending Champion Kristina Tkach (RUS) made short work of her opponents so far. After a walk-over in the first round, she smashed Melissa Kuys-Rademakers (NED) 75:40 and then Sara Iannini (ITA) even 75:9. Her toughest opponent in European pool is Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), last year’s runner-up in women’s straight pool and #2 seeded player this year. Ouschan also performed pretty strong today. She overpowered Nina Torvund (NOR) 75:18 and then Silvia Lopez (ESP) with 75:28. This means that Ouschan as well as Tkach is already in the single elimination round of the last 16 women. Though there are still several serious opponents „in the way“, they both left the impression that they want a rematch in the final from last year.
In the senior’s division, last year’s runner-up and #1 seeded player Dirk Stenten (GER) lost his opening match to a strong playing Marinus Gennissen (NED) with 46:75. However, Gennissen also could not make it into the round of the last 32 players single elimination yet since he fell to the sharp blade of Thomas Lindloff (GER) in the next round with 23:75. Another seeded player, Danilo Cipriani (ITA) lost in the first winner’’s round today with 37:75 to Sami Karttunen (FIN). The only seeded player in the senior’s straight pool division to make it to the single elimination stage yet is Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER). He took down Markku Toivonen (FIN) 75:23 and Riccardo Sini (ITA) 75:27. Portugal’s hopes Henrique Correia and Manuel Pereira are also among the players who made it over the winner’s round and can be regarded as hot title contenders.
The first day’s play also saw the future of European pool take to the stage with both the U17’s & the U19’s in action. The Straight-pool discipline has been a strong point for the Polish youth over the past few years and that looks to continue here in Veldhoven with 4 from the 5 entrants in the U17’s, still flying the Polish flag into the last 32. With Wiktor Zielinski moving up to the U19’s and running amok with his opponents, it’s time to shine for someone in this talented team. Szymon Kural, last year’s 8-ball bronze medallist is leading the way with some stern shooting earning him an elimination match against the Belarusian Mikita Paluyan starting Friday at 10 am local time.
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with matches in the straight pool individuals competition men, seniors, U17 and U19.
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.
Left to right: Lely, Dalen, Glatz, Wirsbitzki and Rohmer
Today at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst Hotel in Leende, The Netherlands, the 9-ball individuals were played to the single elimination stage.
In the seniors division, several surprises happened. defending Champion Jan Keller got ousted by unheralded Pontus Dalen (SWE) 8:4 in the loser’s qualification round. Then Dalen went ahead and took down Steffen Gross (GER) in a heartbreaker with 8:7. He will play Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) tomorrow morning in the next round. Wirsbitzki, who always belongs to the circle of potential winners in seniors pool, also joined Dalen with victories over Sami Karttunen (FIN) 8:5 and then Michael Stark (AUT) 8:1.
One famous name in Dutch pool billiards is Alex Lely (NED). The former European Champion and top player is mainly known to be a coach and a commentator for Euro-Sports these days. Today however, he joined the seniors 9-ball competition. An early loss to Manuel Pereira (POR) 5:8 made him take the detour over the loser’s side. But he made his way back into the single elimination stage and defeated his first victim there, Vyacheslav Derbilov (RUS) 8:5. He will face Murat Ayas (SUI) in his next encounter tomorrow.
Another great name from the past is Marc Glatz (LUX). The German-born player from Luxembourg also went over the loser’s side and also got a foot back into the field by winning 8:5 over Tomi Ahonen (FIN). After that, he eliminated Mats Elfroos (SWE) 8:3 to get a match against Manuel Pereira (POR) tomorrow.
In the ladies division, Nathalie Rohmer (FRA) has already reached the quarterfinals. Her teammate Stella Julien (FRA) has been drawn against her to play for a spot in the medal match.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst Hotel in Leende, The Netherlands will continue at 09:00 CET with single elimination matches of the 9-ball individuals.
Every day, one match from the events 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 live via www.kozoom.com who stream the whole event on 23 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedules can be found at www.europeanpoolchampionships.eu so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Youth.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organised by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.europeanpoolchampionships.eu, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Henrique Correia (POR), defending Champion in the seniors 9-ball individuals, has reached the round of the last 16 players by eliminating Maciej Trudnowski (POL) 8:2 from the roster.
It turned out to be a walk in the park for Correia. His Polish opponent gave him some kind of resistance in the beginning of the match only. Leading 3:1 and 4:2, Correia wasted no time with Trudnowski and demonstrated his domination at the table. Trudnowski took a time out trailing 2:6 to Correia but that did not support his game nor did it influence Correia in any way, shape or form. The Portuguese collected the needed two racks after the time out and took a well deserved 8:2 victory over Trudnowski. Correia will play Jan Keller (DEN) in the round of the last 16 players standing while Trudnowski has to settle for 17th. Keller ousted Sami Karttunen (FIN) 8:1.
Other remarkable results from today include Sandor Tot (HUN) triumphing 8:4 over Kostas Konnaris (CYP). Tot will encounter Jim Telfer (NED) in the next round who clobbered Giorgio Margola (ITA) 8:3. Vegar Kristiansen (NOR) also still has a word to say regarding the 9-ball event. He won 8:2 over Gabor Erdelyi (HUN) and will play Piergiovanni Davy (ITA) next who defeated Fabio Petroni (ITA) 8:6. The round of the last 16 players will be played tomorrowmorning at 09:00 CET.
In the ladies division, Karin Michl (GER) secured her next medal here in Tirana. She got the better of Cristina Moscetti (ITA) in the winner’s qualification round and will now wait for an opponent. Moscetti needs to battle it out with Ulrika Andersson (SWE) for a spot among the top four ladies in 9-ball. The other lady in the semi-final already is Tuuliina Panula (FIN) who just made it over Susanne Wessel (GER) 5:4. Wessel will need a victory over Patrizia Ignesti (ITA) to book a seat in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Today, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies continue with the semi-finals and the final of the team competition. The final match is scheduled for 19:00 CET.
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 purchased at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
In the first round of the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in Tirana, Albania, Sami Karttunen (FIN) bested Tom Bjerke (NOR) 8:4.
The 9-ball individuals have started today in Tirana in the seniors as well as the ladies division. 77 seniors and 14 ladies are doing their best to get a shot at the coveted title of the European Champion. In the seniors division, Sami Karttunen encountered Tom Bjerke. Karttunen broke the first rack but came up dry on the break shot. Bjerke cleared the table and opened his account with 1:0. He took the next two racks as well to gain a nice 3:0 lead over Karttunen. The Finish did not get started yet and it looked like he had missed the beginning of the match completely. However, after 5 racks the score was 4:1 in favor of Bjerke. Suddenly Karttunen gained momentum and pulled back racks from Bjerke who seemed to be surprised by the „awakening“ of his opponent. Three racks later, the scoreboard displayed a 4:4 tie in the match. From then on, Bjerke could not find his form from the taking the match 8:4. The next match with Tom Damm (GER) however stopped Karttunen’s flow on a dime. He lost 6:8 and finds himself now on the left side of the draw just like Bjerke who lost his second match in a row to Thomas Radakovits (AUT) 3:8 and is now terminated from the 9-ball individuals.
Other remarkable results from today include defending Champion Henrique Correia (POR) routing Marko Hartikainen (FIN) 8:3 in his opening match in winner’s round 1. Maciej Trudnowski (POL) took down Jesper Schmidt (DEN) 8:5 and will next encounter Jan Keller (DEN) for a spot among the last 32 players single elimination.
In the ladies division, Karin Michl (GER) demolished Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) 5:0. Ann Sofie Löfgren (SWE) got the better of Monika Jarecki (GER) 5:2. Nathalie Rohmer (FRA) made it over Anne Nieminen (FIN) with 5:2 and will now deal with Cristina Moscetti (ITA) who had a walk-over in the first round.
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 purchased at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
Ulrika Andersson and Sanne Azar (both SWE) take the Gold Medals at the 8-ball individuals of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in Tirana, Albania.
Sanne Azar defeated Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) in the final of the seniors with 7:5. The match was filled with ups and downs on both sides. In the beginning, the show was 100% on Azar’s side. He was on fire and left no chance to Wirsbitzki who had problems in getting started at all. After four racks, the score was 4:0 in favor of Azar. Then, Wirsbitzki got some momentum and managed to put Azar under pressure. The German won three consecutive racks and Azar could feel the tension rising. Then, it was Azar’s match again. He won two racks and got to the hill with 6:3. But Wirsbitzki is a fighter. He hung in there and won another two points to once again come close to Azar. Being 5:6 down, Wirsbitzki scratched on his own break. That was enough of a chance for Azar to finish the match and take the crown over his German opponent with 7:5.
The final match in the ladies division was determined by a hue comeback from Ulrika Andersson. Germany’s Susanne Wessel was already leading 3:1 which is a comfortable advantage in a race to 5. In rack five, Andersson broke and scratched on the break shot which gave Wessel ball in hand with an open table. It was expected that she went on the hill but she missed the second-last ball of her group. Trailing 1:3, Andersson pocketed some balls and played a clever safety shot which forced Wessel to commit a foul. Andersson ran the remaining balls and the comeback started. She pulled rack after rack from Wessel who lost her game completely. She missed shots and fell out of position big time. On the other hand, Andersson got better and better and in the end took a deserved 5:3 victory to gain the first title in her career in the ladies division.
Semi-final results:
Ulrika Andersson (SWE) v Cristina Moscetti (ITA) 5:3
Susanne Wessel (GER) v Patrizia Ignesti (ITA) 5:2
Top Six 8-ball Ladies:
1. Ulrika Andersson (SWE)
2. Susanne Wessel (GER)
3. Patrizia Ignesti (ITA)
Cristina Moscetti (ITA)
5. Monika Jarecki (GER)
Karin Michl (GER)
Medal table after 3 of 5 events:
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrowmorning at 09:00 CET with matches of the 9-ball individuals.
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 purchased at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
With a nice 2:0 victory over Team Germany in the final, Team Portugal won the Gold Medal in the Seniors Team Division at the 2015 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies.
In the semi-final, the Portuguese almost stumbled. In their match against Finalnd, Manuel Pereira took a quick 8:3 victory over Pauli Laaksonen in 9-ball. However, Sami Karttunen turned the scoreboard to 1:1 with his 7:6 victory over Henrique Correia in 10-ball. The decision had to come from the 8-ball match between Marko Hartikainen and Antonio Neves. That match went hill-hill and Neves managed to run the final rack under an incredible amount of pressure to book the seat in the final against the Germans with his team. Team Germany ousted Team Austria in the semi-final with 2:1. The final match was not so exciting. Correia won quite convincing with 7:2 in 10-ball over Christian Dingler. Antonio Neves also defeated Reiner Wirsbitzki in 8-ball with 7:2 unexpectedly clear. At that time, the match between Steffen Gross and Manuel Pereira could be stopped since the Portuguese were already on two points. That meant the Gold Medal in the team competition for Team Portugal.
Top 6 Finishers Seniors Teams
1 Portugal
2 Germany
3 Austria
Finland
4 Netherlands
Norway
Medal table after 4 of 5 events
1 Italy
2 Portugal
3 Germany
4 Sweden
5 Netherlands
Norway
6 France
7 Austria
Bosnia & Hercegovina
Finland
Hungary
Earlier today, the 9-ball individuals started in the ladies and seniors division. Defending Champions are Karin Michl (GER) and Vegar Kristiansen (NOR). Michl won her first two matches against Annika Nilsson (SWE) 5:1 and Stella Julien (FRA) 5:3. Vegar Kristiansen already lost his opening match against unheralded Jim Telfer (NED) 5:8. He then had to go to the loser’s side where he met Marco Vignola (ITA) to defeat him 8:6. The next match was against Sami Karttunen (FIN). That match went hill-hill with the better end for Kristiansen. He won 8:7 over the Finish.
On another note it must be stated that the Dutch player Jesse Thehu was warned by the EPBF for ongoing unsportsmanlike conduct. For several misbehaviors, Thehu was imposed a fine of 500,-€ on with the warning that any further conflict with the tournament management would cause his immediate withdrawal from this and maybe even future events.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches of the 9-ball individuals competition. At 17:00 CET, the 9-ball finals will begin.
All matches can be viewed LIVE at www.kozoom.com. Up to 24 tables in HiRes quality are providing you with all the action of the event. You do not miss out one single match! Join today!
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.epconline.eu
The event is hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
Karin Michl (GER) and Vegar Kristiansen (NOR) have won the Gold Medals in the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for seniors and ladies.
Michl had to compete against Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) in the semi-final. She played rock solid and achieved a fully deserved 5:2 victory over the Italian top player. Her opponent in the final match, Anja Hehre (GER) ousted the defending Champion and teammate Susanne Wessel (GER) also with 5:2 in the semi-final. The final match between Michl and Hehre was packed with drama and excitement. After eight racks, the match went hill-hill. Then, Michl remained as focussed as one could get and pocketed ball after ball for a 5:4 victory and the title. „I have practiced a lot before I came here and I hoped for a chance to win a title, but I am absolutely overwhelmed that I have finally done it,“ said moved Michl after the match.
In the seniors division, we had a rematch between Kristiansen and Henrique Correia (POR). Earlier this week in the 10-ball competition, Correia won the final match between the two so Kristiansen was up for revenge now. The final match went back and forth. A few unlucky scratches from Correia brought Kristiansen in the lead. He kept that advantage and took the match and the title with 9:6. „I played great in 10-ball and I lost; I played great in 8-ball and I lost. In 9-ball, I played not so great but I have won the title“, said Kristiansen with a smile after the match.
In the team competition earlier today, the Dutch Team conquered the Gold Medal for the first time in years. They defeated team Finland in the final with 2:1. 15 teams have announced for the competition in total. The way for the Dutch team started with a 2:1 victory over team Sweden. the Scandinavians are usually known to show up with a strong contingency. However, this year the Dutch got the better of them. The next step was defeating team Italy 3:0 in the winners qualification round. Then, team Austria was the net opponent. They had a bit the statute of the „dark horses“ in the team competition since they ousted last year’s champion team Germany and favorite team Portugal one after the other. But the Dutch team, consisting of Rene Peeters, Gijs Van Helmond and Jesse Thehu prove again to be too strong for the Austrians. 3:0 was the clear result in favor of the Ducth team which booked them a seat in the final match. The opponent there was team Finland. The Finnish seniors with Sami Karttunen, Jouni Nykanen and Marko Hartikainen began their journey with a 2:1 victory over team Croatia. Then, their neighbors from Norway had to fall. 2:1 was again the final score in favor of the Finnish guys. In the winner’s qualification round, Finland surprisingly defeated team Portugal with 2:1. In the semi-final, team Italy was defeated with 2:1 by the Finnish. That booked them a seat in the final against the Dutch. The final match started quite furious. Jesse Thehu defeated Sami Karttunen in 10-ball extremely clear with 7:1 and brought the first point to The Netherlands. At this point in time, Rene Peeters was struggling against Marko Hartikainen in 9-ball. He had been in the lead but suddenly Hartikainen overtook him and it looked like he could snatch the match off Peeters. At a score of 6:5 for Hartikainen it was Gijs van Helmond who played an amazingly strong 8-ball match and sank the needed balls for the Dutch victory, defeating Jouni Nykanen with 7:4. The Gold Medal was won by the Dutch team. The Silver Medal went to team Finland. The Bronze medallists were team Italy and team Austria.
The final medal table displays Germany in the lead, followed by Portugal and Italy.
That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard European Championships 2014 for Seniors and Ladies. We will be back with more action from Portoroz next week with the Euro-Tour for Men and Women.
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.epconline.eu.
The event was hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) and Sami Karttunen (FIN) just won the Gold Medals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies.
Karttunen had a tough battle to fight with Jesse Thehu (NED) in the seniors final. The match went back and forth and in the 12th rack, Thehu tried to break up two solids which were not playable. He managed to pocket the intended ball, break up the problem but unfortunately for him the cue ball scratched in the side pocket. That brought Karttunen back to the table. He had ball in hand and ran out the rack in order to win the final match with 7:5. It is a very remarkable victory for him since he played his first European Championships at all. „I am more than happy and thankful. A big part of this Gold Medal belongs to my great team“, stated a modest Karttunen after the match.
In the ladies division, Barbara Bolfelli had to deal with Dana Stoll (GER). Everything looked like smooth sailing for her. She took a comfortable 3:0 lead in a race to five. But in rack four she suddenly missed an easy shot and gave second life to Stoll. The match became very exciting and went hill-hill. There, Bolfelli had the better end on her side.
The medal table after three of five events displays Germany in 1st position, followed by Italy and Portugal.
During the first half of the day, the team competition was continued. Several surprising results happened there. Already in the first round of the day at 09:00 CET, Team Italy defeated Team Germany with 2:1 in the first winner’s round. Willner (GER) won 10-ball with 7:4 over Mariano (ITA) while Vialetto (ITA) got the better of Gross (GER) 7:5 in 8-ball and Giacomelli (ITA) overpowered Schwedes (GER) in 9-ball 9:6. In the next round, team Italy played The Netherlands. That duel clearly went in favor of the Dutch team. A clear 3:0 victory took the Dutch players in the semi-final while team Italy needs another victory. Probably the most unexpected result of the day was the 2:1 victory of team Finland over team Portugal. The Portuguese had Correia and Pereira in the team but both of the favorites lost. Correia fell 3:7 to Sami Karttunen and Pereira lost 5:9 to Hartikainen. The Finish join the Dutch in the semi-finals while Norway plays Italy and Austria takes it up against Portugal for a seat in the semi-final.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships 2014 for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches of the 9-ball individuals in the first rounds. Then, the team competition will continue with the finals scheduled to begin at 22:00 CET.
All matches can be viewed LIVE at www.kozoom.com. 22 tables in HiRes quality are providing you with all the action of the event. You do not miss out one single match! Join today!
More information about participants, schedules, achievements, rankings, etc can be found on the event website www.epconline.eu.
The event is hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
