Mieszko Fortunski (POL) has just won the Dynamic Billard Italian Open with a 9:6 victory over Ralf Souquet (GER) in the final match. It is his first Euro-Tour victory ever.
The final match was determined by equal chances and play from both players. The decision came in the 14th rack. Fortunski was 7:6 up and players were taking racks in turns. With his breakshot coming up, Ralf Souquet got to the table but remained dry off the break. No ball was down and Fortunski had a shot at the 1-ball. He cleared the table and broke and ran another rack in order to win the tournament with a fantastic performance!
The semifinal matches were determined by close matches and high tension. The first semifinal between Fortunski and Jayson Shaw (SCO) turned out to become a hill-hill thriller. Both players played equally strong but Fortunski once again had the better ending. While luck was more or less a factor in that match, the other semifinal between Souquet and Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) was as tight and exciting as the first semifinal but the outcome was determined by a bit of negligence. The first half of the match belonged to Souquet. He took a 6:4 lead and played quite well. Then Ekonomopoulos attacked and even overtook Souquet. He managed to get on the hill first with an 8:6 lead over „The Kaiser“. Souquet hung in there and tied the match at 8:8. The 17th rack was pure drama. After several safety shots, Ekonomopoulos started pocketing balls and looked like the definite winner. But he missed an easy 9-ball! Nobody expected Souquet to get back to the table. He found himself with a one rail shot on the 9-ball which he fired in the center of the side pocket to win the semifinal and proceed into the final match against Fortunski. However, Ekonomopoulos will probably remember that shot for quite some time.
In the Dynamic Billard Women Open, an upset occurred already in the first round. Austrian star player Jasmin Ouschan lost her opener 5:7 to Monika Zabek (POL) who played against Ouschan for the first time in her career. Ouschan committed too many mistakes and Zabek consequently made use of them. Unfortunately for Zabek, she lost the next two matches in a row (3:7 to Khodjaeva and 4:7 to Helvik) and is already out of the event even though she probably managed to solve the „hardest task“ possible. Ouschan is still in the tournament with victories on the loser’s side over Sukmawaty Facquet (INS), 7:4 and Ina Kaplan (GER) 7:5. Ouschan will play Micha Beuriot (NED) in the loser’s qualification match.
Nr. 1 player in the women’s ranking, Russia’s Nataliya Seroshtan lived up to her expectations. She took down Ortenzia Haefliger (SUI) 7:3 and Silvia Gaudino (ITA) 7:5 and with that has already booked her seat in the round of the last 16 players single elimination which will be played tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET. Among others, Seroshtan will be joined by her teammate Kristina Tkach who defeated Sukmawaty Facquet 7:1 and Melanie Suessenguth (GER) 7:3. Also Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) is in that very round. She won 7:2 over Christine Wiechert (GER), then 7:5 against Jennifer Vietz (GER), and 7:3 over Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR).
The Women’s tournament will continue tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with matches of the last 16 players single elimination. The tournament is played on 20 tables of which up to 12 will be in a livestream. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be purchased at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office.
Defending Champion Niels Feijen (NED) is on his way to defend his title from last year in the 9-ball discipline. Today, he ended the hopes of Imran Majid (GBR) 9:2, Fabio Petroni (ITA) 9:4 and Ivica Putnik (CRO) 9:2. There was not a single match where his domination was in danger at all. He played rock solid and it will be tough for anyone to beat „The Terminator“ in this shape.
Feijen will play Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) in the quarter-final match tomorrow morning at 10:30 am local time. Stepanov had defeated Georg Hoeberl (AUT) 9:2, Roger Rasmussen (NOR) 9:2 and Chris Melling (GBR) 9:7 to book his seat for the match with Feijen. The other quarter-final matches in the men’s division will be played between Huidji See (NED) and Albin Ouschan (AUT), Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and Ralf Souquet (GER), and Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) against Michel Bartol (CRO). Jenisy and Bartol can definitely be regarded as the dark horses in this tournament.
In the women’s division, defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) is not less successful. She won her matches today over Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) 7:6, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) 7:3 and faces Wesolowska’s teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) in the quarter-final tomorrow morning. Czuprynska had taken the better of Veronika Hubrtova (CZE) 7:2 and Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) 7:6. Anna Mazhirina (RUS) will have to deal with young upcoming star Kristina Zlateva (BUL) who eliminated Caroline Roos (SWE) 7:4 and Darya Sirotina (RUS) 7:6 today. The other quarter-final matches will be played between Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) against Silvia Gaudino (ITA) and Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) against Line Kjoersvik (NOR), last year’s runner-up.
In the wheelchair division, Fred Dinsmore (IRL) will meet Matt Duffy (GBR), Roy Kimberley (GBR) will face Emil Schranz (AUT), Kurt Deklerck (BEL) encounters Henrik Larsson (SWE) while Tony Southern (GBR) goes against Jouni Tähti (FIN). All quarter-final matches will be played at the same time, 10:30 am on Wednesday morning.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or contact our press officepress@epbf.com.
CAMBY, IN. — Aspiring young pool players will be offered a rare opportunity to learn from, and interact with, some of the game’s legends at the inaugural Black Widow Junior’s Camp, former world champion Jeanette Lee announced today.
“Our future champions need and want our guidance and friendship,” said Ms.Lee, who established the Black Widow Foundation in order to develop programs like the Black Widow Junior’s Camp. “Students will have the opportunity to interact and bond with other players with similar interests and skill levels. They will also experience first hand the skill and dedication of the professional players.”
The Black Widow Junior’s Camp is designed to bridge the gap between accomplished junior players (age 14-18, with intermediate-to-advanced skill) and professionals. Class sessions will be short, designed to hold the interest of the students, allowing for maximum on-table instruction and demonstration. In addition to on-table instruction, campers will be offered short classes on marketing, public relations, nutrition and fitness, and career planning.
The program will feature core curriculum as well as electives, allowing for an experience that can be tailored to the specific needs and interests of individual campers.
The cost is $1,000 per student, which includes instruction, activities, lodging, all meals, snacks, prizes and 24-hour chaperones.
The Black Widow Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable foundation, established in 2013. The BWF is committed to the positive development of personal character and leadership skill sets of aspiring youth amateur and professional billiard players, as well as supporting the positive development of atrisk youth and individuals facing difficult life challenges.
About Jeanette Lee
Jeanette Lee, known throughout the world as “The Black Widow,” has enjoyed one of the most illustrious careers in billiards history. Formerly ranked the No. 1 player in the world, Ms. Lee has won more than 30 national and international titles. She is also a member of both the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame (2013) and the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Hall of Fame (2012), and has been ranked among the industry’s most recognizable and influential people by Billiards Digest.
from L. to R: K. Wesolowska, F. Dinsmore and D. Alcaide
The 10-Ball titles at the 2014 Dynamic Billard European Championships have been awarded. In the women’s division, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) took the title over Ina Kaplan (GER). Fred Dinsmore (IRE) took the title in the wheelchair division over Roy Kimberley (GBR). In the men’s division, David Alcaide (ESP) collected the title with a victory over Ivo Aarts (NED) in the final match.
After she had already taken the bronze medal in the straight pool two days ago, Katarzyna Wesolowska was on a mission. The defending Champion, her teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) lost her quarter-final match against Kristina Zlateva (BUL) with 2:6. That’s when she knew she had to stay in the competition to hold her home nation’s flag high. And she did that with style. Her way into the final match led her over Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) with 6:4, Vania Franco (POR) with 6:1, Silvia Gaudino (ITA) 6:2. Then she had to face a strong opponent in Line Kjoersvik (NOR). However, she did not allow Kjoersvik to get into gear at all. 6:1 was the final result in Wesolowska’s favor. In the semi-final, she dealt with Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) 6:4. That brought her into the final match against Ina Kaplan. The German started her day with a 6:4 victory over favored Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) which gave her a lot of wind underneath her sails. She continued with a hill-hill arch against her teammate Kristina Schagan (GER). Schagan had beaten her in the preliminary rounds so she was up for some revenge. And she took it. 6:5 was the result in favor of Kaplan. After that, she made short work of Louise Furberg (SWE) and defeated her 6:1 in the semi-final. The final match was a „one-woman-show“ most of the time. Wesolowska took a 3:1 and 4:2 lead over Kaplan and the German could not find any way to stop the Polish from collecting rack after rack. With two more racks, Wesolowska won the match 6:4 and the Championship title.
In the wheelchair division, defending Champion Kurt Deklerck (BEL) was dethroned in the quarter-finals with a 4:6 defeat against Tony Southern (GBR). The British went on against his teammate Roy Kimberley (GBR) in the semi-final match which was taken by a hair’s breadth with 6:5 by Kimberly. In the lower part of the draw, Fred Dinsmore dealt with Henrik Larsson (SWE) 6:5 and Aslam Abubaker (GBR) 6:4. The final match provided no challenge for Dinsmore. He ruled at all times and won deserved with 6:0.
David Alcaide’s first step to glory was his match with Daryl Peach (GBR) in the round of the final 32 men. Peach had earlier defeated defending Champion Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and is known to be a fierce opponent. However, Alcaide was better and won this match with 8:3. He then took the victory over Artem Koshovyi (UKR) 8:5. His counterpart in the quarter-final was none other than Nick Van Den Berg (NED). Alcaide managed to get the better of the Dutch and won with 8:6 to meet Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the semi-final. There, he was quite „lucky“ according to his own estimation and he won again 8:6.
The other finalist, Ivo Aarts, also had a tough draw today. He defeated Roger Rasmussen (NOR) 8:6 to meet his teammate, „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen (NED). Today, Aarts was the better player and rightfully went one step ahead into the semi-final, defeating Feijen with 8:4. In the semis, Aarts took care of Petri Makkonen (FIN) with a clear 8:3 result. The final match between Alcaide and Aarts was a bit a clash of the generations. Alcaide representing the more experienced generation and Aarts being a part of the „young orange“ team provided a great show in the final. However, Alcaide had the better run of the balls and took the Championship with an 8:4 victory over Aarts.
The day started rather stormy. The sea which is normally inviting the people for a nice swim was rough and capricious. Maybe that was a presage for today’s straight pool matches. 95 men and 45 women had taken up the challenge to see who will wear the crown in European straight pool in 2014. Defending Champions were Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) and Nick Van Den Berg (NED) and they knew that it will not be an easy task to claim the title again this year.
Van den Berg had a tough opening match against Daniele Corrieri (ITA). The Italian stood out at recent Euro-Tours by always making it to the final stages of the event. So the match was expected to be a tough fight… and it was! Van den Berg made a mistake at 4:0 and allowed Corrieri to enter the table with a clear shot. The Italian thanked him and made 56 balls. Racing to 100 points, that was more than half the points he needed for the victory. Then, van den Berg ran 28 balls but allowed Corrieri again back to the table with a shot. It looked like Corrieri would run the match but he scratched at 74:32 and allowed van den Berg to the table with ball in hand. That was all the Champion needed to send out a signal. He ran the needed 68 balls without allowing Corrieri back to the table. 100:74 was the final result in favor of van den Berg. Corrieri obviously lost too much energy in this match. He lost the next straight match to unheralded Dino Cerimagic (BIH) with 79:100. Van den Berg got Jürgen Jenisy (AUT) in the single elimination round of the final 64 players. Again, things did not look too bright for him in the beginning of the match. In fact, he was trailing 54:99 when Jenisy made a mistake. That brought van den Berg back into the match and woke his killer instinct. He did not allow his opponent any more clear shot in that match; to the contrary, Jenisy only managed to commit two more fouls while van den Berg was able to decide the match in his favor. 125:97 was the final result that puts van den Berg one round further where he will face Aki Heiskanen (FIN) while Jenisy will have to settle for 33rd place.
Niels Feijen (NED), van den Berg’s teammate, did not have a good start. He played Jakub Koniar (SVK) in the winner’s qualification round and was leading 92:78 when he made a mistake. Koniar kept calm and pocketed ball after ball, sending favored Feijen to the one-loss side.
Even BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) could not get through this day unwounded. He lost to David Alcaide (ESP) with 1:100 with Alcaide running 101 balls on him.
As the tournament went on, more tight matches came around. Nicolas Ottermann (GER) just managed to win over Murat Teker (TUR) with 100:96 and get to the single elimination stage of the final 64 players.
In the single elimination, Albin Ouschan (AUT) set a new record for the event. The race was raised to 125 points. Ouschan used only one (1!) inning to win over Mindaugas Salkauskas (LIT) with 125:0. That was an exclamation mark set by Ouschan. Aki Heiskanen (FIN) ended Chris Melling’s hopes for a straight pool title, eliminating him with 125:50. Another big name fell in the first single elimination round. Ralf Souquet (GER) got ousted by Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz with125:77. However, Sanchez’ journey ended in the next round when he unexpectedly fell to Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) with 95:125.
The results in the men’s division prove the high standard of the event. One mistake is very often enough to decide a whole match.
In the women’s division, tight matches could be found very often. Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) had to give her first round match away to Sara Rocha (POR) with 74:75. The same result was final for Ina Kaplan (GER) in her match with Oliwia Czuprynska (POL). Kaplan was leading 74:68, being at the table with a complicated but possible layout. She needed one more ball to win the match. The cue ball was lying in a cluster but a shot at an object ball in the side pocket was possible. Kaplan missed that shot and left an open table for Czuprynska. The young Polish went to the table and pocketed the remaining balls, sending Kaplan to the loser’s side with 75:74. There, Kaplan was able to recover and eliminated Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) with 75:41 from the straight pool competition.
Defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) had no mercy with her opponents. She defeated Martine Christiansen (NOR) with 75:53 and then Kristina Schagan (GER) with 75:7 to book her seat in the single elimination field of the last 16 women. She will be joined there by Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) who won a tough fight over Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) with 75:64 in the loser’s qualification round. Another big name in the round of the final 16 women is Louise Furberg. She won with 75:66 over Anna Mazhirina (RUS), then 75:45 over Zrinka Antonijevic (CRO) and finally 75:37 over Silvia Gaudino (ITA). Line Kjoersvik (NOR), Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS), Ana Gradisnik (SLO) and Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) complete the names of the women who made it through the winner’s round. The other eight names will be determined after the 09:00 round on Monday, March 31st.
The action will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 local time.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
