Cohen sneaked past Souquet at Dynamic Billard Austrian Open

Stephan Cohen (left) and Ralf Souquet
Stephan Cohen (left) and Ralf Souquet
Kaserer (Coach), He, Ouschan, Lechner, Seroshtan, Ruysink (Coach),
At the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, the Women’s Team from Russia and the Men’s Team from Austria have won the Gold medals in their respective division.
In the men’s division, Team Austria met Team Finland in the final match. The Austrians had ousted the strong Polish Team in their semi-final 2:0 while the Finnish have taken down Team Spain 2:1. The first point for Austria was in the books very quickly. Albin Ouschan won his 9-ball match over Kim Laaksonen 9:2 in just under one hour. That brought Austria the 1:0 lead. Then, Petri Makkonen rode the winning wave over Maximilian Lechner in 10-ball with 8:4. The 8-ball match between Mario He and Jani Uski had to decide. Uski, who just won the title in 8-ball earlier this week, was down 6:7 with Mario He being at the table. The Austrian cleared the table but lined the 8-ball which was lying in a cluster of balls up for a one-rail shot in the side pocket. He missed that shot and Uski got back to the table, cleared it and turned the scoreboard to 7:7. One last 8-ball rack was deciding about fame and glory. Uski had the break shot and perfectly executed it, having some ball down and a nice option to continue. He pocketed all balls of his group except the last one. He fell out of position since he tried to open it up with the shot before but failed to touch the ball at all. So he went for a safety attempt which failed completely. Mario He had one more visit to the table and used it. Cheered up by his teammates Ouschan and Lechner, He cleared the table and pocketed the last winning 8-ball, taking the title for Austria.
Also today in the men’s team competition, disciplinary action was taken against one player. Daniel Kandi (DEN) has over the past week repeatedly misconducted at the table by bashing balls and/or his cue on the table among other things. Said EPBF Sports Director Anamaria Matesic: „We definitely allow players to show emotions and we want to display our sport in all its facets, but we also require a certain level of behaviour. This was broken several times by Mr. Kandi so, after having warned him through a referee on different occasions already, I decided to impose a fine of 500,-€ on him. I hope he will learn from that and in future events will conduct accordingly so we can all work for our common goal to display our sports at its best“.
Top 8 Men’s Teams:
1. Austria
2. Finland
3. Poland
Spain
5. Croatia
Netherlands
Denmark
Russia
In the women’s division, the final match was played between Team Spain and Team Russia. After a heartbreaking shootout decision in the semi-final over Team The Netherlands, the Spanish team seemed a bit out of energy. Probably the semi-final took too much out of them. On the other hands, Team Russia sailed into the final match with a nice and clear 2:0 victory over Team Switzerland. In the final, Nataliya Seroshtan finished Mayte Ropero 6:1 in 8-ball while Kristina Tkach left no chance for Amalia Matas and won her 9-ball match 7:5.
Top 8 Women’s Teams:
1. Russia
2. Spain
3. Netherlands
Switzerland
5. France
Poland
7. Germany
Sweden
Medal Table after 4 of 5 events:
The team competition ties the Finnish and the Dutch Team for first place in the medal ranking. They both still have promising players in the 9-ball individuals so it will be interesting to see who will be the overall winning nation tomorrow after the last ball has been pocketed.
Earlier today, a few rounds of 9-ball individuals were played. In the men’s division, the tournament is down to the round of the last 64 players single elimination. Here, Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) had a tough fight with defending Champion Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP). The match went hill-hill at 8:8 with Fischer breaking the final rack. He executed a very powerful break and had the 1-ball and the 5-ball pocketed, having a long thin cut on the 2-ball. He went for it, missed it but got extremely lucks since the cue ball hid behind the 7-ball, making it hard for Sanchez to come up with a decent answer. The Spaniard tried to hit the 2-ball rail first and successfully did so. However, the cue ball scratched and that brought Fischer back to the table with ball in hand. Sparrenloev-Fischer used his chance and luckily took the match with 9:8 over Sanchez, advancing to the round of the last 32 players while Sanchez is eliminated out of the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal. Also in the round of the last 64 men, Marco Teutscher (NED) ousted the current 9-ball World Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) quite clearly with 9:4. In an encounter of two very experienced players, Niels „The Terminator“ Feijen (NED) defeated Stephan Cohen (FRA) by a whisker with 9:8. Daniele Corrieri (ITA) ended Mario He’s (AUT) hope for a title in 9-ball this year with a deserved and clear 9:3 result. Joining Mario He in the group of eliminated players is David Alcaide (ESP). His destiny was sealed by Denis Grabe (EST) with 9:7.
In the women’s division, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes are down to the last 16 players single elimination. Today, the loser’s qualification round was completed. Kristina Tkach (RUS) remained alive in the competition by smashing Monica Margeta (SWE) 7:2. Kelly Fisher (GBR) who surprisingly lost her opening match, has also made it to the last 16 players. She defeated Vania Franco (POR) 7:3. unfortunately for Fisher, she was drawn against Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) in the first single elimination round which will be played tomorrow at 12:00 GMT.
In the wheelchair division, defending Champion Henrik Larsson (SWE) convincingly made his way into the semi-final, taking down Matt Duffy (GBR) 7:1. The other winner’s qualification match in the wheelchair division was fiercely fought over. In the end, Kurt Deklerck (BEL) managed to get the better of Fred Dinsmore (IRL) by taking the match 7:6. This seems not be be Dinsmore’s Championships.
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 24 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.europeanpoolchampionships.
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.epbf.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Stephan Cohen
The first day of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair athletes brought several surprises in all divisions. 102 men, 40 women and 14 participants in the wheelchair division have entered the discipline in order to see who will take the titles in the end.
In the winner’s qualification round of the men’s division 10-ball, Stephan Cohen (FRA) defeated Nick Van Den Berg (NED) surprisingly clear with 8:3. There is a story behind both of the two opponents. Cohen just today received his luggage after being here already for three days. He had to borrow cue stick and equipment and went through the straight pool with stuff from his fellow players. Probably he was very happy today to play in his own clothes with his own cue stick and equipment. On the other side, Nick van den Berg needs a good finish during these European Championships. Just like Niels Feijen who achieved his A-status yesterday by winning the title in straight pool, Nick van den Berg has the chance to get funding through his national olympic committee if he gets among the top eight players in a discipline. So the mindset of the two contestants were quite opposite before the match. Maybe that was the advantage that Cohen had over van den Berg. The Dutch never got into gear and had to watch Cohen snatching rack after rack from him. After six racks, the score was all square at 3:3. But then Cohen overtook on the left side and left van den Berg no other choice but watching him run away. In the end, 8:3 was the justified result for Cohen. The French advanced to the round of the last 64 players single elimination. Other remarkable results in the men’s division include Saki Kanatlar (TUR) pipping Denis Grabe (EST) to the post 8:7. In his loser’s qualification round match, Grabe wasted no time with Karim Belhaj (FRA), smashing him 8:1 out of the 10-ball and grabbing his seat among the final 64 tomorrow. Ivar Saris (NED) came up with the next upset, defeating Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 8:6. Finally, Evgenii Buslaev (RUS) overpowered Mario He (AUT) 8:6.
One huge upset occurred in the women’s division today. Defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) is already out of the 10-ball competition after having played only two matches. In her first match, she fell to the sharp blade of Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 5:6. She had to go to the loser’s side where she unfortunately met Kristina Tkach (RUS). Tkach, newly crowned straight pool Champion, lost to Tina Vogelmann (GER) earlier today and was also on the loser’s side, as unexpected as Ouschan. In their encounter, Tkach played rock solid and did not leave many chances for Ouschan. She proved to have nerves of steel and ousted Ouschan 6:2 from the 10-ball competition. Another remarkable result in the women’s division includes Claudia Von Rohr (SUI) beating Amalia Matas (ESP) 6:3. Matas missed too many balls in deciding situations and von Rohr was cool enough to benefit from it so the result is perfectly in order with the way the match went.
In the wheelchair division, two long-time rivals met in the first round. Kurt Deklerck (BEL) took on Henrik Larsson (SWE) in winner’s round one and snatched the victory by a whisker with 5:4.
Tomorrow, the tournament will continue at 09:00 GMT with matches from the 10-ball individuals competition.
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 24 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes starting Saturday 18th March at 09:00h GMT.
The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Niels Feijen and Kristina Tkach
Kristina Tkach (RUS) and Niels Feijen (NED) have just won the gold medals in the straight pool discipline of the Dynamic Billard European Championships in Albufeira, Portugal.
In the men’s division, „The Terminator“ Niels Feijen played an outstanding tournament. Having won the coveted title in straight pool already 5-times before, Feijen really had an incentive this time. His A-status with the Dutch Olympic Committee and therefore the funding for another year was in danger if he would not have made in into the last eight of the event. After having ousted Stephan Cohen (FRA) 125:3 in the round of the last 32 players, he met the defending Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) in the next round. Ouschan was a very high obstacle that Feijen needed to overcome in order to get into the round of the last 8. But „The Terminator“ stood tall today and took down Ouschan with 125:88 after a firefly fought match. In the quarter-final, Feijen eliminated Jakub Koniar (SVK) with 125:46 without further problems. Even clearer was Feijen’s victory in the semi-final with Kim Laaksonen (FIN). He ousted the Finish player 125:19 and one could witness Feijen’s hunger to grab his 6th title in straight pool growing strong. In the final match, Feijen met Tomasz Kaplan (POL) who has also earned his merits in the past in straight pool. Today, Feijen was too strong for Kaplan. The Dutch turned the final match into a one man show and after one hour and ten minutes, „The Terminator“ sank the final ball for a 125:13 victory over Kaplan, having used only four innings to claim the victory.
Top 8 Men
1. Niels Feijen (NED)
2. Tomasz Kaplan (POL)
3. Kim Laaksonen (FIN)
Mieszko Fortunski (POL)
5. Jakub Koniar (SVK)
Miguel Silva (POR)
Andreas Roschkowsky (GER)
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS)
In the women’s competition, Kristina Tkach was up against the Austrian title defender, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT). Tkach’s way into the final looked quite impressive. In the round of the last 16 players she bested Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) 75:4. Then she marched on and triumphed clearly over Amalia Matas (ESP) 75:15. In the semi-final match, Tkach got the better of her teammate Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) and remained the upper hand with 75:57. In the final match of course, Jasmin Ouschan was awaiting her. The Austrian title defender started furiously and took a 39:-2 lead over Tkach. But the young Russian remained cool as ice and played her game whenever Ouschan allowed her to do so. And she got more chances than expected. Ouschan committed several serious and avoidable mistakes. Leading 61:45, Tkach missed the break ball and Ouschan got back to an open table. The audience and Ouschan were shocked when the Austrian missed the first clear and easy shot! Tkach thanked her in her own way by running the rack and pocketing the remaining 14 balls in order to win the match and the title 75:45. It’s Tkach’s second title in the women’s division after having won the 8-ball in St. Johann i.Pg, Austria last year.
Top 8 Women
1. Kristina Tkach (RUS)
2. Jasmin Ouschan (AUT)
3. Tina Vogelmann (GER)
Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS)
5. Lousie Furberg (SWE)
Monica Margeta (SWE)
Amalia Matas (ESP)
Claudia Von Rohr (SUI)
Medal table after 1 of 5 events:
Tomorrow, the tournament will continue at 09:00 GMT with matches from the 10-ball individuals competition.
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 24 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page around noon every day. Results and schedule can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes starting Saturday 18th March at 09:00h GMT.
The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Alexander Kazakis
Alexander Kazakis (GRE) has had a good day „at the office“ today. After having won the 10-ball Kremlin Cup earlier this month, Kazakis came here to Treviso with a lot of wind underneath his wings to play the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open, the final event of the Euro-Tour in 2016. He seems to be on a streak. In his first winner’s round match, Kazakis wasted no time with Guilherme Sousa (POR) and defeated him 9:4. In the next round, the opponent was punished even harder. Ryan Pisany (MLT) fell to the sharp blade of Kazakis and received the maximum penalty. 9:0 was the final result that put Kazakis in the winner’s qualification round where he will be up against Arjan Matrizi (ALB).
Former World 9-ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) did not catch that good of a day as Kazakis. He won his first match 9:4 over Adam Mscisz (POL) but then met Sascha Trautmann (GER). The German prove to be too strong for Peach today and showed no mercy for him. 9:3 was the final result that put Peach on the loser’s side of the draw.
Joining the list of the fallen heroes from today is Albin Ouschan (AUT), current 9-ball World Champion. He started with an easy prey in winner’s round one with a comfortable 9:4 victory over Mariusz Skoneczny (POL). In the next round, Ouschan stood against Andrey Seroshtan (RUS). That match went completely against the World Champion. Seroshtan dominated the table and in the end handed Ouschan a tough and painful 9:4 debacle. Seroshtan, who earlier today overpowered Andreas Madsen (DEN) 9:5 now will go against Jose Alberto Delgado (ESP) in the winner’s qualification round.
Another interesting encounter took place in winner’s round one between Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) and newbie Aleksa Pecelj (SRB). The 16-year-old kid from Serbia came here to Treviso for his first Euro-Tour experience and he came up with some impressive performances. In round one, he defeated Jorge Garcia-Fonseca (ESP) with 9:0. Then he met Stepanov who is constantly ranked in the top 32 in Europe since years. However, Pecelj did not show too much respect and tried to live for the moment. He used his chances whenever he got them and Stepanov committed some unnecessary mistakes. This combination lead to a score of 8:8 with Pecelj having the final break shot. He could not make a ball off the break but left no shot for Stepanov. The cue ball was hiding partly behind the 8-ball and he could not see the whole of the 1-ball. He played a push-out and left a tough position for Pecelj. The young Serbian decided to go for a combination shot that was very hard to make. Playing that shot in that situation would have probably not been the choice of many players. But Pecelj went for it and made it. He then used his chance and ran the rack to win with 9:8 over a disappointed Stepanov. In his next match in winner’s round two, Pecelj lost to Olivier Mortier (BEL) 7:9.
This year’s Mosconi Cup Captain for Team EUROPE, Marcus Chamat (SWE). received a painful whipping today from Hubert Lopotko (POL). In winner’s round one, Lopotko destroyed Chamat on table 1 and handed him a clear 9:5 defeat. Thereafter, Chamat went to the loser’s side and ousted Tom Bjerke (NOR) 9:6. Having received a walk-over in the next round, Chamat will be up next against Thomas Poeschl (GER) on Friday morning at 10:30 local time. On the other hand, Lopotko has made his way through to the winner’s qualification round by taking down Kristjan Kuusik (EST) 9:5 after the destruction of Chamat. At 13:30tomorrow, he will face Stephan Cohen (FRA) for a spot in the single elimination of the event.
The Euro-Tour is played on 20 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.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Mark Gray, (inset:Joshua Filler)
Euro-Tour’s ranked #1 player Mark Gray (GBR) just notched a 9:5 victory over up and rising Joshua Filler (GER) in the winner’s qualification round of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open in the Expo Center in Tirana, Albania.
Mark Gray is always a hot favorite for the title in any Euro-Tour event. Currently leading the rankings, the Brit still was favored in this match with Filler who is regarded as „the“ rising star in European Billiards by many. The signs for the match were on the wall: This was going to be a tough battle for both of the two players. Indeed, Filler was a great challenge for Gray over a long period in the match. After ten racks, the score was 5:5. This proved that none of the two really got any momentum until then. Filler was at the table having won the safety scenario in that rack and had a clear layout in front of him. He incomprehensibly missed an easy 3-ball and gave the potential lead away to Gray who thanked him and went ahead with 6:5. The next break was Filler’s. He had balls down but no shot at the 2-ball. So again, a safety exchange opened the rack. Gray played the better shots and took w two-point lead with 7:5. Then Filler took a time-out since he needed to get going now otherwise Gray would be too far ahead of him. Rack 13 saw again Gray as the better safety player and he managed to win that rack too, climbing on the hill 8:5. Now it was Filler’s break and his last chance to somehow turn the tide in the match. Filler had a good break and a nice layout in front of him. However, he again missed an easy shot on the 4-ball and gave the rack away to Gray who took the rack and the match 9:5 over Filler. In this match, Filler committed too many mistakes and Gray was the deserved winner in the end.
Other remarkable results from today include Ronald Regli (SUI) eliminating Mario He (AUT) from the tournament in loser’s round 3 with 9:8. Mario He, being the winner of the last event in North Cyprus, met Regli who was the runner-up from Austria, the event before. Two high-class players that one would not have expected in the early loser’s rounds. But they both already lost once so they had to joust on the left side of the flowchart. At 8:8, He played a poor safety shot which allowed Regli to run out and stay alive in the tournament. In the next round he will face Mark Mägi (EST) who also managed to win his last match with 9:8 over Michal Turkowski (POL).
Earlier today, Karlo Dalmatin (CRO) ended the hopes of Daniel Tangudd (SWE), overrunning him with 9:6. Alen Muratovic (BIH) sneaked past Dimitri Jungo (SUI) with a 9:8 triumph over the Suisse. Ermal Dylie (ALB) also kept a foot in the door, winning his match with Rui-Edgar Franco (POR) 9:8. Dylie’s teammate Arjan Matrizi (ALB) also stayed alive in the event defeating French legend Stephan Cohen (FRA) 9:7. Jim Chawki (SWE) send Nick Malai (GRE) home by sweeping him 9:7.
In the Albanian Women Open, Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) pipped her teammate Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) 7:6 in the first round. She will play Sandra Baumgartner (AUT) in winner’s round 1 at 15:30 CET today. Baumgartner remained the upper hand over Yini Gaspar (SUI) 7:4 in her first match. Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) shelled Palina Chernik (BLR) 7:1 in round 1 and will now encounter Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR) in the next round.
The Euro-Tour is 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.eurotouronline.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Romania’s Ioan Ladanyi
Thorsten Hohmann – Photo courtesy of Eli Ceballos
New York City, NY – Germany has now taken the World Tournament of 14.1 Cup for a record 6 times when it's favorite straight pool son defeated reigning champion Darren Appleton of England. In a re-match of 2013, the two best players with the best records in the event faced off for a second finals within 3 years. The Andy Cloth World Tournament of 14.1 featured a who's who of world class players in attendance to etch their name into history's elite of the father of all pool games. Darren Appleton, Thorsten Hohmann, Dennis Orcullo, Warren Kiamco, Stephan Cohen, Shane Van Boening, Johnny Archer, Corey Deuel, Earl Strickland, Mika Immonen, Tony Robles and many, many more have participated all week. The main event took place once more in New York City. As usual, a star studded field attended this year at Steinway Billiards Cafe, who once more hosted the world class event. The World Tournament Official Equipment included Viking Cue with all matches played on Andy Cloth. Event partners included Mr.Tom Gleich, Dr. Gregory Diehl, Mr. Greg Hunt of Amsterdam Billiards, & Mr. Jim Gottier of Greenleaf's Pool Room. Patron sponsors include Mr. Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics, Dr. James Heller, Mr. Charles Eames of Charles Eames Photography, Frank Scharbach of Frank's Billard Cafe, Focused Apparel and the National Amateur Pool League.
Corey Deuel eliminated last year’s semi-finalist Eberle in three innings. (Photo – Eli Ceballos)