Up until the very last moments of the round of 32 today, this year’s World 9-ball Championship was notable for its lack of upsets that always seem to be a hallmark of this annual 9-ball extravaganza. That is until Robbie Capito decided he wasn’t going away quietly.
Robbie Capito? Yeah, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard of him. Not many outside of his native Hong Kong have. But this cool headed and fearless 17 year old of Filipino descent pulled off what is easily the biggest upset of this year’s championship, and one of the biggest we have seen in years here in Doha, when he came back from certain defeat and took down the world number one, Klenti Kaci, 11-10, to move into the final 16.
Only minutes before, Capito looked like he would be exiting the Al Arabi Sports Club as unknown as he was when entered at the start of his match. He trailed the mighty Albanian 7-1. He then slowly clawed his way back into the match, but it didn’t quite seem enough. Down 10-8, surely the steady Kaci would close out the match and move into the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Capito, who had earlier defeated Lebanon’s Mazen Berjaoui in the round of 64, never gave up, and he tied the score at 10 all. Breaking in the final frame and clearly under duress, he held his nerve and closed out the rack to notch an unlikely win, and an even more unlikely spot in the final 16 at the World 9-ball Championship.
Capito, who speaks four languages and is still in high school, will now go on to face Germany’s Joshua Filler when the tournament resumes on Wednesday.(the tournament will have a day off on Tuesday as Qatar celebrates its National Day.) The Hong Kong native will have to reach into his bag of tricks to stop the flashy young German, as Filler has looked unstoppable so far. The German played his trade marked fast and loose style in two easy wins so far, first against Greece’s Nikolas Malaj and then Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan.
If you like the youth movement in pool, you certainly want to pay attention to another 17 year old who has been turning heads this week. Like Capito, Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski is still in high school and can boast world class talent. The young Pole proudly displayed his formidable wares today in two solid wins, first against fellow Pole Tomasz Kaplan, and then the Philippines Johann Chua.
It will surely be fascinating to watch how Zielinski handles the likes of Albin Ouschan in the round of 16. The Austrian, who won this event in 2016, is playing top notch pool and looks impervious to the pressure. Ouschan’s two strong wins today showed he has the goods to go all the way this year.
Defending champion Carlo Biado stayed on track to defend his title, and he is also now the only Filipino left in the field. After two wins today Biado will engage in a fascinating matchup in the last 16 against former world 9-ball champion, and China’s last hold out, Wu Jiaqing.
America’s Shane Van Boening continued his march through the field today with two steady wins. Van Boening played with his characteristic laid back style, but always on point when he needed to be. After losing in the final here in 2015 and 2016, the American seems to be carrying a bit of a chip on his shoulder. It’s victory on nothing for Van Boening, and with the way he is performing now, he could be considered the favorite.
SVB, though, will first have to get through a red hot Chris Melling of England in a match that already has pool fans around the world salivating. Melling played in his usual swashbuckling in his two victories today but will have to step it up several notches to take down the determined Van Boening.
Corey Duel is the only other American remaining in the field. The veteran always plies his trade in characteristic quiet and laid back fashion and this week, these traits have served him well. Duel earned his spot in the final 16 with two workmanlike performances first against Canada’s John Morra and then versus Spain’s Francisco Diaz Pizarro.
Duel, though, hasn’t yet faced anything like what he will be up against on Wednesday when he matches wits with Taiwan’s Ko Pin Yi. Ko, who won the China Open this year and won this event in 2015, hammered compatriot Liu Ri Teng in the round of 64, 11-5, then did it one better to Korea’s Woo Seung Ryu, 11-4.
The Taiwanese are proving yet again that they are arguably the world’s strongest pool playing nation with a quarter of the final 16. It will be an all Taiwan matchup when Lin Ta Li takes on world number two, Chang Jung Lin. Chang had struggled in the group stages but shook off the rust today and looked his old killer self. In the round of 32 he disposed of hall of famer Ralf Souquet, 11-6.
Lin Wu Kun’s beautiful cue action led him to the semi-finals here last year and this year he appears to feel he can get there again or even more. Lin had to scrape his way into the final 16 in an 11-10 nail biter against China’s Liu Haitao.
Lin will face Finland’s suddenly red hot Petri Makkonen. The hard working Finn put in a tremendous effort today with wins over Filipino Jeffrey Ignacio, 11-9, then young Russian Fedor Gorst, 11-8.
World number six Niels Feijen has that same look he had when he marched to the crown here in 2014. The Dutchman looked untouchable in his two big wins today and he is admittedly confident and playing without pressure. In the round of 16 he’ll have to square off with his Mosconi Cup teammate Alex Kazakis. The Greek grinded out two tough wins today, first 11-10 over Poland’s Radislaw Babica, then over Finland’s Casper Matikainen, 11-9.
After a day off where the country celebrates the Qatar National Day, play resumes on Wednesday, December 19 at 11am Doha time(GMT +3.)
The winner of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
Fans around the world can watch four tables on our free live stream which can be accessed via the live scoring page here; http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php
Click the tables where you see the word "Video" and you will be taken to Youtube to watch the match. Tables 1, 7,8,9. Please visit the WPA Facebook Page for more information.
*The 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 10-20, 2018. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
The WPA is on Twitter; @poolwpa
Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com
The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
Media coverage of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship is being supported by the American Poolplayers Association(APA). Join the World's Largest Pool League today at http://bit.ly/2G5vYZY. Please visit join.poolplayers.com
Judgement Day at the 2018 World 9-ball Championship in Doha came and went in a flash, with just two sessions on the losers side of each of the 16 groups. And while there were the usual jangling nerves rattling throughout the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club, one thing that was definitely missing from this year’s final day of the group stages was the complete lack of upsets.
This means that the 64 players left in the competition, who begin a single elimination, race to 11 format on Monday at 10am Doha time(GMT +3), comprise the absolute best of the very best in professional pool. Over the next several days these greats of the game will duel it out for the most prestigious prize in the sport and a $40,000 top prize. If you are a fan of 9-ball pool, buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life.
A look at the players still standing tells us a lot about the state of pool, and where the world’s best practitioners come from. The Taiwanese lead the way with nearly 15% of the players left, 9 to be exact. Next up might be a surprise to some fans but not to those who follow the sport intimately: six players from Poland qualified, proof that the sport of pool in Poland is perhaps the most vibrant in the world at the moment.
The Philippines, Japan and China come in next with five players each. The Philippines is an interesting story because many Pinoy players stayed away from this year’s championship to play in boxer Manny Pacquiao’s event in his home town in the southern Philippines. If you are hard core fan that is no doubt a disappointing development. But the 5 Pinoy’s left, including defending champion Carlo Biado, all have a shot at going far.
The Japanese have put in their best showing in years, while the Chinese players have also looked strong. A Chinese player has never won a World 9-ball Championship.(Wu Jiaqing played for Chinese-Taipei when he won in 2005).
One of the most watched matches of the day came between the Philippines Roland Garcia, a runner up here last year, and American Billy Thorpe. The two stayed close throughout the first half of the match, splitting the first 8 racks. But Garcia pounced on several mistakes by Thorpe and then piled on the racks, winning 9-5.Garcia breathed a massive sigh of relief afterward because he had lost his very first match in Doha and had to win two straight to qualify.
In a battle of two former world champions, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann took on China’s Wu Jiaqing. Wu jumped out to a big early lead, 6-2, before the German mounted a brief fight back. But Hohmann admittedly let the match slip away with too many unforced errors, as Wu advanced 9-6.
It was a proud day for the Kuwaitis who once again showed their prowess as a pool playing nation. Bader Alawadhi pulled off what could be the day’s biggest surprise when he shocked Spain’s David Alcaide, 9-7. Omar Alshaheen also booked his spot in the knockout rounds with a handy 9-6 win over Bosnia’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic.
It was also a good day for Finland. Petri Makkonen advanced with his second straight win, after taking down the always strong Chang Yu Leung, 9-6. Casper Matikainen put a halt to Filipino Marlon Manalo’s comeback with an easy 9-2 victory.
Austria’s former world champion Albin Ouschan struggled early but qualified with a 9 – 5 win over Myanmar’s Aung Moe Thu. Fellow Austrian Maximilian Lechner put an end to the hopes of South African Jason Theron, winning 9-5 after an early struggle.
Lebanon doesn’t often feature in the business end of things here, but Mazen Berjaoui held his nerve with a break and runout in the final frame to eliminate the USA’s Hunter Lombardo, 9-8.
Canada’s John Morra looked very strong in his 9-3 win over American Tommy Tokoph. Venezuela’s Jalal Al Sarisi(formerly Yousef), who went all the way to the quarterfinals last year, also qualified after handily beating the Netherland’s Ivar Saris, 9-6.
Monday’s action will be comprised of three sessions, with both the rounds of 64 and 32 being completed. The tournament will have a day off on December 18th due to it being the National Day of Qatar. The round of 16 and the quarterfinals will be held on December 19th, while the semis and final will take place on December 20th.
Play on Monday begins at 10am Doha time(GMT +3)
Fans around the world can watch four tables on our free live stream which can be accessed via the live scoring page here; http://www.esnooker.pl/live/en/tsnew.php
Click the tables where you see the word "Video" and you will be taken to Youtube to watch the match. Tables 1, 7,8,9. Please visit the WPA Facebook Page for more information.
The winner of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
To view the Final 64 bracket, please CLICK HERE.
*The 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 10-20, 2018. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
The WPA is on Twitter; @poolwpa
Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com
The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
Media coverage of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship is being supported by the American Poolplayers Association(APA). Join the world’s largest pool league today. Please visit join.poolplayers.com
Day 3 Results.
Losers Side Matches. Losers are out. Winners qualify for the final 64 knockout stage.
A veritable armada of pool’s biggest stars pushed their way through to the Final 64 knockout stage at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha today, as the business end of proceedings quickly started to take shape at the 2018 World 9-ball Championship.
It was a very busy day which saw 32 players qualify for the money rounds, and another 32 players see their dreams of glory come to a screeching halt.
Of course it was quite expected when the tournament began on Friday that over half the original field of 128 players from over 40 countries had no chance at actually winning the event. But the outcomes today were somewhat surprising in that we saw few of the upsets fans have come to expect in the group stages over the years. The only big name to fall by the wayside and get a pink slip was 2001 World 9-ball Champion and Hall of Famer Mika Immonen, who lost his second straight match in as many days.
Otherwise the day’s action saw one superstar and rising star after the next take their place in the final 64. When the field is filled at the end of the day’s play on Sunday, fans around the world can expect one of the finest runs to the gold in many years.
World number one Klenti Kaci hasn’t looked his sharpest so far. But the 19 year old Albanian did what he had to do in a steady 9-6 win over Kuwaiti Meshaal Al Murdhi.
Defending champion Carlo Biado of the Philippines seemed to be on cruise control in his 9-5 win over Russia’s Sergey Lutsker. Despite being the reigning 9-ball king, the Filipino great benefits from being so humble and so low key that he plays almost unnoticed.
The biggest winners Saturday in terms of countries was Taiwan, which saw a whopping seven of its players qualify for the round of 64. 2015 World 9-ball champion Ko Pin Yi looked the goods today as he handily beat Czech Republic’s Roman Hybler, 9-4. 2017 semi-finalist Lin Wu Kun grinded out a solid 9 – 7 victory over former champion Yukio Akagariyama of Japan. Ko’s younger brother Ko Ping Chung took a 9 – 6 win over Greece’s Nikolas Malai. Hsieh Chia Chen beat Russian strongman Ruslan Chinhov 9-8 to make it through.vLui Ri Ten beat American Billy Thorpe 9-7 to make it through.
Taiwan’s biggest monster right now—and that is saying something– is surely Chang Jung Lin who is currently ranked number 2 in the world. Chang did win his second straight match to qualify today, but he once again had to go to the limit to get there. Chang blew an 8-5 lead to Greece’s Damianos Giallourakis and had to eke out victory with a nervy clear in the very last rack for a second straight 9-8 win.
The USA’s Shane Van Boening, who is one of the heavy favorites this week in Doha, didn’t have as easy a time today as he did on day one. But he was never in real trouble against Venezuelan veteran Jalal Al Sarisi, winning 9-7. SVB’s Mosconi Cup teammate Corey Duel played steady 9-ball and easily defeated Finland’s Petri Makkonen 9-4 to make the knockout stage.
World number six and 2014 champion Niels Feijen had another solid day, defeating Spain’s Francisco Diaz-Pizarro, 9-7. The Dutchman’s Mosconi teammate Albin Ouschan didn’t fare as well as he took a thumping from Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn, 9-4. Juszczyszyn may not be a household name to pool fans but it should be noted that he is the current European 9-ball champion. Another Pole who scored a very big victory was Mateusz Sniegocki who took down a very tough Filipino, Jeffrey Ignacio, 9-5. Tomasz Kaplan made it three for Poland today with a win over South Africa’s Jason Theron.
It was good day for the Germans as both Ralf Souquet and Joshua Filler won their second straight matches to qualify for the final 64. 18 year old Russian Fedor Gorst continued to impress as he qualified with a handy 9-1 win over Jeong Young Hwa of Korea.
It was a very big day for the Japanese side as three players made it through with impressive wins. Takano Tomoo took down former world champion Wu Jiaqing 9-8. Naoyuki Oi was a 9 – 4 winner over Finland’s Casper Matikainen. And Tomoya Iima took a 9 – 7 win over Hoang Guong Quoc of Vietnam.
Other winners who qualified for the knockout rounds included the Philippines Jeffrey De Luna, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp, Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, Myanmar’s talented Phone Myint Kyaw, Spain’s Fracisco Sanchez Ruiz, Greece’s Alex Kazakis, China’s Wang Can and Russia’s Konstantin Stepanov.
Chris Melling, the lone Brit in the field, again looked the goods as he easily beat South Africa’s Richard Halliday, 9-3. Qatar’s Waleed Majid also won his second straight to make it through, beating China’s Xu Xiacong, 9-6.
Play continues on Sunday in Doha at the Al Arabi with the action beginning at 12pm local time(GMT +3.) All matches on Sunday will be do or die, losers side matches with the winners advancing to the knockout round and the losers going out of the event.
The winner of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
*The 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 10-20, 2018. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans around the world will be able to view many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public. Please visit the WPA Facebook Page for more information.
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com
The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
Media coverage of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship is being supported by the American Poolplayers Association(APA). Join the world’s largest pool league today. Please visit join.poolplayers.com
Shane Van Boening has never won a World 9-ball Championship. He did, of course, come ever so close, finishing runner up in 2015, and 2016. After skipping last year’s championship, however, there is a palpable sense in Doha that the American star is absolutely destined to finally grab the world crown in 2018.
Interestingly there are eight former World 9-ball Champions in this year’s field, all of them still highly capable of pulling off the impossible feat yet again. But nobody is yet talking about them. It’s the moniker ‘SVB’ who is on everyone’s lips.
Van Boening has admitted that he is playing his best pool perhaps ever. After a grueling six month training regime, he led Team USA to a thrilling victory in the Mosconi Cup last week. He showed up in Doha saying he intends to win, and that he is playing with zero pressure on his shoulders.
Fans in Doha, and the pro pool community itself seem to agree something is afoot. While most players played in the relative obscure quiet of the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club on day 1 of this year’s championship, Van Boening’s time in the arena today actually drew a fair amount of watchers. Everyone and anyone who likes pro pool around here seems to feel something special is afoot.
The American didn’t disappoint in his first outing, as he crushed Poland’s Marek Kudlik 9-1. Good breaking, solid potting, deft safeties all showed up in Van Boening’s arsenal today. Combined with his quiet confidence, SVB laid down an early marker stating that nothing short of victory in Doha will suffice.
As all 128 players saw action on the first day of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship, it’s clear, though, that Van Boening will have plenty of serious contenders just as eager and capable of taking the crown on December 20. This year’s field is positively stacked with ferocious talent, both young and not so young. With the Wiraka tables breaking fairly easily—wing ball down, 1 in or near the side pocket—it’s all going to come down to who can handle the almost impossible pressure. Pool fans are in for a real treat over the next six days.
In the group stages it’s all about just winning two matches, to make it through to the final 64, where the tournament becomes single knockout all the way to the final. Defending champion Carlo Biado of the Philippines had an easy time of it today, easily taking down Argentina’s Llanos Jorge, 9-3. The man who lost in last year’s final to Biado, fellow Filipino Roland Garcia, came into Doha one of the hottest players in Asia and with high expectations. Garcia, though, stumbled out of the blocks to Taiwan’s Hsu Jui An, 9-8. Garcia will move over to the one loss side of his group where he needs two wins to advance.
World number one Klenti Kaci came out looking tired against the always tough Chilean Alejandro Carvajal. The Albanian teen was down four racks early but battled back to clip Carvajal at the wire, 9-7.
Pool’s young guns get more numerous and more dangerous year after year. 21 year old German sensation Joshua Filler played his usual brand of solid, care free pool in a 9-6 win over Bulgaria’s Ruslanov Stanimir. 17 year old Russian Fedor Gorst handled the always tough Kuwaiti Omar Al Shaheen, winning 9-6. 17 year old Pole Wiktor Zielinski came in with some expectations on his shoulders but he fell to Japan’s Tomoya Iima, 9-7.
It was a good day for the USA Mosconi Cup team as both Billy Thorpe and Corey Duel notched victories, and moved with one win of making the final 64. Canada’s Alex Pagulayan, a winner in 2004, barely scraped by Lebanon’s Mohammad Berjaoui, 9 – 8. Fellow Canadian John Morra has an easier time of it today, blanking the Philippines Roberto Brillantes, 9-0.
Taiwan’s Chang Jung Lin is considered one of the tournament favorites but he struggled mightily against Korea’s Kwon Hojun. Chang was actually down 6-2 at one point but stormed back and won at the wire, 9-8.
Chang was one of eight Taiwanese notching victory today, including 2015 champion Ko Pin Yi, Ko’s younger brother Ko Ping Chun, Hsieh Chia Chen and Lin Wu Kun. The Ko’s actually have an even younger brother in the event, Ko Ping Han, but he lost to Japan’s Hayato Hijikata.
The four European Mosconi Cup players on hand all won today. Besides Kaci, Austria’s Albin Ouschan continued to look rock solid with a 9-4 win over the USA’s Thomas Tokoph. The Netherlands’ Niels Feijen waltzed to victory with a neat 9-5 win over the always stingy Taiwanese Chang Yu Lung. Greece’s Alexander Kazakis barely got by Slovakia’s Jakub Koniar, 9-8.
England’s Chris Melling is someone people seem to be talking about as a possible champion, and the lone British representative on hand didn’t disappoint, winning easily over the Netherlands Marc Bijsterboch, 9-2.
Former world champion Wu Jiaqing of China cruised with a 9-1 win over the Netherlands’ Jimmy Worung. China went 5 out of six today with wins also by Dang Jinhu, Liu Haitao, Wan Can and Xu Xiacong.
Former world champion and hall of famer Ralf Souquet found victory today with a 9-3 win over the Maldives’ Mohammed Hassan. But former world champion and fellow hall of famer Mika Immonen fell to Russia’s Ruslan Chinahov, 9-5.
Qatar’s favorite player made a splash today. Waleed Majid, who made it to the quarterfinals here in 2014, showed that he has clawed his way back into championship form with a 9-5 win over former US Open champion, Yu Hsuan “Kevin” Cheng.
Play continues on Saturday in Doha at the Al Arabi with the action beginning at 10am local time(GMT +3.) After the four sessions on Saturday, 32 players will be out and 32 players will be through to the final 64.
The winner of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship will receive $40,000. The runner up will receive $20,000. The total prize fund is $200,000.
*The 2018 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Al Arabi Sports Club Sports Club in Doha, Qatar from December 10-20, 2018. The event is hosted by The Qatar Billiard and Snooker Federation(QBSF), and is sanctioned by The World Pool Billiard Association, the governing body of the sport of pool.
Fans around the world will be able to view many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform. Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public. Please visit the WPA Facebook Page for more information.
The WPA is also on Twitter; @poolwpa
Visit the official website of the WPA at www.wpapool.com
The players will compete on Wiraka DYNASTY Tables with Simonis 860 Cloth, Electric Blue Color and using Aramith Tournament Pro cup TV Pool Balls featuring the new Duramith Technology.
Media coverage of the 2018 World 9-ball Championship is being supported by the American Poolplayers Association(APA). Join the world’s largest pool league today. Please visit join.poolplayers.com
The Dynamic Billard BHR Treviso Open 2018 in Italy have been quite successful for the Austrian contingency so far. Three players have made it to the stage of the final 16 out of an initial starting group of 153 players.
Maximilian Lechner (AUT) is probably the biggest surprise of the group. He defeated Ante Sustic (CRO) 9:7 in his first match. Then, his way led him over Reda Belhaj (FRA) 9:2 before he had to give in 5:9 to Sergey Lutsker (RUS) in the winner’s qualification round today. But Lechner stood tall and won the loser’s qualifier with 9:7 over strong junior player Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 9:7. In the first single elimination round, when 32 players were left in the field, Lechner had to deal with Tomasz Kaplan (POL). The Polish is known to be a bit of a surprise box meaning that he has performed from world-class to low-class and everything in between over the recent years. Today, Kaplan’s performance was not good enough while Lechner found his A-game against his experienced opponent. 9:1 was the final result in favour of Lechner who will now play against fellow teammate Mario He (AUT) in the next round.
Mario He eliminated Michal Turkowski (POL) in his single elimination round match with a clear 9:5 result. The „third musketeer“ from Austria, Albin Ouschan (AUT) paved his way into the round of the final 32 players by ousting Ivo Aarts (NED) 9:6. In his next match, the former World Champion will have to face Wojciech Sroczynski (POL) who got the better of one of the last remaining local players from Italy Daniele Corrieri (ITA) 9:2.
In the EPBF BHR Treviso Open which will be launched tomorrow morning, 36 players have enlisted. Out of the top 10 players of the Women’s European Ranking, only Katarzyna Wesolowska from Poland is missing. All other women are here to try and get a shot at the coveted title which is at stake here in Treviso. Current leader of the rankings is Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) who wants to defend her position but opponents like Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), Kristina Tkach (RUS) and Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) among others will not allow her an easy ride on her journey to glory. It will be interesting to see who will come out strong in the end.
Tomorrow, the event will continue at 10:00 CET with matches from the last 16 players single elimination. At 09:00, the women will start their EPBF BHR Treviso Open with first round matches.
Every day, two matches from the event will be shown LIVE on the Facebook page of the EPBF for free. 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 20 tables on the internet LIVE. The FB live matches are announced on the EPBF Facebook page every day. Results and schedules can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open.
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.
On the first day of the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst Hotel in Leende, The Netherlands, Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) succeeded over Maksim Dudanets (RUS) with 9:7 in a match that was determined by many errors.
The lineup was promising. Ekonomopoulos belongs to Europe’s pool elite for many years already. His opponent today, Maksim Dudanets, belongs to the young Russian players which have earned many merits during European Championships and previous Euro-Tours. Both players have a high profile record and the match was expected to be of high quality. In the beginning of the match, that was valid and true for Dudanets. He played solid and performed quite well while Ekonomopoulos committed unexplainable errors. He missed easy pots and positions and he seemed to be completely off track. After 6 racks, Dudanets had robbed at least three racks off Ekonomopoulos and was 5:1 in the lead. It seemed as if the match would be a single sided affair in favour of Dudanets. But then the tide turned in the match. While Ekonomopoulos grew stronger, Dudanets started missing shots and playing poor positions. A player with the experience of Ekonomopoulos of course benefitted from the situation and snatched some racks from Dudanets in that phase of the match. After 14 racks, the score was all square at 7:7. The tension rose and now it was Dudanets’ turn to commit mistakes. He did so and Ekonomopoulos capitalised from it, went on the hill with 8:7. In rack 16, Ekonomopoulos broke and ran the table to win the match 9:7 over Dudanets. This victory was achieved with quite some luck. Dudanets was the far better player in the first half of the match while Ekonomopoulos dominated the second half. The victory therefore is in order yet still a bit lucky. Ekonomopoulos will face Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) in the next round on the winner’s side while Dudanets needs to seek his fortune on the loser’s side of the draw.
Other remarkable results include Wojciech Sroczynski (POL) defeating Evgenii Buslaev (RUS) by a whisker 9:8. Sweden’s Daniel Tangudd remained victorious today over Denis Grabe (EST). Former World Champion Oliver Ortmann (GER) took down up and rising star Joshua Filler (GER) 9:7 in an exciting and thrilling encounter. Tomi Ahonen (FIN) got the better of Imran Majid (GBR) 9:8. Not the best day for Britain’s pool elite. In the same round, Joao Grilo (POR) achieved a 9:4 victory over Daryl Peach (GBR). Mohammed Soufi (GER) won 9:5 over Mario He (AUT).
Every day, one match from the events will be shown LIVE on the Facebook page of the EPBF for free. 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 every day. Results and schedules can be found at www.eurotouronline.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard Dutch Open.
The Dynamic Billard Dutch Open at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst Hotel in Leende, The Netherlands will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches from winner’s round 2.
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.
Ralf Souquet (GER), also known as „The Kaiser“, wins his 22nd Euro-Tour event Italy with an impressive 9:5 victory over „The Siberian Express“ Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the final match of the Dynamic Billard Italian Open in BHR Best Western Hotel in Treviso, Italy.
The single elimination started with a huge effort for Souquet. He met Ivar Sarin (NED) in the round of the last 32 players and barely made it with 9:8 over the young Dutch player. Then today, he marched on and eliminated Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 9:7, surprise player Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) 9:6 and in the semi-final match he ousted Daryl Peach (GBR) with another 9:7 victory. Chinakhov’s way to the final match was not easier. He dealt with Wojciech Sroczynski (POL) 9:2, ousted his young teammate Sergey Lutsker (RUS) 9:4, ended Mario He’s (AUT) run 9:4 and finally took down Denis Grabe (EST) 9:3. The outcome of the final match could not have been predicted at all. Both players have made their way through one of the toughest fields of contestants that the pool World could imagine. They were the last two men standing. However, in the final match Chinakhov committed some mistakes. He miscued two times and allowed his opponent Souquet back to the table. Chinakhov really wanted this time since it would have been his first Euro-Tour win. But Souquet was too strong for him today and brutally punished each mistake that Chinakhov made without showing any mercy. The final score of 9:5 in favour of Souquet displays the supremacy that Souquet held in the whole match. A deserved winner after his last victory dates back to 2014 in Kyrenia, North Cyprus.
Earlier today, US superstar player Shane Van Boening suffered a defeat in the round of the last 16 players. Van Boening has entertained many people with his performance in Treviso. His last match against Mario He (AUT) however turned out to become a drama for him in the end. Leading 8:7, van Boening was at the table and had all balls in front of him for a nice run out. But he played a bad position for the 5-ball and consequently got a tough position for the 6-ball. He missed the 6-ball and left a thin cut for He. The Austrian got to the table and also missed the 6-ball but he got lucky in the end. He fluked it in into the corner pocket on the other side of the table and then fired the 7-ball over one rail into the side pocket to run out the rack and tie the match at 8:8. Rack 17 coming up with Mario He to break. Three balls flew in the pockets and He saw himself in front of an open table with an easy opening shot. He cleared the table and took the match with 9:8, sending an unlucky van Boening home after a great event from the American.
The Dynamic Billard Italian Women Open has also commenced today.
39 players have found their way to Treviso to try and conquer some prize money and important ranking points. Sara Rocha (POR) came up with the biggest surprise of the event so far, defeating European star player Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) 7:6 in the winner’s qualification round. Russia’s Kristina Tkach is also straight on track in the event. She won both her first matches against Vania Franco (POR) 7:5 and Monika Zabel (POL) 7:1 and advanced to the single elimination round of the last 16 players. Germany’s Pia Blaeser is also in a pretty good condition here in Treviso. She managed to overmaster Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) 7:5 and Claudia Von Rohr (SUI) 7:5 to book her seat in the round of the last 16 players.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Italian Women Open will continue at 09:30 CET with matches from the round of the last 16 player single elimination. The final match is scheduled for 14:30local time.
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.
In his first match at the Dynamic Billard Italian Open, current Euro-Tour and European ranking leader Mark Gray (GBR) has suffered a rough defeat against Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE).
"I need to improve rapid or home it will be!!!“ stated Gray on his Facebook page after today’s match. Obviously, he did not play his best game. But also his young opponent from Sweden took care about not letting Gray playing like he wanted to. Sparrenloev kept the match open at all times and made sure that Gray could not get an advantage over him. In fact, as the match unfolded it turned out that the opponents took racks in turn and the distance between the two was never bigger than one point in difference. After 14 racks, the match was levelled at 7:7. Sparrenloev broke the 15th rack and had one ball down with a long shot at the 1-ball. He confidently pocketed the difficult shot and went for the rack. Though all balls were playable the rack was not really easy, especially at that stage in the match. But the young Swede mastered the challenge and ran the rack, demonstrating some nerves of steel and going on the hill with an 8:7 lead over Gray. Rack 16 was Gray’s break shot. Now the pressure was on the ranking leader himself. He had two balls down and a very nice spread of the rest of the balls. However, the first shot on the 1-ball was a bit tricky since he could not fully see the ball. It was hiding behind the 7-ball. Gray tried to play the 1-ball rail first but missed it completely, leaving the table with ball in hand for Sparrenloev. What a bad mistake for the Brit that was! Sparrenloev accepted the gift and won the rack, taking the match with 9:7 and proceeding to winner’s round two while Gray needed to seek his chance on the loser’s side of the event now. His first match there was a nice and comfortable 9:4 victory over Jan Wolf (GER). Sparrenloev encountered Wojciech Sroczynski (POL) in winner’s round two. That match went against Sparrenloev’s liking and ended 3:9 in favour of Sroczynski.
American super-star player Shane Van Boening (USA) also plays in this prestigious event. Coming from the World Pool Master which have just been finished in Gibraltar, van Boening wants to seek his fortune on the Euro-Tour in his second appearance after having played in France several years ago. He met Piotr Kudlik (POL) in his first match in winner’s round one and that match turned out to become a thriller. Both players took racks in turn which led to a 7:7 tie after 14 racks. In rack 15, van Boening played pretty good and unspectacular but solid pool and had already lined up the 9-ball. Suddenly, he missed an incredibly easy shot by a big margin and gave the rack away to Kudlik to get an 8:7 lead over him. After that the audience thought that this incident might have destroyed the US player but van Boening is known to be capable to handle these tough situations. In a high tense and action packed match, van Boening ran two more racks and took the match with a thrilling 9:8 victory over Kudlik. In his next match in winner’s round two, van Boening encountered Kim Laaksonen (FIN). Van Boening also took that match 9:6 and is now in the winner’s qualification round where he will have to deal with the winner of Koniar (SVK) and Babica (POL).
The feature match of the day today was newly crowned World Pool Masters Champion David Alcaide (ESP) taking on Karol Skowerski (POL). That match was fully streamed LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page and many viewers from all over the World enjoyed the show. Alcaide was definitely the player to bet on in this match. But Skowerski recovered from trailing 1:3 and 3:5 and turned out to be the winner in the end with 9:7 because Alcaide left the 4-ball hanging over the pocket for him when Skowerski was 8:7 up. Every day, at least one match will be shown LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page and viewers may interact with the organisers and express their opinion about the match, cheer for their respective player or simply watch the action as it happens in Treviso.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Italian Open will continue at 09:00 CET with matches from winner’s round two.
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.
One of the most tragic stories of the event was the exit of young Wiktor Zielinski from Poland. The 15-year-old boy from Poznan met Nick Van Den Berg (NED) in the winner’s qualification round. Van den Berg who belongs to Europe’s elite for many years now, had a really hard time with Zielinski. The match went all the way to 8:8. Zielinski had the valuable break in rack 17. He made two balls off the break shot and had an easy shot at the 3-ball with no problems left on the table. But he created a problem for himself, pocketing the 3-ball and hiding the cue ball for the 4-ball. He played a bad safety shot and van den Berg took the rack and won the match with the closest of all results, 9:8. Being sent to the loser’s side, Zielinski encountered no other player but current World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT). What an unlucky draw for Zielinski. As the match unfolded it also turned out to become a hill-hill thriller. Again, Zielinski had the break shot in rack 17. He broke and this time three balls went down. He could see the 2-ball but not play it in any pocket. However, the 9-ball way lined up for a possible but very risky combination shot. Zielinski knew he had to either make the 9-ball on that shot or he would probably lose the match since his opponent was Ouschan who is known to make use of any chance he gets. Zielinski could also have played a safety shot but he went for the risk. He missed the 9-ball and Ouschan ran the rack. Zielinski’s elimination in the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open was as close and as tough as it could get. The kid needs a bit of luck in the coming tournaments.
An early exit today was handed to „The Tornado“ Tony Drago from Malta. The Snooker legend lost yesterday evening by a hair’s breadth with 8:9 to Imran Majid (GBR). Today, Roman Hybler, the „Czech Attack“ made short work with him, taking Drago down 9:5. Drago will be joined on his way home by Daryl Peach (GBR). The former World 9-ball Champion got ousted by Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) 7:9.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open will continue with the round of the final 16 players at 10:00 local time. At 09:00, the Treviso Women Open with a field of 47 players will commence.
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.
Joshua Filler (GER) powered past former World Champion Oliver Ortmann (GER) 9:2 in the second winner’s round of the Dynamic Billard Austrian Open.
The match between the two Germans was really a clash between the generations. On one side Ortmann with all his victories and merits in the past, always to be considered a tough opponent. In the other corner Joshua Filler, young gun on fire who just became third in an international straight pool event in New York, USA. The match was expected a close fight. But it turned out to be everything else but that. To the contrary, Filler started out like a hurricane and played marvelous pool. His break shot was there and he made no mistakes in the early stage of the match. Ortmann’s disadvantage was that his break was not there and Filler punished him for that without mercy. In all fairness, it must also be stated here that Filler did have Lady Luck on his side in the match. However, after seven racks the scoreboard displayed an unbelievable score of 7:0 for Filler! Then, the young German missed an 8-ball. Ortmann came to the table with the 8-ball and the 9-ball on the slate. But he misse d the 9-ball. Obviously, his concentration was broken by Filler’s performance so far. At 0:8, Ortmann took two racks in order to come back a bit. But then Filler closed the book on the match, winning the 11th rack and the match with 9:2 over Ortmann. „I know Oliver is a world class player“, stated Filler, „but today I played better and I also had the necessary luck on my side. That’s 9-ball, I guess“, added Filler.
Other remarkable results from the winner’s qualification round include Daryl Peach (GBR) defeating Nick Van Den Berg (NED) by a whisker with 9:8. „Napoleon“ Marcus Chamat (SWE) got the better of Ralph Eckert (GER) 9:8.
Current World nr.1 ranked player Albin Ouschan (AUT), who lost yesterday his opening match to Nick Malai (GRE), is still alive in the event. Today, he took down Jakub Sawicki (POL) 9:5, then Wojciech Sroczynski (POL) 9:5 and Roman Hybler (CZE) 9:5. He then got a revenge match against Nick Malai. This time, Ouschan remained victorious with a clear result of 9:4 which takes him into the single elimination round of the final 32 players of the Dynamic Billard Austrian Open.
Florian Hammer (GER) who became third at the last event in Banal, Germany, lost his loser’s qualification round match to Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) 8:9. Ivo Aarts (NED) ousted David Alcaide (ESP) in the same round with 9:3. Casper Matikainen (FIN) eliminated Germany’s Ralph Eckert with 9:4 from the event.
The action will continue tomorrow at 09:00 with the matches of the last 32 players single elimination.
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.eurotouronline.com
The event is hosted by the European Pocket Billiard Federation EPBF and organized by International Billiard Promotion Foundation IBPF.
