World No.1 Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz and current World Champions Shane Van Boening and Wojciech Szewczyk are all one win away from the last 32 single-elimination stage of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship at Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
Chang Jung-Lin, who is defending the title he won ten years ago, also remains on the winners’ side of the draw. The $250,000 event will award $60,000 to the new World Champion at the end of the event, which is part of the first annual Caribbean CueSports International Expo.
The World Juniors 9-Ball Championships will crown new World Champions in its Girls, Under-17s and Under-19s divisions on Monday, with all three finals to be broadcast live on the World Billiard TV YouTube Channel, Billiard TV, Zhibo.tv in China and on Liberty TV in Puerto Rico on Monday.
In the World 8-Ball Championship, Fedor Gorst will take on John Morra for a place in the last 32, with winners’ qualification matches set for 12 noon local time on Monday.
Gorst won 8-4 over Aloysius Yapp to move within one win of a place in the last 32. The pair split the first six racks before a break and run took Yapp ahead for the first time in the match at 4-3. However, he was forced to play safe in the next rack and Gorst was able to take out a 12/11 combo which opened the rack for the former World 9-Ball Champion.
A break and run saw Gorst restore his lead, and that advantage was extended to 6-4 with another runout. The hill was reached when Yapp, with few other options, scratched while attempting to masse on the 3. That meant Gorst was breaking for the match. The 12 went down on the break and he took care of the problem 9-ball early in his clearance, but he missed the 10 long. Yapp, though, then missed the 7 and the match belonged to Gorst.
Elsewhere, World 9-Ball Champion Van Boening earned progression to the winners’ qualification with an 8-3 win over Costa Rica’s Johnny Salas and will now face Wu Kun Lin for a place in the last 32. World 10-Ball Champion Wojciech Szewczyk defeated Hayato Hijikata 8-2 and faces Carlo Biado next, while WPA World No.1 Francisco-Sanchez Ruiz remained unbeaten with an 8-2 success over Max Lechner. Radoslaw Babica awaits the Spaniard on the winners’ side of the draw.
Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon saw his World 8-Ball run come to an end at the hands of Wiktor Zielinski, despite having a vocal home crowd behind him. Alejandro Rodriguez is the last Puerto Rican standing and faces New Zealander Sullivan Clark tomorrow after banking the 8 for a hill-hill win over Florijan Maric which brought an eruption of joy from the large crowd which had gathered around his table late on Sunday evening.
All three divisions of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships are down to the semi-finals. In the girls division, Bethany Tate was delighted with her dramatic 9-8 win over Poland’s Dominica Pawelczyk.
“I feel on top of the world right now, especially with that out,” said Tate. “I went wrong on the 7-ball but I came back, it was crazy. I feel so jittery, it is hard to keep the emotions down. There is a lot of pressure when my family is watching me but knowing that they are there pushes me to do better.”
Tate will face Xin Yu Hong of Chinese Taipei for a place in the final, while Lina Primus will take on South Korea’s Kim Hyerim.
“I can’t wait to play the semi-finals,” said Primus, who won last year’s Girls title on home soil in Austria. “I am trying to give my best and of course I want to win it. I am relieved because there is a bit of pressure when you have to defend the title but tomorrow I will do what I do for every match and what I know is good for me and I hope that will work out. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
In the Under-17s division, Jori Narvola defeated fellow Finnish junior Riku Rompannen 9-6 to set up a semi-final against Lang Yi Li of Hong Kong. Karl Gnadeberg of Estonia will face Serbia’s Lazar Kostic.
In the Under-19s division, Joey Tate was eliminated by Germany’s Yuma Dorner, who will face Yi Hsuan Sun of Chinese Taipei in the last four after the Asian junior defeated Dutchman Yannick Pongers 11-10.
The other semi-final will be contested between Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski and Szymon Kural. Laszkowski defeated Filipino Keane Derek Rota 11-3, while Kural was an 11-4 winner over Saudi Arabian Khalid Alghamdi.
Matches from the Predator World 8-Ball Championship are streamed from Table 1 on Billiard TV, the World Billiard TV YouTube channel and at Kozoom.com. Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
Defending champion Chang Jung-Lin made it through the first round of the Predator World 8-Ball Championship with an 8-6 success over Dutchman Tim de Ruyter on the opening day of play at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, San Juan.
There were wins for Americans Shane van Boening and Tyler Styer, Germany’s Joshua Filler and Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw on the TV tables, with the former defeating Puerto Rico’s Alan Rolon.
The eventual winner will collect $60,000 of the $250,000 total prize fund from the event, which is part of the first annual Caribbean CueSports International Expo.
Rolon’s home crowd came out in force to support their local favorite, putting Van Boening in the rare spot of being the player less favored by those spectating. The Puerto Rican, who reached the knockout stages of the Medallla Light Puerto Rico Open during the week, took down the first rack and despite conceding the second, moved ahead again at 2-1 to a loud roar inside the arena.
But Van Boening’s quality ultimately showed. Rolon fouled by moving the 5 ball as he bridged over it and the American was able to level. A great break opened up the fifth rack for Van Boening, and before Rolon knew it he was 6-2 down in the race to eight.
A dry break afforded Rolon an opportunity to claw back the deficit. He found trouble with four balls left but made the 12 with position on the 15 to bring the match to 6-3. However, his next break shot was his final visit as he came up dry, turning the table to Van Boening.
The five-time US Open champion had a straight shot on the 14 which set him up for the rack. Breaking at 7-3 ahead, Van Boening had the 12 down but opted to shoot the 2 owing to the layout of the table. A runout followed for the South Dakota Kid, who returns on Sunday to face Johnny Salas.
While Van Boening was winning on Table 1, on Table 2 a battle was heating up between two member’s of USA’s World Teams Championship roster from September.
Joey Tate and Tyler Styer are close friends off the table and with neither player able to build a substantial lead throughout the match it was Styer who arrived first on the hill before just a second dry break of the match by Styer allowed Tate to the table. The 17-year-old, who is also competing in Under-19 division of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships this week, played the 15 brilliantly to bring the 10 away from the side rail and from there had no problems in reaching the hill.
A dry break came at the worst possible time for Tate but when Styer missed a 4 he’d usually expect to make, the younger of the two Americans was back at the table. However, he missed the 9 to the middle pocket with three balls and the 8 remaining.
Styer showed he was feeling the pressure when the cue clipped the 10 as he looked for position on the 4. He played the shot well but again the cue kicked another ball, this time the 11, as it came through for position on the 7. The former Kremlin Cup winner held his nerve, though, and made a testy shot up table to come back and make the match-winning 8.
“I’d rather play Shane or Jayson, anybody else but Joey,” said Styer. “I have helped him out a lot and taken him under my wing, so to draw him in the first round sucked. I believe in him but I have to forget about that when I play him because he is like a little brother to me.”
Later in the day, Tate advanced to the quarter-finals of the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championship. Playing in the Under-19 division, he defeated Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski 9-5 to progress from the winners’ side. His sister Bethany is through to the last eight of the Girls division, along with Savannah Easton, Lena Primus and Alara Ghaffari. The other Under-19 quarter-finalists are Keane Derek Rota, Szymon Kural and Yannick Pongers.
Riku Romppanen, Mika van Berkel, Felix Vogel and Lazar Kostic made it four Europeans in the last eight of the Under 17s. The losers’ qualification matches of all three divisions take place on Sunday, followed by the quarter-finals. All matches are broadcast live on Kozoom.com and all three Junior finals will be on World Billiard TV YouTube Channel and watchbilliard.tv on Monday.
Predator World 8-Ball Championship reigning champion Chang Jung-Lin has waited ten years to defend his title and was given a tough examination by Tim de Ruyter before eventually winning 8-6. There was a hill-hill win for Jayson Shaw against Dimitris Loukatos while former World 8-Ball Champion Ralf Souquet will face Konrad Juszczyszyn on Sunday after beating Juan Carlos Exposito of Spain in his opening match.
Table 2 has full coverage and commentary on the Predator Pro Billiard Series Facebook Page. All tables, including matches from the Predator World Juniors 9-Ball Championships, can be watch live for FREE at Kozoom.com
THE 2022 PREDATOR World Junior Youth Championships broke off today at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, and the European squad competing in the three events – Boys Under 19s and Under 17s and Girls Under19s – enjoyed a relatively drama-free opening day. With 17 athletes representing Europe and the European Pocket Billiards Federation, there were only five defeats suffered in the 54 matches completed thus far.
In the 24-player Under-19 event, the four competing European players went undefeated over the first day. Poland’s Szymon Kural and Yannick Pongers (Netherlands) enjoyed two wins apiece, having started earlier in the competition than the German duo of Yuma Dorner and Dennis Laszkowski, who both negotiated their respective opening matches.
All four are now into the Winners’ Qualification round of the bracket, playing off for a spot in the single-elimination quarter-finals. All four have avoided dangerous Saudi player Khalid Alghamdi, as Pongers faces off against Dorner while Laszkowski looks forward to a clash against rated American Joey Tate, while Kural will take on Fu Huan of Hong Kong.
In the girl’s tournament there are 32 competitors including a European contingent of six top-level players. Three of them – Domenica Pawelczyk (Poland, with two wins), Alara Ghaffari (Turkish North Cyprus) and Austria’s Lina Primus (one win each) – are moving smoothly through the winners’ side. However, Jolien Schuurman (Netherlands), Shirin Volery (Switzerland) and Sweden’s Linnea Hjalmarstrom fell into the one-loss side and will have no margin for error when play recommences on Saturday.
Finally, in the boy’s Under 17 championship, Lazar Kostic (Serbia), Felix Vogel (Germany), Mika Van Berkel (Netherlands), Karl Gnadeberg (Estonia) and Riku Romppanen (Finland) all enjoyed two victories each to leave themselves one win away from a spot in the last eight single-elimination. Michael Wiech of Poland and Finland’s Jori Narvola both succumbed to a defeat and will need to be on their toes as they look to battle their way through the other half of the bracket.
Nonetheless, the Team Leader of the EPBF squad, Tommi Lamminaho, was delighted at the progress of the European players on the opening day of the Predator World Junior 9-Ball Championships; “All in all it was a very good day for our players. We suffered a few defeats but I’m confident that players can bounce back tomorrow from the one-loss side,” he said.
“Obviously as play continues, we will see more and more do-or-die matches involving European players against each other but that is the nature of the event. I really hope that all the European players can build on their experience from the opening day and bring their strongest games possible as they all play down to the closing stages on Sunday and Monday,” he added.
Play continues on Saturday at 10.00am local time (14,00 GMT) as each event plays down to the final 12 players. The WPA Predator World Junior Championships are part of a series of top-level tournaments being staged at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan through November, culminating in the Predator WPA World 8-Ball Championships.
Further event details including live scoring can be found at the tournament’s Official Site: https://probilliardseries.com/
Khalid Alghamdi became the first-ever SVB Junior Open winner beating Trenton White in the final during the 2022 US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Alghamdi overcame White 9-3 in the final dropping only 14 racks across the six matches it took for the 17-year-old to claim the $2,500 first-place prize and free entry to the 2023 US Open Pool Championship and to write his name into the history books.
64 of the world’s best juniors descended on New Jersey with their own hopes of claiming victory with the likes of European double-gold medalist Yannick Pongers, Finnish sensation Riku Romppanen, rising USA stars Joey Tate, Savannah Easton and White all looking to take away the top prize.
Over the two days of action, juniors as young as Lyno Liu aged seven played in front of the same audience as the US Open scaring the current crop into what they’re going to come up against in years to come.
Alghamdi of Saudi Arabia had a run to the last 32 at the inaugural European Open back in August and it was clear he would be one to watch in AC and he was delighted with his performance: “It feels great. I am so happy to win the first-ever SVB Junior Open title. Shane is my idol when I started to play pool in 2015. It’s fun to see Shane and he’s taught me a lot in that time. It feels so good to play next to the champions. This is my last year as a junior, I am coming for them. I think I am ready to make the step up. I hope to learn more. My whole family, my mother, my father, my friends, and the federation were all watching. It was had. I can’t wait to play next year’s US Open Pool Championship.”
Emily Frazer, Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director added: “The SVB Junior Open was a remarkable event with a showcase of such talent amongst players from 7-years through to 17. It was great to work so closely with World Champion Shane Van Boening to turn his dream into a reality of inspiring the next generation of professional pool players. This is the first of many Junior Opens as we continue to grow the Nineball game over the coming years; it is all well and good creating a tour but there must be a next generation who are inspired to pick up their cue and earn a living through our Nineball World Rankings system. Not only was it fantastic to see such a diverse field of ages, genders, and nationalities, but it was also fantastic to see so much support from our professionals who were at the business end of the US Open during the competition. I cannot wait to see what the next one brings.”
Zach DiMotta, President of Imperial said: “It was amazing to be a part of and see Matchroom put on its first junior event. I think that you couldn’t have asked for more out of this partnership with Shane Van Boening. There are few times that you get to witness the world’s complete junior Nineball talent in one arena and that is what all the fans got to witness. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this event.”
Juniors were competing for a slice of the $10,000 prize fund with the field extended from 32 to 64 players due to demand. Van Boening’s official cue partner, Cuetec put up $5,000 alongside $5,000 from Matchroom to offer one of the most exciting prize pots in Junior Pool. Juniors also received an SVB Junior Open jersey free of charge from official apparel partner Onboard.
The tournament was played on Diamond Tables, with Simonis Shark Grey 860 cloth, Aramith Tournament Black balls, and KAMUI chalk in the same Diamond Arena as the US Open Pool Championship which took place from October 10-15.
The draw for the inaugural SVB Junior Open set to take place at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City during the US Open Pool Championship from October 13-14 has been made as 64 players aged 17 and under battle it out to take home a slice of the $10,000 first place prize. SCHEDULE
Khalid Alghamdi who announced himself on the Nineball stage in fashion at the European Open with a run to Winners’ Qualification will start out against Holden Moody. Double Gold European medalist Yannick Pongers will be a name to watch and he starts against Kaden Herrbach.
Japan’s Miina Tani goes against Chase Murray whilst the USA’s Joey Tate takes on Skylar Hess. Elsewhere, Riku Romppanen will meet Eva Grigsby and rising star in the Junior International Championship D’Angelo Spain takes on Eddie Vonderau.
The semi-finals and final are set to be streamed live on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel to over 180,000 subscribers as the players enjoy a huge spotlight offered to them thanks to the main US Open being at the Last 16 and Quarter-Final stage during the last day of the Junior Open.
Fans will be able to soak in the Junior Open on tables next to the main event making the Juniors feel a huge part of the US Open in the Diamond Arena.
All Junior competitors will receive an SVB Junior Open jersey free of charge from official apparel partner Onboard alongside the $10,000 prize fund. Van Boening’s official cue partner, Cuetec put up $5,000 alongside $5,000 from Matchroom to offer one of the most exciting prize pots in Junior Pool.
The tournament will be played on Diamond Tables, with Simonis Shark Grey 860 cloth, Aramith Tournament Black balls, and KAMUI chalk in the same Diamond Arena as the US Open Pool Championship which takes place from October 10-15. All matches up until the quarter-finals will be Race to 7 with matches from then on being Races to 9.
Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.matchroompool.comthanks to our partners CueScore.
The first day is complete at the Dynamic Billard Petrich Open in Bulgaria as 157 players set forth on their quest for the fourth Euro Tour title of the year. With just the semi-finals and final taking place on the final day, Monday, there are a lot of matches to get through and it certainly pays to stay on the winners’ side of the draw.
One young player who won three from three today was the Netherland’s 17-year-old Yannick Pongers. The Dutchman has already enjoyed a
wonderful stay in Petrich having won two golds – 8-ball and 9-ball – at the recently completed European Pool Championships for Youth, and he started where he left off with three wins from three including a victory over Klenti Kaci which wasn’t without some controversy.
Commented Yannick, “It was a very good day for me. In fact, it was the first Euro Tour event where I’ve won three matches in a row and I beat Kaci which was a tough match. At 5-5 he missed a 9 ball then when he started racking, he smashed the 1 ball on the table, so the referee gave me an extra rack for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
“Then he gave up basically, unscrewed his cue and left the venue. My goal here is last 32 at least, I guess. We’ll see if I make it but I’m already happy with what I did but let’s see how far I go,” he added.
Another young player to stay on the winners’ side was Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki who finally made it through after a nerve-wracking contest against Germany’s come-backing Lars Kuckherm. Szolnoki lead 7-2 with the win looking a formality, but Kuckherm plugged away as his play improved and he dragged it back to 7-7 before the Hungarian finished the match off at the death.
“I went up 7-2 and my break was working perfect and then I don’t know how, I missed an easy shot and then the match totally turned,” said a relieved Szolnoki.
“Every time he missed, I didn’t get a shot after that but he played well also and took his chances. I thought if I could just make a couple of break and runs, I would win the match but it didn’t work and somehow it was 7-7. In the end, I’m glad I’m through and survived this match.
“I saw some good signs – up to 7-2 I played very well, I think. Also, at 7-7 I managed to clear two tables under pressure so that was a positive but I’ll need to improve tomorrow,” he added.
Players reconvene tomorrow morning at 9am local time where the winners’ side have one more match to reach the last 32 single elimination knockout, while players on the one-loss side have a maximum of four games to reach the knock-out stage.
Play continues down to the final four on Sunday evening with the semi-finals and then the final commencing at 17.00 on Monday.
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.
All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected
matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. In addition, the semi-finals
and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the
following television stations across Europe;
SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
B1B Box – Bulgaria
After eight days of glorious pool and hundreds of exciting matches, the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships concluded with the destination of the 56 medals determined. Top of the medal table were the Netherlands with five gold medals out of a total of seven. The dynamic duo of Yannick Pongers and Jolien Schuurman won two each (both 8 and 9 ball) and Mika Van Berkel made it five as the Dutch team swept gold in the 8-ball division.
In second place was Germany who took four golds as well as two silvers and six bronze medals. Felix Vogel (17 10 ball), Yuma Dorner (U19 straight pool), Dennis Laszkowski (U19 10 ball) and U19 Team were where the gold medals went.
Finally, Poland took third spot with a total of ten medals, with three of those being gold. Their successful athletes were Dominika Pawelczyk (Girls’ 10 ball) as well as two team golds in the Girls’ and U17 divisions.
In total, 15 countries from the 28 in attendance achieved one medal or more.
Yannick Pongers is a double gold medal winner as he triumphed in the U19 9 ball division, beating Germany’s Yuma Dorner by 8-5 at the Petrich Arena in southern Bulgaria. The 17-year-old Dutchman from Veldhoven had earlier triumphed in the 8 ball final and his national squad is now five gold medals to the good at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships for Youth.
Pongers, who looks a threat to anyone he plays, was stunned by his own success in Petrich, “It feels just so awesome. When I came here, I just thought ‘get on the podium’ and I still can’t imagine how I did it – two golds is insane for me!
“When he came back at me, I thought how did that happen? I’ve practiced mentally a lot so I kept focused and stayed calm and it just worked. I don’t know how I did it – a few lucky rolls, I guess. I had a quick rack where it was over in ten seconds and after that I felt more in control.”
Pongers got the final underway with a tidy runout before Dorner lost the table playing a 4/8 combination and his opponent cleared for a 2-0 lead. The Dutchman ran out from the break in the third as he got off to the best possible start and with the momentum of a runaway train, Pongers secured the next rack leaving Dorner reeling on the side-lines at 4-0 down.
Dorner, who won the straight pool title here as well as a bronze in the 8 ball division, finally got off the mark in the fifth game but had it all to do to get the match on an even keel. In the fifth game, the German player ran out of position with just the 8 and 9 remaining but a neat snooker forced Pongers into the jump. He contacted the 8 and it fell perfectly for Dorner, who got the score back to 4-2.
The momentum was swinging in Dorner’s direction as he closed out the next rack after a dry break from Pongers. Dorner took the next to level the match as his comeback continued but a combination on the 9 ball straight after the break, restored a one-rack lead for Pongers at 5-4.
That became 6-4 as Pongers’ fortuitous 2 /9 combo after a table length jump shot was a real blow to Dorner as the Dutchman moved into a 6-4 lead. Some more good play saw Pongers whizz through the next rack to put himself on the hill at 7-4. The German wasn’t quite finished as a lucky multi-ball carom on the 9 gave him the rack.
Looking to play safe, Pongers nearly undid his good work as he tucked the cue ball tight behind the 8 and sent the red 2 up table. The ball hung in the jaws and Dorner fouled with his escape attempt. With ball-in-hand, the title was Pongers for the taking and he duly obliged to bring home his second gold medal of the tournament.
Pongers, who spoke to his family after his 8 ball triumph said, “They were very proud of me, it was just awesome. They’ve always been there for me, driving me to every tournament, they’re just so great.
“I’m going to finish school and then give pool a go for one or two years and see what happens but I definitely want to go on with pool,” he added.
Bronze medals went to the two beaten semi-finalists; Szymon Kural (POL), his second of the championships and to Dennis Laszkowski (GER) who added to his 10 ball gold.
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship Youth comprises 14 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the male and female team competitions. In total there are three divisions; male U19, male U17 and female U19. In total, there are 111 competitors in attendance – 19 girls, 57 boys in the U17 division and 35 boys in the U19.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
Yannick Pongers kick-started a glorious night for the Dutch squad as he put in a devastating performance to take U19 8 ball gold at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships Youth, defeating Germany’s Eric Mattern by 7-0. The tall Dutch player was a gold medallist in the U17 9 ball at this event last year and was delighted to add to his trophy cabinet.
‘This feels very good! It was tough, the first two disciplines so I was kind of under much more pressure. I actually hated 8 ball for about two years so I tried to focus and watch all my patterns and it kind of worked out,” commented Pongers.
“I don’t think I made a mistake – maybe a few dry breaks but that was it and no missed balls. It’s just me and the table and I’m focused and it was ball for ball, rack for rack and it worked,” he added.
Both finalists had some success earlier in the event; the Dutchman won a silver medal in the straight pool division, while Mattern took a bronze in the same discipline. Pongers took the opening rack, running out from the break, before Mattern hooked himself with just one stripe left and managed to clip the brown 7 trying to make a one rail escape. With ball-in-hand, Pongers didn’t waste any time in increasing his lead.
Hitting his stride, Pongers ran through the next rack to put himself three racks to the good, putting Mattern under the hammer. Pongers was running away with it as he confidently took the next rack for a 4-0 lead and followed that with some more clinical pool to increase his lead, leaving himself just two racks from glory.
There was more woe for Mattern in the sixth game as he had no ball on and was forced to break out his jump cue. He made contact with his intended stripe but saw the cue ball fly off the table to give ball-in-hand to his opponent. Pongers gratefully accepted it as he cleared to put himself on the hill.
The match was all over in a matter of 30 minutes as Pongers capped a brilliant display of 8 ball to win the seventh rack and with it become Dynamic Billiard European Junior 8 Ball Champion.
It was to be the first of a clean sweep of gold medals for the Netherlands, something that brought great pleasure the Dutch Team Leader, Rienus Gennissen.
“It’s really unbelievable. We had a boot camp and did two special days on 8 ball and see now, three gold medals. In the end, they (the players) are doing it. We only give tools that they can build on and they decide what they use and what they don’t use, so all credit for them.
“Yannick was flying and it’s so nice to work with someone who can pot every single shot and make it look very easy. Mika (Van Berkel) is the thinker of the three and then Jolien (Schuurman), it was unbelievable how she played. I’m really proud of them,” added Gennissen.
The silver medal went to Eric Mattern (GER) while the bronze medals were won by Szymon Kural (POL) and Yuma Dorner (GER).
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship Youth comprises 14 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the male and female team competitions. In total there are three divisions; male U19, male U17 and female U19. In total, there are 111 competitors in attendance – 19 girls, 57 boys in the U17 division and 35 boys in the U19.
Play continues on Tuesday 2nd August with the 9 ball competitions.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
Germany’s Dennis Laszkowski took the U19 gold medal at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships for Youth following a dominating 7–2 victory over Switzerland’s Silvan Starkermann in the championship match. It was Germany’s third gold medal of the championships and the outcome was never really in doubt from the opening rack.
“It’s amazing but I don’t have any words!” said a delighted Dennis after the match.
“Travelling to Bulgaria, I thought I could win a gold medal but I said to myself to have fun, play good and we’ll see what I can achieve,” he added.
Starkermann, who had come through a draining 7-6 semi-final win over Poland’s Wiktor Fortunski, won the lag but missed a long pot on the 1 ball to lose initiative. Both players had visits as the rack became a little scrappy before Laszkowski had a good look at the table and completed the run out for the early lead. He then increased that with a confident clearance from the break.
Starkermann, though, came with his own break and run in the next to keep the deficit at one rack but Laszkowski restored his two-rack lead as he won with the break in the next. The German took the fifth to lead 4-1 and leave Starkermann facing an uphill task. A scratch from Laszkowski on the break gave the Swiss a much-needed opportunity.
He missed the 5 ball though but it ran safe for him and he was soon back to the table to execute a good long pot on the orange 5. From there he cleared to reduce the deficit to 4-2. However, it was to be his last contribution to the scoreboard. A great break from the Swiss boy gave him a good opportunity, but he squandered it as he missed the 3 ball. Laszkowski took the chance as he hit the cue ball with some authority as he dished up for a 5-2 lead.
A dry break from the German got his opponent back at the table and he executed a decent safety to give himself some breathing space. They both had visits but ultimately, it was Laszkowski who took the rack to put one hand on the trophy as he reached the hill. Laszkowski got an opportunity in the ninth game to claim the gold medal and he held himself together, potting with the same confidence he had shown all match, to clear the table for the victory.
“At the start of the tournament I didn’t feel that confident because I lost in a very tough match against Yannick Pongers but after my last 16 match, where I was trailing 6-2 and I came back and won, that gave me a real confidence boost and I continued playing like that and I felt more confident after every match,” said Laszkowski.
There were bronze medals for Kristian Mrva (SVK), his second of the championships, and Wiktor Fortunski (POL).
The 2022 Dynamic Billards European Championship Youth comprises 14 separate events across four disciplines – 8, 9 and 10 ball as well as straight pool – plus the male and female team competitions. In total there are three divisions; male U19, male U17 and female U19. In total, there are 111 competitors in attendance – 19 girls, 57 boys in the U17 division and 35 boys in the U19.
Play continues on Sunday 31st July with a continuation of the 8 ball events.
All matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected
matches on the EPBF’s Facebook page.
