Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) secured her first victory in 2020 by winning the final match 7:1 over Aleksandra Guleikova (RUS).
The whole tournament was a demonstration of Ouschan’s superiority. She defeated all opponents with very clear results. Her first victim was Hannan Memic (BIH) who got beat 7:2. Then, Vania Franco (POR) received a 7:2 lesson from Ouschan in the winner’s qualification round. Yini Gaspar (SUI) and Kristina Zlateva (BUL) were next on the list. they both managed to win 4 racks before Ouschan closed the book on them. In the semi-final. Ouschan met Franco for the second time. This time, the Portuguese only got one rack from Ouschan to leave the event with 7:1, coming in third place. Franco had played a good event so far, defeating high class players like Oliwia Zalewska (POL) and Kateryna Polovinchuk (UKR). But Ouschan was in her own class. She went into the final match, having won all these matches with more than clear results. Her opponent, Aleksandra Guleikova, was not necessarily expected to be in the final match. But her decent performance throughout the tournament paid off and she has rightfully booked her seat in the final match against Ouschan. However, the final turned into a nightmare for Guleikova. The only player who was seen at the table was Ouschan. After 8 racks, the Austrian closed the book on the final match with an impressive 7:1 victory over Guleikova.
"I used this tournament as a preparation for my next events", Ouschan stated after the final match. "I was in the middle of preparations and this success shows me that I’m on a good way. My upcoming events are men’s tournaments. I will play Matchroom’s World Pool Masters and then I’ll go to Las Vegas for more tournaments", Ouschan added.
This victory puts Ouschan on top of the Women’ Euro-Tour rankings.
That concludes the coverage of the Predator Treviso Open 2020.
The Predator Treviso Open 2020 were played in the Best Western Premier BHR Treviso Hotel in Treviso, Italy, on up to 21 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event was 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 or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
Joshua Filler (left), Kelly Fisher (center) and Darya Siranchuk
In the 9-ball individuals of the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 at the NH Conference Centre Koningshof, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, many close results determined today’s matches.
In the round of the last 64 men single elimination, defending Champion Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) was ousted all of a sudden by unheralded Ferdi Ozdemir (TUR). The Turkish the went on and had a fierce fight with Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) where he was defeated with 7:9. Other remarkable results from today’s 9-ball matches include Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) smashing Alexander Kazakis (GRE) with 9:2. The same result was good for Joshua Filler (GER) when he wiped the floor with Niels Feijen (NED). While Bijsterbosch had a nice and easy 9:5 victory over Dimitri Jungo (SUI) in the next round, Filler needed to sweat against Marek Hajdovsky (CZE). After 15 racks, Filler was up 8:7 and it was Hajdovsky’s break shot coming up. He successfully executed a good break but had no clear shot on the 1-ball. He needed to come up with a good push-out. He did and Filler gave the shot back to him. Hajdovky played a very good safety and put Filler under pressure with that. Filler managed to hit the 1-ball but left an open table for Hajdovsky. The Czech kept his nerves together and cleared the table, turning the match into a hill-hill affair with Filler having the break shot in the final rack. Filler had a ball down and a tough shot on the 1-ball in front of him. There were no clusters or anything on the table but in order to pocket the 1-ball, Filler needed to bridge over the 4-ball and elevate his bridge hand very much. Filler decided to play a safety in that situation which probably was the better choice. A safety battle occurred with both athletes playing brilliant safety shots. Eventually, Filler came up with a shot that forced Hajdivsky to commit a foul shot. With ball in hand, Filler ran the rack and won the match by a whisker with 9:8 over a worthy opponent.
The women’s division was also played down to the final 16 players. Defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR) could not be stopped so far. She wasted no time with Helena Benjamin (SWE) and eliminated her with 7:3 from the 9-ball individuals. She will face Melanie Suessenguth (GER) tomorrow had stood tall against her teammate Tina Vogelmann (GER) and won 7:3 today. Ana Gradisnik (SLO) took down Ina Kaplan (GER) and advanced to the round of the last 16 players with a 7:4 victory. Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) waltzed past Yini Gaspar (SUI) and handed her a doughnut with 7:0. Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) had a tough fight against Micha Beuriot (NED) and just made it over the finish line with 7:6.
Henrique Correia (POR), defending Champion in the senior’s division, is still alive in the 9-ball individuals. Though he had to take the detour over the loser’s side, he has ousted Piotr Kleinschmidt (POL) 7:0 and the Dirk Stenten (GER) in the single elimination round. Also Rustem Aygunlu (TUR) was no obstacle for Correia. The Portuguese won the match 8:2 and advanced into the round of the final 16 players.
Christoffer Lentz (DEN) and Ivan Galic (CRO) are probably the most promising athletes in the Under 17’s division. They are among the last 16 players of the field. Lentz took down Oskar Jamorski (POL) 7:3 while Galic made it with 7:2 over Sasu Hietamis (FIN). If they both win their next matches, they will have a showdown against one another in the quarter-finals.
In the Under 19’s, defending Champion Jan Van Lierop (NED) still stands tall and holds his position against all challengers so far. Today, his victim was German team Champion Alen Salic (GER) who lost with 5:8 to van Lierop. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) made a clear statement when he overran Ragnar Gronsten (SWE) with 8:1. Wiktor Zielinski (POL) had some more work to do but in the end also joined the athletes in the next round by beating Dmitrii Shkudov (RUS) with 8:6. Jonas Souto (ESP) came out strong in the heartbreaker against Egor Trifonov (RUS) which he managed to decide with 8:7 for himself.
The „newest“ division of the EPBF, the Under 23’s, was already played down to the last 12 players today. The biggest upset was the elimination of last year’s runner-up and #1 seeded player Pijus Labutis (LTU). He fell to the sharp blade of Matis Saetre (NOR) with 8:9. Already in the quarter-finals are Samuel Santos (POR), Mark Magi (EST), Spasian Spasov (BUL) and Casper Matikainen (FIN). Their opponents will be determined tomorrow morning in the first round at 09:30 CET.
In the girls’ division, the favourites are still in the race for the Gold Medal. Probably the best chances has Valeriia Trushevskaia (RUS). She has already booked her seat in the quarter-final match. Together with Viktoriia Gurova (RUS) she has a pretty good starting position. However, 10-ball Champion Nina Torvund (NOR) and 8-ball Champion Darya Siranchuk (UKR) are also fighting for a spot among the last eight athletes.
In the ladies’ division, 8-ball Champion Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) had to forfeit her match for professional reasons. Defending Champion Ine Helvik, who has already taken the crown in 10-ball this week and defended her title there, is in the quarter-final, waiting for her opponent to be decided tomorrow morning.
In the wheelchair division, defending Champion Jouni Tahti (FIN) is fighting his way through the loser’s side. He just made it over Emil Malanowski (POL) in the loser’s qualification round with 7:6.
The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 09:30 CET with the matches from the 9-ball individuals competition. The finals are scheduled for 16:00 CET. From 14:00 CET, table 1 will be broadcasted LIVE through Ziggo Sports Channel, the biggest Dutch sports channel and will show one semi-final and the final match. A discipline for the Live TV will be chosen tomorrow.
The Jubilee Championships are played on 60 tables which are all streamed LIVE throughout the whole event. In order to be able to follow all the action LIVE, premium membership can be obtained at www.kozoom.com. Once a premium membership is held, all events for the respective period of time can be viewed LIVE. Additionally, a huge video gallery is contained in the website.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu or visit us on Facebook for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
At the Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, total underdog Thomas Lindloff (GER) upset Fedor Gorst (RUS) in winner’s round one with 9:8.
The writing for the match was on the wall. Lindloff, an amateur player from Germany who participates in his second Euro-Tour versus Gorst, a young, hungry and talented two-time European Champion in the Under 17 division. Nobody really expected the match to become thrilling or even exciting at least. All odds were in favour of Gorst. But, as often, life has surprises. One of them happened today. Lindloff managed to win the first two racks and drew first blood against the Russian who took his time-out already when the scoreboard displayed 2:1 in favour of Lindloff. When he came back, he won the next rack and levelled the match at 2:2. But again Lindloff managed to escape with a two-point-lead, making it 4:2. It took ten racks before Gorst was all square with Lindloff and tied the match at 5:5. Now again the odds were all in favour of Gorst. But to the astonishment of the audience Lindloff continued his strong performance and even got to the hill with an 8:6 lead after 14 racks. Rack number 15 was opened by Thomas Lindloff. He executed a nice break-shot, had two balls down and everything speed out nicely in front of him to clear the table for is possible victory. He played a good safety shot on the 4-ball and forced Gorst to commit a foul. With ball in hand, Lindloff approached the table and had all the chances in the World to finish the match. But his nerves left him and he scratched while pocketing the 5-ball which now brought Gorst to the table. The Russian used his chance and pulled the rack back from Lindloff. 8:7 was the small lead which was left for Lindloff. Then Gorst showed nerves of steel and ran the next rack with his own break shot to tie the match at 8:8. What a dramatic finish. Again, the odds were in favour of the Russian since the pressure on Lindloff went through the roof. The German again had two balls down and a nice layout in front of him. Would his nerves let him down again or would he be able to stand the heat? This time, Lindloff took the chance and ran the rack, clearing the table for an amazing 9:8 victory over favoured Fedor Gorst. „It was a tactical victory for me“ stated Linloff after the match, „and Lady Luck was more on my side than his.“ „Gorst was probably not shooting at his best level“, Lindloff added, „so I think routine defeated class today“. This victory was his second today already since he defeated Avelino Madeira (POR) in the first round with 9:8. Lindloff will be up in winner’s round two tomorrow at 09:00 GMT against Vitaliy Patsura (UKR), last year’s European Champion 8-ball men’s division.
Today, the featured match on the EPBF Facebook page was the clash between Quang Trung Le (VIE) and Sebastian Staab (GER). Both players played on an equal level with Staab being a bit more on the lucky side in the end, winning the match with 9:7 over Le.
Other remarkable results from today include Nr. 1 seeded player David Alcaide (ESP) winning his opening match by a whisker over unheralded Kenneth Rognstad (NOR) with 9:8 only. Former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) had the same problems and sneaked through past Andrey Seroshtan (RUS) with 9:8, having trailed 1:5 and 5:8 in the match already. Eklent Kaci (ALB) once again took down Oliver Ortmann (GER) 9:6 in winner’s round one. Ralf Souquet (GER), winner of the recent Euro-Tour in Treviso, Italy, wasted no time with Polish top player Tomasz Kaplan (POL) smashing him 9:1.
In the women’s event, Monika Zabek (POL) outplayed Sara Rocha (POR) 7:5 and proceeded to the next winner’s round while Rocha needs to seek her fortune on the loser’s side. Marta Tavares (POR) overmastered Kristina Grim (GER) 7:6 and handed her an unexpected defeat in winner’s round one. European flagship of women’s pool, Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) won both her matches today without bigger efforts. She took down Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) 7:2 and then Yini Gaspar (SUI) even 7:1.
The Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open in Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal will continue tomorrow at 09:00 GMT with matches from winner’s round 2 in the open event and matches from loser’s round 1 in the women’s event.
Every day, one match from the event 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 on up to 24 tables live via www.kozoom.com who stream the whole event 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 Italian Open starting Thursday 30thMarch at 09:00h
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.epbf.com, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
At the 2017 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal, the Gold Medals in the 9-ball individuals have been awarded. Jouni Tahti (FIN), Kelly Fisher (GBR) and Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) are the title holders for the next year.
In the men’s division, Ruslan Chinakhov played against Ronald Regli (SUI) in the final match. Both players have somehow already achieved a huge goal by reaching the final match since the two finalists are automatically qualified for this year’s World Games which will be held in Wroclaw, Poland. Chinakhov’s way into the final match led over Niels Feijen (NED) 9:5, Daniele Corrieri (ITA) 9:1, Alexander Kazakis (GRE) 11:5 and Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) 11:9. His opponent Ronald Regli terminated Artem Koshovyi (UKR) 9:6, Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) 9:7, Nick Van Den Berg (NED) 11:9 and Maksim Dudanets (RUS) 11:9 for his seat in the match for glory. The final match itself was high class by both players with Chinakhov simply being better than Regli. The Russian know how to use his chances and how to put extra pressure on his opponent Regli. In the end, the clear result of 11:6 was more than deserved for Chinakhov.
Top eight Men:
1. Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)
2. Ronald Regli (SUI)
3. Maksim Dudanets (RUS)
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
5. Daniel Tangudd (SWE)
Nick van den Berg (NED)
Alexander Kazakis (GRE)
Andre Lackner (GER)
In the women’s division, Kelly Fisher was here on a mission. Residing in the United States since several years now, she wanted to try and get her foot in the door to play at the World Games. In order to do so, she needed to reach the final. Her mission did not begin too promising since she lost her opening match and had to make her long way into the final through the loser’s side. Making it back to the single elimination, Fisher eliminated Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) 7:2, Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) 8:2 and Ina Kaplan (GER) 8:5. Her opponent in the final match was Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS). She overpowered Yini Gaspar (SUI), Ine Helvik (NOR) 8:2 and Ana Gradisnik (SLO) 8:5 for her spot against Fisher. Like in the men’s division, both players have booked their spot for this year’s World Games by making it to the final 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. The final match was quite unspectacular though. Fisher was way too dominant for Seroshtan today to have a real match going on. After 12 racks being played, Fisher came out as the clear 8:4 winner over Seroshtan, claiming this year’s title in women’s 9-ball in Europe.
Top eight Women:
1. Kelly Fisher (GBR)
2. Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS)
3. Ina Kaplan (GER)
Ana Gradisnik (SLO)
5. Vivien Schade (GER)
Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER)
Ine Helvik (NOR) Kristina Grim (GER)
In the wheelchair division, the final match turned out a one man show for Jouni Tahti or, vice versa, a disaster for Henrik Larsson (SWE) who was Tahti’s opponent. Tahti creamed Larsson to the max and handed him a doughnut, winning the final match 7:0 over Larsson.
Top eight Wheelchair Athletes:
1. Jouni Tahti (FIN)
2. Henrik Larsson (SWE)
3. Fred Dinsmore (IRL) Kurt Deklerck (BEL)
5. Matt Duffy (GBR) Roy Kimberley (GBR)
7. Kim-Ronny Nygard (NOR)
David Himpe (BEL)
Final medal table after 5 of 5 events:
After the quarterfinal matches today, two players in the men’s and two in the women’s division were randomly drawn and brought for testing against doping. The EPBF is conducting anti-doping tests since many years now and will continue to do so in order to fulfil the requests from the international umbrella federations for a clean sport.
This concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes in the Salgados Palace Hotel in Albufeira, Portugal. Starting Thursday, we will be back with more news from the upcoming Dynamic Billard Portuguese Open and Portuguese Women Open.
After having received her first round defeat 1:6 against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED) yesterday, defending Champion Kristina Tkach (RUS) was eliminated today from the 8-ball by losing 3:6 to Vivien Schade (GER) in the loser’s qualification round.
A loss is something very unusual for Tkach anyway. She had one night to sleep and get over her performance yesterday. Today, She started with two more victories on the loser’s bracket, ousting Eylul Kibaroglu (TUR) 6:3 and Yulia Evseenko (UKR) 6:2. In the loser’s qualification round, Tkach had to stand up against Vivien Schade. The German had just lost to Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) in the loser’s qualification round and was probably steaming hot for a revenge. She went in the match with Tkach and tried her best to survive against the favourite from Russia. After 6 racks the match was levelled at 3:3. Tkach broke rack 7 and no ball went in any pocket. Schade found a difficult task in front of her since the balls were not in front of her with an easy layout. However, she mastered the rack and pocketed the 8-ball for a 4:3 lead over Tkach. Then, Schade broke and ran the next rack which brought her on the hill with a 5:3 lead over Tkach. Now was the time if at all for Tkach for a comeback. The Russian broke and a blow went in a pocket. To the horror of the Russian fans and probably also for herself, she missed the first shot in the side pocket. That brought Schade back to the table who saw her chance coming. She cleared the table one more time and rightfully ousted the defending Champion with 6:3 in a match that saw an impressive turnover from Vivien Schade. She will encounter her teammate Ina Kaplan tomorrow in the single elimination round of the final 16 women. Germany’s Kristina Grim also stayed alive in the event by eliminating Yini Gaspar (SUI) with 6:2 in the loser’s qualification round. However, she will have to deal with Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) tomorrow in the single elimination.
In the men’s division, the defending Champion is also already history in the 8-ball individuals. Vitaliy Patsura (UKR) lost his match in the round of the last 32 men players against underdog Jakub Koniar (SVK) 4:8. Koniar will be up against newly crowned European 10-ball Champion Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) tomorrow. After a fierce fight, Francesco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP) made his way into the next round by pipping Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) to the post 8:7. Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer (SWE) managed to oust German Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER) 8:6 in the round of the last 64 players. After that, he lost 1:8 to Sniegocki’s teammate Mieszko Fortunski (POL).
In the wheelchair division, Kurt Deklerck (BEL) and Jouni Tahti (FIN) have booked their seat in the semi-final matches already. They wait for the winners from the matches between Toni Southern (GBR) v Emil Malanowski (POL) and Fred Dinsmore (IRL) v Roy Kimberley (GBR).
Tomorrow, the tournament will continue at 09:00 GMT with matches from the 8-ball individuals competition last 16 single elimination.
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.com so why not come and check out all the LIVE action of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women and Wheelchair Athletes.
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.
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.
Bern, the capitol city of Switzerland, hosted the Mezz Women’s Swiss Open, the country’s largest women’s tournament of 2016. The women’s pool scene in Switzerland has been steadily dwindling over the past years and the Swiss Championship qualifying tournaments reached very low numbers in the 2015 season. Tournament organizers, Cristina Tschudi and Daniel Schneider, wanted to hold an event that would inject some life into women’s pool in this region and raise the level of competition.
With 58 players representing 11 different nationalities, the tournament featured a star-studded field with multiple Swiss and European medal holders. This two-day 9-Ball event paid a prize fund of 5200 CHF and over 3000 CHF in additional prizes including products donated by Turtle Rack, Zan Tips, Shot Pad and the event organizers. In addition to the main event and the men’s side event, players competed in one-on-one shoot outs and break and run contests to win the additional prizes like Swarovski jewelry sets and pool equipment.
Day one had many close matches and tough competition. Top European players came out strong on day one with Kristina Zlateva (Bulgaria), Claudia Von Rohr (Switzerland), Pia Blaeser (Germany) and Veronika Ivanovskaia (Germany) advancing to day two on the winners side. Other notable results were Swiss players, Noc Steiner and Franziska Jakob, who placed 9th which is their highest finish in a large international women’s event. The four local favorites, Christine Feldmann, Yini Gaspar, Claudia Von Rohr and Cristina Tschudi, did not disappoint as all four advanced to day two and the final 8.
On day two, Zlateva squeaked past Swiss Champion, Yini Gaspar, with a 7-6 win in the first round sending Gaspar to the one loss side. Gaspar made a good run eliminating the other Swiss Champion, Von Rohr in another hill-hill match but the junior German sensation, Blaeser, was too much for her in the next match and Gaspar went out in 5th place. Blaeser faced her road partner, Ivanovskaia, in the first round of the final 8 and lost with a score of 4-7. Blaeser then won over Gaspar but would have to settle for 3rd place as Zlateva ousted her with a decisive 7-1 win in the semifinals. Also finishing in 3rd place was American 8-Ball Champion Cristina Tschudi who lost in the first round of the final 8 to Pia Blaeser but fought her way back with 7-3 and 7-5 wins over Christine Feldmann and Yvonne Ullmann.
Zlateva dominated throughout the weekend losing only 15 games in the entire race to 7 tournament. She steadily ran through the winners’ bracket going undefeated to eventually win the tournament with a dominant 7-3 win in the finals. Also reaching the finals was Veronika Ivanovskaia with wins over Feldmann, Blaeser, and Tschudi. The 22 year old Bulgarian, Zlateva traveled from her home in Madrid, Spain to capture this title. Congratulations to her on this impressive win.
