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Successful year for EPBF

The year 2019 is coming to an end and the EPBF would like to once again congratulate all its athletes who gained an international title this year.

Especially the World Champions shall be named here. In the men’s 9-ball division, Fedor Gorst (RUS) just recently conquered the World Champion Title in Doha, Qatar with a 13:11 victory in the final match over Chang Jung Lin (TPE).

In the women’s 9-ball Championship, Kelly Fisher (GBR) snatched the crown against Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) in the final match with 9:7. With that result, the Gold as well as the Silver Medal went to the EPBF.

Moritz Neuhausen (GER), WC Under 17

Also in the Youth 9-Ball Championships, the EPBF was by far the most successful federation. In the Under 17s division, Moritz Neuhausen (GER) took the title while Jonas Souto (ESP) defeated Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) in the final match of the Under 19s. Valeria Trushevskaia (RUS) completed the European Medal collection with a Bronze Medal in the girls division.

Also other international events of high profile were won by European athletes.

Our best wishes and congratulations also go out to all winner’s and titleists from this year’s European Championships in Veldhoven, The Netherlands.

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GORST THE GREAT!

19 year old Fedor Gorst of Russia wins the 2019 World 9-ball Championship with a hard fought 13 -11 win over Taiwan’s Chang Jung Lin in Doha.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–Playing with a poise, calm and skill that clearly belied his 19 years of age, Russia’s Fedor Gorst won the 2019 World 9-ball Championship today in Doha, Qatar, defeating a stingy Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan, 13-11.

The match was nothing short of a brutal marathon, lasting four hours, and the slow, grinding style of Chang only added to the supreme test of pressure and drama that seemed to accompany every rack. That Gorst was able to suck it all up against one of the greats of the last 15 years, and withstand the inevitable emotional peaks and valleys that come in a long, tiring match, will surely add to the satisfaction the young Russian must surely be feeling. There were several lead changes, and the more experienced Chang grabbed the momentum midway through. But Gorst persevered and grabbed the momentum back when it counted most, and close it out in style.

The win by Gorst will surely be extremely pleasing to his many fans. Not only is the low key and friendly Russian easy to root for, but his hard work and prodigious talent have, for the last few years, portended greatness. That Gorst pulled off the ultimate prize in pool at just 19 years of age is an absolutely stunning feat, and bodes amazingly well for the young man’s future, and for European pool as well.

For Chang, the loss was clearly a bitter disappointment that will sting for the foreseeable future. The 2012 World 8-ball champion has been one of pool’s most consistent and successful players over the last 15 years. But the World 9-ball Championship was the one title he has wanted the most. Winning in the pool world is so tough and so brutal, that opportunities like this don’t often come your way. Chang’s demeanor afterwards spoke of his realization that he let the ultimate prize slip out of his hands.

The marathon final came on the heels of two long semi-finals matches played concurrently earlier in the day. In one semi-final Gorst matched up with World 10-ball Champion Ko Ping Chung in a fascinating battle of two of the sports finest young talents. Most fans had “Little” Ko the favorite as he had look implacable over the last 4 days. But Gorst proved to  be the more resilient on this day. With little between them the first half of the match, It was the Russian who outwitted the Taiwanese winning in strong showing, 11-7.

The other semi-final featured Chang against China’s Lui Haitao in a battle of hard core grinders. Chang took an early lead and never once fell behind. Playing his methodical and calculating style, Chang turned the screws throughout and won in a relative breeze, 11-5.

The final presented the ideal story line for fans to sink their teeth into: the wily 34 year old veteran finally on the brink of capturing the sport’s most coveted title, taking on the 19 year old upstart looking to become the second youngest player to ever win the World 9-ball title.

With Chang in no hurry, and neither player rarely getting good looks off the break, the match started out slow and continued at a snail’s pace throughout. Chang won the first two racks. Gorst then got one back before the Taiwanese countered off of the Russian’s self snooker to make it 3-1.

The pair traded racks again to go 4-2 but then Chang, who’s slow play seemed to only create self inflicted wounds, started to falter. Gorst won the next three to grab his first lead of the match at 5-4. The Russian clearly had the momentum on his side.

Chang came back from a bathroom break a changed man, however, winning the next four racks. The Russian looked to be tiring under the slow conditions and the match threatened to get away from him. But Gorst stemmed the tide with two racks of his own, a neat break and run, then outwitting Chang in a safe battle to close the score to 8-7.

Chang countered off a foul from the Russian to move back up by two. Then Gorst found a second and third wind combined, winning the next four racks to take an 11-9 lead. It was the stuff of champions, rising to the occasion when everything’s at stake.

The Taiwanese halted the rot, winning a safety battle to close to within one. But Gorst pounded on a foul and held his nerve to move to the hill. With the tension nearly unbearable, Chang piled on the pressure with a break and run. But then, breaking for the title, Gorst calmly hit a series of tough shots that led to an open table. He coolly  connected the dots and nailed a straight in 9-ball for the title.

 Afterwards, Gorst couldn’t quite come to terms with what he had just accomplished, but he knew that it would soon sink in. He had endured a marathon under the greatest of pressure, and emerged a world champion with the brightest of futures.

“I don’t quite understand how big this win is yet. My game wasn’t that good in the semi-final and I don’t think I played that well in the final. But it’s an amazing feeling to pot that 9-ball. I just feel real good right now.

“There was a lot of stuff going on in my mind throughout the match. This stuff happens in long gambling matches, you’re up and down and back and forth. I was really distracted. I wasn’t paying attention at times because he was playing really slow. I tried not to think about it but I was getting angry, but then I told myself there’s nothing you can do about it.

“I got really lucky at the times when I really needed to win the rack. I wouldn’t say I won the match in a lucky way, but kind of.

“I’m sure this win will help me in the future because it proves to me that I have what it takes to play and win under pressure. You can’t win an event like this if you can’t play under pressure. So that’s a really good thing.”

For winning the 2019 World 9-ball Championship Gorst received $30,000, while Chang received $15,000. The total prize fund was $150,000.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship took place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. 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.

RESULTS 

FINALS

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 13 – 11 Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 

SEMI-FINALS

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World 9-Ball Championship Comes Down To Four

Ko Ping Chung, Fedor Gorst, Chang Jung Lin and Liu Haitao stand on the brink of history in Doha.

By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer

(Doha, Qatar)–After nearly ten hours of some of the most grueling and pressure packed pool seen in years, the 2019 World 9-ball Championship has now come down to the Final 4.

The four players left, Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung and Chang Jung Lin, Russia’s Fedor Gorst, and China’s Liu Haitao are, to a man, already proven monsters of the game. Now each is poised on the cusp of history and will get their crack at pool immortality.

In one semi-final, the current World 10-ball Champion Ko will battle it out against Gorst. In the other semi-final, Chang will match wits with Liu.   Both semis, which will be race to 11, alternate break, will begin at 11am Tuesday in Doha(GMT +3) at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation.  The Final, which will be race to 13, alternate break, will begin at 3pm Doha time.

Pool fans around the world looking at that list of talent on their betting sheet might be hard pressed to pick who to put their money on to take the sport’s most coveted crown. But anyone who has been lucky enough to be on hand in Doha for the last week, or watch the action online, would probably not hesitate to favor the man fondly known as “Little Ko.”

Ko got that endearing moniker by being the sweet younger brother to the great Ko Pin Yi, himself a two time former world champion. Fans have known Little Ko to have as much prodigious talent as his older brother, but it wasn’t until he won the World 10-ball Championship in Vegas in July this year that the diminutive 24 year old clearly had stepped out of that long shadow and started to establish his own greatness.

Indeed over the last four days in Doha, the 24 year old Ping Chung has exhibited an almost surreal-like confidence to do whatever it takes to win. His shot making is from another planet, he never, ever gets flustered, and he seemingly can do what he wants, when he wants. 

These other-worldly skills were on full display in his three tough matches over ten hours today. In the round of 32 match against talented compatriot Lin Wu Kun, Ko got out to an early lead and held off Lin at every turn to win 11-8. In the round of 16, Ko came up against Russian veteran Ruslan Chinakhov who was playing some of his best pool in years. But Ko was in no mood to play nice, and he dominated Chinakhov 11-4.

By the time his quarterfinals battle against Vietnam upstart Do The Kien began, Ko looked a bit worn, and he fell behind 6-2.  But as he did against Hungary’s Oliver Slzolnoki the night before in the round of 64, Ko grinded his way back in the match. In this case the Taiwanese absolutely put his boot down hard, winning 9 racks in a row for an emphatic 11-6 win and a spot in the semi-finals.

Little Ko’s battle with Russia’s Gorst promises to be a fascinating match up of two of pool’s great young talents. Gorst, just 19 year’s old, is a former  World Junior Champion and has also won one Euro Tour event. His game and his personal demeanor appear well beyond his years, and this is not surprising when you discover that he has traveled and played extensively, especially in the US. He even speaks excellent English.

Like Ko, Gorst has a rock-solid game and low-key demeanor that serves him well when under pressure.  His three fine performances today showed he is certainly ready for the big time. Should he win here in Doha, he would become the second youngest player, after 16 year old Wu Chia Ching in 2005, to win the World 9-ball Championship.

Gorst started the day with a very impressive 11-7 win over Taiwan’s Kevin Chang. In the round of 16 he blew a 7-1 lead over Poland’s Mateusz Sniegocki, and the match headed for the cliff and a sudden death rack. Gorst held his nerve with a very fine break and run to advance to the quarterfinals.

Without so much as having a bite to eat, he met up with Ko Pin Yi for what promised to be another slug fest. The early part of the match remained tight and nervy, but the young Russian stayed loose and calm and pounced on the few mistakes by Ko for an impressive 11-6 win.

The other semi final between Liu and Chang could well be described as pool’s battle of the hard core men. Both players are known for their tough, grinding style and it will be fascinating to see who blinks first.

With his many trips to the US and other countries over the years, Chang has certainly endeared himself to worldwide fans. Over the last few years the 34 year old Chang, the 2012 World 8-ball champion, has taken his game to new heights, including a win at the International in 2018. Another world title for Chang would certainly surprise nobody.

Chang played like a champion today, at least up until the end where he literally limped over the finish line. In the round of 32 he manhandled Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, 11-5. In the round of 16 Chang came back from an early deficit to beat Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, 11-7. Then in the quarters he looked to be in total control over Finland upstart Casper Matikainen, with an 8-2 lead.

Matikainen, who had defeated defending champion Joshua Filler in the round of 64, and had just beaten 2016 World 9-ball Champion Albin Ouschan in the round of 16, was a total revelation this week in Doha. And just when the quiet Finn looked like he would run out of gas, he began a glorious fight back against Chang. The pair ended up tied at 10 in a battle of sheer will and stamina. Chang, though, mustered one last bit of energy and skill and held on to break and run the very last rack for a nail-biting ticket to the semis.

China’s Liu has been knocking on this door of greatness for the last several years, and his three matches today showed he is ready to finally kick it in. In the round of 64, he came from two down late against Greece’s Alexander Kazakis to win 11-9. In the final 16 he came back from 6 -2 down to defeat Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-9. In the quarters the Chinese went toe to toe with a streaking Alex Pagulayan. The pair had nothing between them for the first half, until Liu decided this time was his, and he put the Filipino-Canadian away, 11-8.

Should Liu win it all on Tuesday, he would become the first Chinese player to ever win the WPA World 9-ball Championship.

The winner of the 2019 World 9-ball Championship will receive $30,000. The total prize fund is $150,00.

*The 2019 WPA World 9-ball Championship takes place at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar from December 10-17, 2019. 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 live scoring, results, brackets and live streaming of many of the matches via the QBSF’s free live streaming platform at esnooker.pl.  Multiple tables will be available to view online at no charge to the public.

SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday, December 17 11am, GMT +3

Race to 11, Alternate Break

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) vs. Lui Haitao (CHN)

Ping Chung Ko (TPE) vs. Fedor Gorst (RUS)

FINALS

3PM Doha

Race to 13, Alternate Break

RESULTS QUARTERFINALS

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 10 Casper Matikainen (FIN)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 8 Alex Pagulayan (CAN)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 6 Do The Kien (VET)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11- 6 Pin Yi Ko (TPE)

RESULTS FINAL 16

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 6 Albin Ouschan (AUT)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 7 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP)

Lui Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9 Naoyuki Oi (JPN)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 9 Billy Thorpe (USA)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 4 Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 8 Waleed Majid (QAT)

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Aloysius Yapp (SIN)

Fedor Gorst (RUS) 11 – 10 Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)

RESULTS FINAL 32

Casper Matikainen (FIN) 11 – 8 Yip Kin Ling (HKG)

Albin Ouschan (AUT) 11 – 8 Denis Grabe (EST)

Jung Lin Chang (TPE) 11 – 5 Mieszko Fortunski (POL)

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (ESP) 11 – 5 Xu Xiaocong (CHN)

Liu Haitao (CHN) 11 – 9  Alexander Kazakis (GRE)

Naoyuki Oi (JPN) 11 – 6 Johann Chua (PHL)

Alex Pagulayan (CAN) 11 – 7 Chang Yu Lung (TPE)

Billy Thorpe (USA) 11 – 10 Carlo Biado (PHL)

Chung Ko Ping (TPE) 11 – 8 Lin Wu Kun (TPE)

Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) 11 – 8 Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 

Do The Kien (VET) 11 – 7 Chris Melling (ENG) 

Waleed Majid (QAT) 11 -10 Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) vs.

Pin Yi Ko (TPE) 11 – 9 Jeffrey Ignacio (PHL)

Aloysius Yapp (SIN) 11 – 5 Darren Appleton (ENG)

Fedor Gorst (RUS)11 – 7 Yu Hsuan Cheng (TPE)

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Grabe takes Antalya Open 2019

Denis Grabe (EST) just won the Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019 with a clear 9:2 victory over Eklent Kaci (ALB). That is Grabe’s third Euro-Tour victory after Sankt Johann and Portoroz, both in 2014.

The two athletes who have made it to the finals belong undoubtedly to the top players of Europe’s elite who are always capable to win an event like this. However, since the Euro-Tour is probably the hardest event to win in the pool world, there are many other applicants for the title every time the Euro-Tour stage opens its curtains. Today, Grabe made the final with victories over Oliver Szolnoki (HUN) 9:5, Mieszko Fortunski (POL) 9:6 and Fedor Gorst (RUS) 9:6 in the semi-final. Kaci, member of this year’s Mosconi Cup team, made the final by eliminating Aleksa Pecelj (SRB) 9:2, Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) 9:5 and David Alcaide (ESP) 9:4 in his semi-final match. The stage was set for a high class final. The last match of the tournament turned out to be high class but only from one side. Denis Grabe performed rock solid while Kaci seemed to struggle. He was probably very upset with his play. Trailing 1:4, Kaci even conceded a rack when he missed the 2-ball. This was a clear indication of how frustrated Kaci was with his performance in the final match. This concession was considered unsportsmanlike by referee Nikola Pešo from Croatia and he penalised Kaci by awarding the next rack to Grabe as well. This correct decision was predetermining the outcome of the match. Kaci could not match Grabe today and consequently lost the match 2:9. Grabe was clearly the better player in that match and rightfully pocketed his third victory in a Euro-Tour event.

Denis Grabe

Top Eight Finishers Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019

1. Denis Grabe EST 2. Eklent Kaci ALB 3. David Alcaide ESP     Fedor Gorst RUS 5. Joshua Filler GER     Sanjin Pehlivanovic BIH     Mieszko Fortunski POL     Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz ESP

That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard Antalya Open 2019.

The Dynamic Billard Antalya Open were played in the Limak Atlantis Resort in Belek, Turkey, on up to 20 tables which were 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.

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Kazakis wins Klagenfurt Open and makes Mosconi Cup Team 2019

Alexander Kazakis (GRE) just won the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019 with an impressive 9:8 victory over Marc Bijsterbosch (NED).

Bijsterbosch had already two 9:8 victories to survive today to make it to the final match so he was actually on a marathon. His opponent Kazakis had wind underneath his wings since making the final match meant his nomination to this year’s Mosconi Cup Team. The final match was packed with drama and excitement and was as thrilling as it could have been.

Kazakis opened the final match with a powerful break. He had 3 balls down and a perfect layout. Being in the top form that he has shown throughout the tournament, especially having the Mosconi Cup Team nomination in his pocket by making this final, Kazakis started and seemed to be unstoppable. He cleared the table quickly and got to a 1:0 lead over his Dutch opponent. Bijsterbosch however did not seem to be too impressed and returned the table to Kazakis after having run a rack himself, tying the match at 1:1. Rack three displayed again 3 balls down for Kazakis. He really had a perfect break in the early stage of the final match. Another clearance followed for a 2:1 lead for Kazakis. In rack four, Bijsterbosch had 2 balls down but a very long shot on the 2-ball and came up with a safety attempt. He left a tough shot for Kazakis who had to execute a jump shot. The outcome was lucky for the Greek since he left no clear shot for Bijsterbosch. However, Bijsterbosch fired a one bank shot in and ran the rack to get to 2:2 including a fluke shot on the 8-ball. The quality of the final match was unbelievably high. The first mistake happened in rack #5 when Kazakis lost the cue ball on the break shot and scratched. That brought Bijsterbosch to the table with ball in hand. He cleared the rack and got to a 3:2 lead with his own break shot coming up next. At that stage, the odds were in favour of Bijsterbosch winning the match. But Kazakis hung in there and managed to get back to a one-rack-lead himself at 5:4. Rack #10 was fiercely fought over. Kazakis stood tall and for the first time in the match got to a 2-rack lead at 6:4. He has won 4 consecutive racks which left an impression on Bijsterbosch. Race #11 saw again Kazakis performing a break shot. But this time he only had 1 ball down and 1 ball crossing the head string which meant the break shot was illegal. It brought Bijsterbosch to the table who consequently ran the table and added another point to his score. The next rack was a break and run for Bijsterbosch which tied the match once more at 6:6. Once more, the tide turned in the match and Bijsterbosch also won rack #13 to get to 7:6 over Kazakis. The match heated up with both players wanting the victory very much. Bijsterbosch’s break shot in the next rack was not ideal. He had a ball down but no shot on the lowest numbered ball. He somehow managed to solve the situation and again ran the whole rack, getting on the hill with 8:6. The pressure was on Kazakis whose break shot was up in the next rack. He played well until the 6-ball where he fell out of position. Kazakis attempted a jump shot but he did not pocket the 6-ball. A safety duel followed with Kazakis coming out as the winner. The Greek once more used his chance and got to 7:8. Rack #16 was again determined by safety play in the beginning. None of the two wanted to commit any mistake and they both played rather defensive. Kazakis replied a push out from Bijsterbosch with a good safety and gained control in the rack. This gave him the upper hand and he won the rack to tie the match at 8:8. At hill-hill, everything is possible. Kazakis had the deciding break shot and he had a great break in rack 17. Two balls were down and he had a good layout in front of him. He fell out of position for the 3-ball but came up with a great safety. Bijsterbosch had no answer for it and Kazakis capitalised, making the balls and winning the match and the tournament with 9:8. „A miracle happened today“ said Kazakis after the award ceremony, „I was trying really hard to get in the Mosconi Team the whole year. It could not have gone any better for me, winning also this tournament to make the team“.

Alexander Kazakis

Top Eight Finishers

1. Alexander Kazakis GRE 2. Marc Bijsterbosch NED 3. Denis Grabe EST     Mats Schjetne NOR 5. Joshua Filler GER     Miguel Silva POR     Wiktor Zielinski POL     Fedor Gorst RUS

That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open 2019. We will be back with more Euro-Tour action from Antalya, Turkey, in November 2019.

The Dynamic Billard Klagenfurt Open were played in the Sportpark Klagenfurt Arena in Klagenfurt, Austria, on up to 20 tables which were 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.

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9-ball titles awarded at the final day of the European Championships

The last day of the Dynamic Billard European Championships 2019 saw the finals in the 9-ball individuals in all four divisions. The titles were grabbed by Fedor Gorst (RUS), Jasmin Ouschan (AUT), Pijus Labutis (LTU) and Jouni Tahti (FIN).

Fedor Gorst had a thriller against Joshua Filler (GER) in the men’s 9-ball division. Both player performed tremendously well throughout the event and deserved their spot in the final match. Gorst was always ahead of Filler whose break let him down big time in the match. But the German  struck back whenever he could and kept the match open for a long time. Then Gorst got some momentum and went on the hill, taking a nice 8:4 lead over Filler. But one of „Killer Filler’s“ most important talents is that he keeps his nerves together and plays rock solid even when under fire. Filler took some racks off Gorst since the Russian himself had some problems with his break shot in the latter part of the match. Filler even got to the hill and created an 8:8 situation. The heat was on for both players with Gorst having the break shot. He had 2 balls down and an open layout. From there, Filler never got back to the table and Gorst sneaked past the winning line, taking the match with 9:8 over brave Filler.

Top 8 9-ball Men 1. Fedor Gorst RUS 2. Joshua Filler GER 3. Tomasz Kaplan POL     Kim Laaksonen FIN 5. Edmond Zaja ALB     Ruslan Chinakhov RUS     Zoran Svilar SRB     Mario He AUT

The women’s final match between Jasmin Ouschan and Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) turned into a demolition for the Russian. Ouschan determined the match from the start to her liking and Seroshtan could not get a foot on the floor. Having in mind that Ouschan was far below her expectations during this championship, she played up to her standard in the final match and handed a whitewash to Seroshtan with 7:0.

Top 8 9-ball Women 1. Jasmin Ouschan AUT 2. Nataliya Seroshtan RUS 3. Vivien Schade GER     Ana Gradisnik SLO 5. Elise Qiu NED     Veronika Ivanovskaia GER     Oliwia Czuprynska POL     Kristina Zlateva BUL

In the Under 23 division, Pijus Labutis was the favoured player over Oliver Szolnoki since he had already taken a title in 8-ball earlier this week. Though Szolnoki performed quite convincing, Labutis was a bit ahead of him because of his focus being set on another title. 9:7 was the final result that brought the second title for Labutis for this week.

Top 8 9-ball Under 23 1. Pijus Labutis LTU 2. Oliver Szolnoki HUN 3. Casper Matikainen FIN     Aleksa Pecelj SRB 5. Vitaliy Patsura UKR     Osman Sanlisoy TNC     Samet Degirmanci TUR     Jan van Lierop NED

In the wheelchair division, all-time favoured Jouni Tahti wasted no time with his opponent Fred Dinsmore. He simply outplayed the Irish and took the match pretty easy with 7:1.

Top 8 9-ball Wheelchair 1. Jouni Tahti FIN 2. Fred Dinsmore IRL 3. Matej Brajkovic SLO     Tony Southern GBR 5. Kurt Deklerck BEL     Henrik Larsson SWE     Leszek Blumczynski POL     Roy Kimberley GBR

The final medal table displays Russia as the winner of the event, having won 3 Gold Medals, 2 Silver Medals and 2 Bronze Medals. Runner-Up is Poland with 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze Medals with Finland coming in third with 2 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal and 3 Bronze medals.

That concludes the coverage of the 2019 Dynamic Billard European Championships for Men, Women, Under 23 and Wheelchair Athletes from Treviso, Italy. We will be back tomorrow with more news from the upcoming Euro-Tour events for Men and Women.

Left to right: Ouschan, Tahti, Gorst and Labutis

The Championships were 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 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.

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Madsen smashed Gorst with 9:2 in 9-ball

Today, the 9-ball competition was launched at the Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 in NH Conference Centre Koningshof, Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Several interesting results could be witnessed.

One outstanding match was definitely the encounter between Fedor Gorst (RUS) and Andreas Madsen (DEN). Both players have earned their merits in the junior’s divisions in the previous years. Madsen is 21-years-old, Gorst is 18 years of age these days. The match started out quite promising for Gorst. He had the first break shot and pocketed two balls, having a perfect position for the 2-ball. He played a good safety shot and forced Madsen to commit a foul. Then he ran the balls but missed an easy 6-ball, leaving it all for Madsen. What an unnecessary miss that was! Madsen ran out and took the next three consecutive racks as well, advancing to a 4:0 lead over Gorst. Finally in rack #5, Gorst was able to open his account in the match, getting to 1:4. But Madsen struck back and won another two racks, leading 6:1 now after 7 racks. Having executed the break shot in rack #8, Madsen could play the 2-ball but not pocket it. He played a good safety shot. Gorst was able to play a correct shot and come up with a resafe position. Madsen hit the 2-ball but left a shot for Gorst. The Russian came tot he table and won his second rack, turning the scoreboard to 2:6. The match continued with Gorst committing unbelievably easy mistakes while Madsen was rock solid and focussed on the table. He continued shooting pretty self-confident and consequently won the match with 9:2. Andreas Madsen will advance into the round of the last 64 players single elimination while Gorst awaits the winner of the match Erol Kayas (TUR) v Michel Bartol (CRO) for his chance to be drawn into the single elimination stage as well.

Fedor Gorst (left) and Andreas Madsen

Other remarkable results from today include „The Siberian Express“ Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) wiping the floor with Miha Zajc (SLO) 9:1. Ralf Souquet (GER) even whitewashed his opponent in the first round, handing Iker-Andoni Echeverria (ESP) a 9:0. Ivar Saris (NED) sent Joshua Filler (GER) to the loser’s side with 9:5 in their opening match. Kasper Kristoffersen (DEN) came up with a bit of a surprise, winning 9:6 over Spain’s #1 David Alcaide. Kim Laaksonen (FIN) won a heartbreaker with 9:8 over favoured Konstantin Stepanov (RUS). Laaksonen’s teammate Jani Siekkinen (FIN) took down newly crowned 8-ball Champion Bahram Lotfy (DEN) with 9:6.

In the girls’ division, two medallists from this week met in the first round of their 9-ball quest for glory. 8-ball Champion Darya Siranchuk (UKR) took it up against 10-ball runner-up Daria Cheprasova (BLR). The match was determined by many mistakes. Especially Cheprasova came up with a lot of positioning errors which Siranchuk was able to capitalise from. In the end, Siranchuk was a deserved 6:3 winner over Cheprasova.

In the women’s division, Line Kjoersvik (NOR) was drawn against Tamara Peeters-Rademakers (NED). The winner of that match would go up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR). The match was quite even for the first 9 racks. Kjoersvik was up 5:4 with her own break shot coming up. She had a ball down and a tough shot on the 2-ball which she missed. Peeters had the chance to level the match at 5:5. But she missed an extremely easy 2-ball to the corner pocket and gave second live to Kjoersvik in that rack. Both athletes had several more attempts at the table but Peeters always missed one shot too many. Kjoersvik took the rack and went on the hill with 6:4. To make matters worse, Peeters scratched when breaking the balls in rack #11. Kjoersvik got to the table with ball in hand and that sealed the deal for the Norwegian. She finished all balls on the table and won the match with 7:4. Kjoersvik will be up against defending Champion Kelly Fisher (GBR) in the next round.

The seniors’s, ladies’ and U17 division had their first round matches played with no big upsets. In the Under 19 division however, Tin Petljak (CRO) surprisingly managed to defeat Christian Froehlich (GER) by a hair’s breadth with 8:7 in the first round. Another top gun who was put in the loser’s round was Wiktor Zielinski (POL). The stellar talent from Poland had to accept a 7:8 defeat against Ilia Nekleenov (RUS). The only wheelchair match played so far today was Daniel Savic (AUT) winning with 7:4 over Gintas Jonauskas (LTU).

The Dynamic Billard European Pool Championships 2018 will commence tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET with the first matches from the 9-ball individuals competition. The team’s finals are scheduled for 17:00 CET.

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.

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Australia record first ever win at World Cup

Finland (11) 7-3 Malaysia Japan (10) 5-7 Sweden Russia (15) 4-7 Australia

Two of the unseeded sides upset the applecart as they made their way into the second round of the 2018 World Cup of Pool against fancied opposition as three further round one matches took place at the Luwan Arena, Huangpu District in Shanghai.

The $250,000 tournament originated in 2006 and has since moved around the world before touching down in Shanghai. The World Cup features 32 pairs from across the globe including two from host nation China. Running from 15th to 20th May, the event is on live TV in over 100 countries around the world.

The Australian pair of James Delahunty and Justin Sajich became the first Australian team to win a match at the World Cup of Pool as they progressed at the expense of the fancied Russian pairing of Fedor Gorst and Ruslan Chinakhov.

A delighted Sajich said, “It was tough out there, we were nervous but we fought hard, kept it together and we managed to pull it off. I think we knew we were the underdogs, although we wouldn’t have admitted it to each other. We will go back to the pool hall before the next round. We have been practicing six hours a day since we got here.”

Delahunty was equally thrilled, “We knew it wouldn’t be an easy match and we had to play as well as we could and I think we performed pretty well. We didn’t miss many pots and that’s what we needed to do. We weren’t looking too far ahead in the draw but we will have to play well in the next round – it is on us again, if we play well then we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Earlier, underdogs Sweden (Christian Sparrenloev-Fisher and Tomas Larsson) put in an equally fine performance to bring down the fancied Japanese duo of Naoyuki Oi and Toru Kuribayashi. The score was 7-5.

Fischer said, “We are really happy, of course. We knew we needed to play well to win it and we played okay. We know the Spanish players well, they are friends to us and we know we can beat them, we just need to play our game and anything can happen.”

Finally, in the opening match, Finland looked a bit shaky but still had too much for the Malaysian duo of Muhammad Almie and Darryl Chia.

Mika Immonen: “It wasn’t our best performance but we got through. We played better at the start of the match even though we were settling in. Then we gave them a little window, but they didn’t take it.

“We are looking forward to playing USA. We played them in the quarter-finals last year and we lost, but we are confident we can improve from this match. We will need to improve against USA because they are a formidable team. We are looking forward to that and avenging the loss from last year.”

Play continues on Thursday evening with the final first round match and two second round matches.

Rnd 1 China A (2) v Estonia Rnd 2 Austria v Poland Scotland v Holland