8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball and 14.1 for Men, Women and Wheelchair
Grand Hotel Metropol
Obala 77
Portoroz
Slovenia
www.metropol-resort.com
www.epbf.com
www.epconline.eu
www.kozoom.com - PPV LiveStrea
m (23 tables/23 streams)
10-20 April 2013
Mateusz Sniegocki (POL). Foto: EPBF/DK
Gold Medals for Czuprynska, Sniegocki and Deklerck
The Gold medalists are Mateusz Sniegocki (POL), Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) and Kurt Deklerck (BEL).
The final match in the men's division between Sniegocki and Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) was a demonstration of power from the Polish player. He seemed to be so full of self-confidence. He played rock solid and punished every mistake that Stepanov made without mercy. "It's good to hear that I look very self-confident", stated a modest Sniegocki after the final, "sometimes though I did not feel like that", he said, smiling. "I think I did not give many chances to my opponents today. Maybe that was the key for my success today. I feel very happy about that Gold Medal". Sniegocki defeated Stepanov clearly with 8:3 and Stepanov never had a chance to get into the match at all.
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The women's final between Czuprynska and Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) was also a clear affair. Czuprynska was superior to Poikkijoki, who eliminated favorite player Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) in the semi-final.
Czuprynska couldn't believe her victory right after she won 6:2 over Poikkijoki. "I really don't know how I feel", said Czuprynska, "I think I'm still nervous" she said, still completely full of emotions after the match. "I feel like after I won the Gold Medal in the World Junior Championships in Poland. And I really like that feeling. I like it so much that I want to feel it again during these Championships", said likable Czuprynska. If she will be able to keep her performance on today's level, it will not be a surprise if she will be seen in the final stages of the upcoming disciplines as well.
In the wheelchair division, Deklerck proved to play too strong for Roy Kimberley (GBR) and took the title with 6:4.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with the 8-ball competition. Since the final matches finished a bit late in time, the awards ceremony will be held tomorrow evening at 21:00 CET.
Nick Malai (ALB) Foto: EPBF/DK
10-ball down to semi-finals in Dynamic Billard European Championships
In a match that was packed with tension and excitement, Nick Malai (ALB) defeated Daniele Corrieri (ITA) with 8:7.
To be honest, this quarter-final was not necessarily expected by experts.
Especially Corrieri can be considered an underdog. Having all those great players in mind that participate in these European Championships, it was definitely surprising to find him in the quarter-finals. Malai has won last year's Euro-Tour in North Cyprus, so he was "on the list". Of course, Malai was the favored player to win the match. And in the beginning, everything looked like expected.
Malai was ahead 4:2 after six racks and Corrieri seemed to struggle a bit. Then the Italian took a time-out an came back with fresh energy. He won five out of the next six racks and went on the hill, leading 7:5. Everybody was astonished by Corrieri's performance; probably Malai was impressed the most. But Malai is also known a tough fighter. He kept his nerves together and played good safeties and managed to tie the match at 7:7. Then, he had a good break shot and a perfect layout in front of him. He did not let that chance slip out of his hand and took the final rack to win 8:7. Corrieri has to settle for a good 5th place while Malai will have to deal with Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) in the semi-final.
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) Foto: EPBF/DK
Souquet loses to Ekonomopoulos
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) defeated Zoran Svilar (SRB) with 8:5 in 10-ball and secured his sport among the last 16 players in the field.
Stepanov was simply the better player in that match. His break was more efficient than Svilar's. He always had a ball down on his break and most of the time he was able to make use of his layouts. However, in the early stage of the match he had to fight his nerves in order to stay in the match. He was not able to turn Svilar's mistakes into good points for him. In the 5th rack, they both played some good safety shots in the beginning. Then, Stepanov pocketed a fantastic jump shot and found himself with all balls left open on the table for him.
But instead of clearing the table he missed the 10-ball. "I tried to attack in the beginning but then I understood that it's not my game now", said Stepanov. "I needed to play more defensive". And even though he did, he could not really get an advantage over Svilar.
After ten racks, the score was 5:5 with Stepanov's
break coming up. It looked like someone had turned a switch because he cleared the table fast and seemed to have found new strength for his performance. "In the final stage of the match, I played good kick shots. That's possibly the reason why I won", stated Stepanov. That was definitely the case. He played very good kick shots but also showed permanence in his shotmaking.
No wonder, he could get on the hill and create huge pressure for Svilar.
At 7:5 for Stepanov, the match was again opened with a strategic safety shot exchange. Stepanov played the better shots, but even committed a foul. Svilar had ball in hand and played a safety which looked good. But Stepanov had an even better answer for it, played a marvelous resafe for Svilar who then committed a foul, too. That was good enough for Stepanov to end the match with 8:5. He will now face Niels Feijen in the round of the last 16 players. Svilar has to settle for 17th.
Another notable story is the performance of Ralf Souquet (GER). He had to deal with his teammate, the defending Champion Dominic Jentsch (GER), and many spectator's saw a high class match with a lot of tension and action. In the end, Souquet was the winner with 8:7. In the next round, he could not take his game up and lost 3:8 to Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE).
In the women's division, Kynthia Orfanidis (NED) defeated Jasmin Michel (GER) with 6:2 to go to the round of the final 16 players. Defending Champion Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) showed no mercy with her opponent Severine Titaux (nothing) and threw her out with a whitewash 6:0.
In the wheelchair division, Henrik Larsson (SWE) overpowered Fred Dinsmore (IRL) by a whisker with 5:4.
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.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
