Tirana Expo Center
Rruga Gjergj Balsha Nr. 6
1029
Tirana
Albania
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Monday-Sunday 25 July-2 August 2016
Hofmann, Tkach and Pehlivanovic (left to right)
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Hofmann, Pehlivanovic and Tkach strike again in 8-ball
Patrick Hofmann (GER), Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) and Kristina Tkach (RUS) took the crowns in 8-ball at the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth in Tirana, Albania.
Daniel Maciol (POL) started the match with a break and run against his opponent Patrick Hofmann. But that did not impress Hofmann too much. He answered straight away with a break and run himself. Rack three saw Maciol coming off dry which brought Hofmann to the table. The German cleared the table, added another clearance and went ahead 3:1. In rack five, Maciol again could not get any ball on his break shot. That „mistake“ resulted in Hofmann snatching another two racks off Maciol, taking a 5:1 lead in the match.
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Maciol then took a time-out and tried to somehow find his way back into the match. But when he got back he still could not make any ball off his break shot. Hofmann again ran the rack and went on the hill 6:1. His entire body language screamed confidence at that point in time. But rack eight had Hofmann with no ball down on his break. That was probably the last chance for Maciol to try and go for a comeback. But he made a mistake when he pocketed the second-last ball of his group. He touched one of his opponent’s balls and closed the way for his last ball to the pocket. He attempted a one-rail shot but failed. The writing was on the wall. Hofmann cleared one more time and won the match and the title very convincingly with 7:1.
Top Eight Finishers
1. Patrick Hofmann (GER)
2. Daniel Maciol (POL)
3. Mark Mägi (EST)
Taifun Teber (GER)
5. Michael Schneider (SUI)
Federico Amendola (ITA)
Kamin Szaszor (POL)
Krystian Cwikla (POL)
The match between Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Wiktor Zielinski (POL) was an exciting thriller - as always. In straight pool, Zielinski defeated Pehlivanovic in the semi-final and went on to claim the title. In 10-ball, Pehlivanovic won the final over Zielinski 6:5. And today, the score was again 5:5 after ten racks. Pehlivanovic had the break shot in rack eleven and he had a ball down. The pressure was almost unbearable for him but he kept calm. The layout was anything but easy. But Pehlivanovic mastered it in a Champion-like fashion and took the final rack with 6:5.
Top Eight Finishers
1. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH)
2. Wiktor Zielinski (POL)
3. Leon Kohl (GER)
Kasper Ostlund (SWE)
5. Jan van Lierop (NED)
Mustafa Alnar (TNC)
Giulio D’Egido (ITA)
Mickey Krause (DEN)
The final match in the Girls division was once again a one man show. Kristina Tkach could not be stopped at anytime by her teammate Dina Fatikhova (RUS) and demonstrated her power in the match. 5:1 was the clear final result in favor of Tkach who claimed her second title this week.
Top Six Finishers
1. Kristina Tkach (RUS)
2. Dina Fatikhova (RUS)
3. Diana Khodjaeva (BEL)
Pia Blaeser (GER)
5. Jana Peters (GER)
Palina Chernik (BLR)
The Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches in the team competition. At 14:00 local time, event switches back to 9-ball individuals.
THE DYNAMIC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - YOUTH
Said Raheem (NOR)
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9-ball competition in full swing
The 9-ball individuals have started today at the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth in Tirana, Albania. Action-packed matches could be viewed with several surprises already.
In the Under 19’s, unheralded Sajid Raheem (NOR) managed to turn the tide in his match against favored Kamil Szaszor (POL) and win it with 8:5. Last year, Szaszor won the silver medal in the Under 17’s 9-ball. It is his first year in the Under 19 category. The match started quite convenient for him. He took a nice 4:2 lead over Raheem. But then the Norwegian hung in there and pulled rack after rack from Szaszor who looked a bit surprised. Raheem played rock solid and did not commit many mistakes. He even over took Szaszor and allowed him only one more rack in the match, winning this encounter with 8:5. Then, Raheem went on and took down Nooa Oksala (FIN) also with 8:5. This puts him through to the single elimination stage of the final 32 players. He is joined there by Daniel Maciol (POL). Maciol who won the 9-ball in the Under 17’s last year, defeated Jaran Gelin Rysjedal (NOR) 8:3 in the first round. Then he had to deal with last year’s runner-up Michael Schneider (SUI). What was expected to be a tough fight turned out into a one-man-show for Maciol. He did not leave a chance for Schneider and took the match 8:4. Another surprising name in the list of the last 32 players is Tayfun Teber (GER). He got the better of newly crowned straight pool Champion and teammate Patrick Hofmann (GER) 8:6 and then wiped the floor with Pascal Kettenhummer (AUT) 8:3. Russian junior star player Maksim Dudanets (RUS) wasted no time in his first two matches today and consecutively trounced Enea Shytaj (ALB) 8:1 just to then hand a doughnut to Edoardo Mele (ITA) 8:0!
In the Under 17’s, the „usual suspects“ have made their way to the single elimination stage. Names like Wiktor Zielinski (POL), Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH), Kestutis Zadeikis (LIT) and Fedor Gorst (RUS), just to name a few, can be found in the list of the final 32 players remaining. There have not been surprises in this category in 9-ball so far. The toughest encounter was probably the match between Jan van Lierop (NED) and Fedor Gorst. It went hill-hill. It was Gorst’s break then. He had the 7-ball down on the break and a shot at the 1-ball. He came up with a brilliant safety shot and gave van Lierop something to think about. The Dutch tried to hit the 1-ball but he fouled and gave ball-in-hand to Gorst. The Russian played another great safety and once again, van Lierop committed a foul. This time the cue ball scratched. Worst went for the maximum penalty and played a third great safety shot. Van Lierop could not hit the 1-ball again, made his third consecutive foul in the match and therefore lost the rack and the match 6:7. What a cruel way to lose a hill-hill match.
In the girls division, defending Champion Kristina Tkach (RUS) had unusually much to do with Laura Hartikainen (FIN). However, 6:4 was the final result in favor of the Russian. Last year’s silver medallist, Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) also took her match 6:2 over Roxanne Overeem (LUX) in the first round. She will face Pia Blaeser (GER) who defeated her yesterday in 8-ball. Blaeser took down My Nguyen (SWE) 6:0 in round one.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth will continue today with the 8-ball semifinals to be played at 17:00 local time. The finals are scheduled for 19:00.
THE DYNAMIC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - YOUTH
Pia Blaeser (GER)
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Blaeser wins over Khodjaeva in a heartbreaker
The 8-ball competition at the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth in Tirana, Albania, provided one exciting thriller in the girls competition today. Pia Blaeser GER) defeated Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) in a close match with 5:4.
The score was 2:2 after four racks, both contestants lived up to their and their team leader's expectations with their performances. Khodjaeva being the defending Champion of course was favored. And indeed she went on and took the next two consecutive racks and went on the hill with 4:2, putting immense pressure on Blaeser. Things seemed to work for her, Blaeser committed a mistake and Khodjaeva ran the table until she got to the 8-ball. She overdid the position a little bit but the side pocket was still available for her in a direct shot. But she chose to go over one rail, hit the knuckle of the side pocket and the 8-ball fell in the corner pocket which brought Blaeser back to 3:4. The next rack was a break and run by Blaeser and suddenly the tide had turned in the match. 4:4 was the score with Khodjaeva to break in the final and decisive 9th rack. She remained dry off her break shot and left an open table for Blaeser. This time the German went for the table and soon had the 8-ball in front of her cue stick. But it was a long and thin cut and she decided to attempt a one rail shot into the corner pocket. She missed and left seven open balls for Khodjaeva. The defending Champion once again ran all balls but fell out of position for her last striped ball. She needed to go over one rail into the side pocket again and again missed the shot. She left a long shot for Blaeser who went ahead and made it, winning the match 5:4 over Khodjaeva. Blaeser is through to the semi-finals now while Khodjaeva needed another win on the loser’s side. There, she defeated Jana Peters (GER) 5:3 in the loser’s qualification round. The other player in the semi-final is Kristina Tkach (RUS) who defeated Palina Chernik (BLR) quite clearly 5:1. Chernik then lost 1:5 to Dina Fatihova (RUS) in the loser’s bracket.
Other remarkable results from today include Michael Schneider (SUI) eliminating Maksim Dudanets (RUS) in the Under 19’s with 7:5. IN the next round, the quarter-final, Schneider fell to the sharp blade of Germany’s Patrick Hofmann (GER) 3:7. Krystian Cwikla (POL) ousted Joey Haegmans (NED) 7:4. In the Under 17’s, defending Champion Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) met Dutchman Jan van Lierop (NED) in the quarter-finals. The match turned into a hill-hill thriller with the better end for Sanjin Pehlivanovic who won 6:5 since he ran out the final rack. Wiktor Zielinski (POL) managed once again to defeat his all-time rival Fedor Gorst (RUS) 6:5 in an exciting encounter.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with the first matches of the 9-ball competition. At 17:00 local time, the semifinals of the 8-ball will be played with the finals scheduled for 19:00 local time.
The Championships are 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.epconline.eu, visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
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