Tirana Expo Center
Rruga Gjergj Balsha Nr. 6
1029
Tirana
Albania
www.tiranaexpocentre.com
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Friday-Sunday 5-7 August 2016
Kristina Tkach and Mateusz Sniegocki
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Tkach and Sniegocki win the Euro-Tour
Kristina Tkach (RUS) and Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) just snatched the titles of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open and the women’s tournament in Tirana, Albania.
The final match between Sniegocki and Joshua Filler (GER) was not as close as predicted. In an interview before the match, both played showed immense respect for the other one and they both agreed that the match will become a close affair. But it turned out that Sniegocki was a bit better in the final than Filler. Though they both did not commit too many mistakes, Sniegocki solved the tricky situations better than Filler and handled them more efficiently. This gave him an advantage over his German opponent which in the end lead to a clear 9:4 victory for Sniegocki.
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Final Eight
1. Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
2. Joshua Filler (GER)
3. Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL)
5. Mark Gray (GBR)
David Alcaide (ESP)
Marcus Chamat (SWE)
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL)
In the Women Open, Kristina Tkach defeated Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) in the final match with 7:4. Tkach has had a brilliant two weeks here in Albania so far. Last week, she won all three disciplines (8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball) in the girls division of the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth. She took 100% of what she could have taken. Additionally, she added another victory now to her account with the Albanian Women Open. „I know it looks quite easy when you see my titles only,“ Kristina said in an interview after the final, „but believe me I really work hard for it.“ „Talent is one thing. I do have talent, but I also think that I practice more than most of the other players“, added Tkach. The 17-year-old Russian now belongs to the creme de la creme of European Women Pool and she will definitely be part of future final matches.
Final Eight
1. Kristina Tkach (RUS)
2. Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL)
3. Diana Khodjaeva (BEL)
Nataliya Seroshtan
5. Monika Zabek (POL)
Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER)
Ina Kaplan (GER)
Ine Helvik (NOR)
That concludes the coverage of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open Euro-Tour and Albanian Women Open. Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will commence in Tirana. Competition starts at 09:00 CET with first round matches from the seniors straight pool competition.
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will be 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 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.europeanpoolchampionships.eu , visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
SUNDAY 7 AUGUST 2016 - AM REPORT
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Favorites fall on judgment day in Tirana
The Dynamic Billard Albanian Open provided us with several surprises and upsets today already. One of the biggest upsets was the elimination of World 9-Ball Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) through „The Napoleon“ Marcus Chamat (SWE) with 7:9.
At 7:7, the match was in the „hot“ phase. Ouschan’s break was up and the World Champion had a ball down but the break was illegal since only one other ball crossed the head string. everything was nicely spread out on the slate for Chamat and he did not let this chance pass by. He cleared the table and went on the hill 8:7 with his own break shot coming up. Two balls disappeared in the pockets and the break was perfect. He could have gone all the way already but he played a bad position on the 4-ball. So he came up with a good safety shot and a no-chance position for Ouschan. The Austrian avoided a foul and left a tough but possible shot for Chamat. One more time, Chamat came up with a good safety solution. This time, Ouschan attempted a jump shot but did not pocket the 4-ball. Instead, he left a shot for Chamat. The Swede now cleared the rack and won the match 9:7, sending Albin Ouschan home.
But not only the current World Champion is on his way home already. Also the current Euro-Tour leader, Mark Gray (GBR) got terminated. He really received a whipping by Joshua Filler (GER). Whereas Gray was able to send Filler to the loser’s side yesterday afternoon with 9:5, today there was no chance at all for Gray. Filler played rock solid, self-confident as can be and smashed Gray 9:2. Filler will be up against Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the first semi-final of the day. Chinakhov overpowered Wiktor Zielinski (POL) 9:2 and then ousted David Alcaide (ESP) 9:5 to get his spot in the semi-final against Filler.
The other semi-final will be an all-Polish affair between Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) and Wojciech Szewczyk (POL). Sniegocki ended the hopes of Chamat 9:3 while Szewczyk remained the upper hand over teammate Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) 9:4.
Semi-final lineups:
14:30
Joshua Filler v Ruslan Chinakhov
16:00
Mateusz Sniegocki v Wojciech Szewczyk
The final match is scheduled for 19:00 CET.
In the Albanian Women Open, Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS) squeezed past Monika Zabek (POL) with 7:6 after having trailed 2:4 and 4:6 in the match. Seroshtan will play Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL) who defeated Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER) 7:4. The other semi-final will be held between Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) and Kristina Tkach (RUS). Khodjaeva ousted Ina Kaplan (GER) 7:5 in the quarters while Tkach took down Ine Helvik (NOR) with the same result. The semi-finals will both be played at 14:30 with the final match scheduled for 17:30 CET.
Semi-final lineups:
14:30
Nataliya Seroshtan v
Diana Khodjaeva v Kristina Tkach
SATURDAY 6 AUGUST 2016 - PM REPORT
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German wonderkid Filler knocks Immonen for eight
Joshua Filler (GER), the German wonderkid, just defeated Mika Immonen (FIN) in the single elimination round of the last 32 players of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open in Tirana, Albania, with 9:7.
The result of the match is definitely a surprise but not yet the biggest story about the match. Also the pure fact that Filler won against Immonen in itself is not the biggest upset here. The major surprise of the match is the fact how Filler managed to triumph over Immonen. After eight racks played, Immonen was leading 7:1 (!) over Filler and just needed two more racks to waltz into the round of the last 16 players tomorrow. But then the match turned 180 degrees. Filler did not miss any more shots while Immonen started making mistakes. He scratched while playing a push-out, ran out of position and hooked himself up behind the wrong ball and left safety situations for Filler that the young German was able to run-out. What could hardly be believed became bitter reality for Immonen in this match. Filler succeeded in turning the match around, tore eight consecutive racks off Immonen and left the slate as the winner with a final result of 9:7. Filler will now face Nick van den Berg (NED) in the round of the final 16 players tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET. The Dutch just managed to stay alive in the field in squeaking past Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 9:8.
More surprising results happened in the round of the last 32 players tonight. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) who already eliminated Ralf Souquet (GER) one round earlier got the better of Mats Schjetne (NOR) and sneaked through with 9:8. The last remaining Albanian player, Eklent Kaci (ALB), out of the blue ousted EPBF Player of the Year 2015 Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (ESP) 9:6 and keeps his hopes alive for a high finish in the tournament on his home soil. 15-year-old Polish player Wiktor Zielinski (POL) continues his good performance from last week at the Youth European Championships. He sent former Mosconi-Cup player Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) home with 9:5 and will now face Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the next round. Spanish stellar player David Alcaide (ESP) made short work with former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) and took him down with 9:3 in a single sided match. Tomorrow Alcaide will be up against Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) who eliminated Joao Grilo (POR) from the event with 9:8
Last 16 Players Single Elimination Lineups
Mark Gray (GBR) v Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP)
Joshua Filler (GER) v Nick van den Berg (NED)
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) v David Alcaide (ESP)
Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) v Wiktor Zielinski (POL)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) v Marcus Chamat (SWE)
Eklent Kaci (ALB) v Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) v Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) v Niels Feijen (NED)
In the Women Albanian Open, the quarterfinalists who made their way through the winner’s round are Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS), Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER), Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) and Kristina Tkach (RUS). They are waiting for the winners from the following matches:
Losers Qualifikation Round
Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) v Monika Zabek (POL)
Claudia von Rohr (SUI) v Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL)
Ina Kaplan (GER) v Melanie Suessenguth (GER)
Pia Blaeser (GER) v Ine Helvik (NOR)
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open will continue at 10:00 local time with matches from the last 16 single elimination. The Women Albanian Open will commence at the same time with matches from the loser’s qualification round.
SATURDAY 6 AUGUST 2016 - AM REPORT
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Gray notched a victory over Filler
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 (nothing) 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.
FRIDAY 5 AUGUST 2016 - PM REPORT
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He was pipped to the post by Zaja
Edmond Zaja (ALB), local hero from Albania, managed to triumph over the winner of the last Euro-Tour event, the Dynamic Billard North Cyprus Open, Mario He (AUT) with the closest of all results, 9:8.
Winner’s round two brought the biggest upset to the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open so far. Mario He, overall ranked #6 in the Euro-Tour rankings and just coming back from the World 9-Ball Championships in Doha, Qatar, encountered a supposedly „easy“ opponent in his second match. But Edmond Zaja was not going to fulfill this expectation. Even when he trailed to He 0:3 after three racks, the Albanian stood tall and tried to close the gap between the two. To the surprise of the audience, Zaja took the next five racks in a row, turning the scoreboard to 5:3 in his favor. Maybe that was a wakeup-call for He. The Austrian now took two racks and tied the match at 5:5. From then on, they took racks in turn with no-one gaining any advantage over the other player. Of course, the match went to 8:8 and rack number 17 had to decide the winner. It was Zaja’s break. He had the 8-ball down and a shot at the 1-ball, but he was not able to pocket the 1-ball. He played a safety shot and hid the cue ball behind the 6-ball. He attempted a very risky jump-shot, hit the 1-ball and almost made it in the corner pocket. But he left it hanging there for Zaja. The Albanian got back to the slate with eight open balls in front of him. He ran them until he came to the 6-ball. The position for the 6-ball was a bit thin and the 9-ball was lying close to it. Zaja pocketed the 6-ball but got no position for the 7-ball. However, the cue ball struck the 9-ball while he pocketed the 6-ball and the 9-ball fell in the corner pocket over two rails. What an unfortunate ending for He on the winner’s side. Zara will now encounter Mateusz Sniegocki (POL) tomorrow in the winner’s qualification round at 14:00 CET. Sniegocki defeated Damianos Giallourakis (GRE) 9:2 and Mark Magi (EST) 9:3 today to book his seat in the match. He needs three more victories to qualify for the single elimination stage of the final 32 players.
Other remarkable results from today include Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) winning 9:7 over Alexander Kazakis (GRE). Mark Gray (GBR) won his match in winner’s round two over Eklent Kaci (ALB) 9:5. Mika Immonen (FIN) barely squeaked through with a 9:8 over Joao Grilo (POR). Nick van den Berg (NED) whitewashed Aykin Burcu (TNC) 9:0.
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open will continue at 09:00 local time with matches from loser’s round 2. Additionally, the Women Albanian Open will commence at the same time.
FRIDAY 5 AUGUST - AM REPORT
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Ouschan takes first blood in Tirana
In his first match at the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open in Tirana, Albania, newly crowned World 9-Ball Champion Albin Ouschan (AUT) took first blood with 9:6 over Jani Siekkinen (FIN).
Having just arrived this morning from Doha, Qatar, where he won the title of the World 9-ball Champion, Albin Ouschan had to be on duty again at 14:00 local time and cross swords with Jani Siekkinen in the Euro-Tour. The match started slow and Siekkinen got a small lead. When Ouschan had the chance to tie the match at 3:3, he even missed an easy 9-ball and allowed Siekkinen to gain a two-rack lead over him with 4:2. The audience was curious whether Ouschan had not yet overcome his travel exertions and whether he was able to bring his level of play on the table today. But that lack of concentration turned out to be a one off thing. In the rest of the match, the World Champion got more and more focussed and improved his performance step by step. After having trailed 3:5 in the match, Ouschan left not many chances anymore for Siekkinen. To the contrary, the Finish missed a few important shots and seemed to show some nervousness. That is a kind of weakness that one should not show when playing a heavyweight like Ouschan. The Austrian cruel-heartedly punished the mistakes from Siekkinen and finally took the match quite convincingly with 9:6.
Other remarkable results from today’s matches include Imran Majid (GBR) teaching a lesson to Dimitri Jungo (SUI) 9:1. Alen Muratovic (BIH), first medal winner for his country three years ago at the European Youth Championships, defeated Euro’s ranked #26 Daniel Tangudd (SWE) unexpectedly with 9:7. Tour leader Mark Gray (GBR) wasted no time with unrated local player Arenc Norja (ALB) and overpowered him with 9:1. The all-Polish matchup between Piotr Kudlik and Mieszko Fortunski went 9:8 in favor of Fortunski. Euro-Tour’s #6, Mario He (AUT) had a lot of work to do against young Andreas Madsen (DEN). After a tough fight and 16 exhausting racks, He was the winner with a close result of 9:7 only.
Another favorite who had to struggle more than he liked was BCA Hall of Famer Ralf Souquet (GER). He had to deal with 16-year-old Osman Sanlisoy (TNC). What looked like a walk in the park for Souquet before the match turned into a nightmare for the German legend. After 14 racks, Souquet was with one foot in the grave, trailing 6:8 against Sanlisoy. With his own break coming up, he needed to win three consecutive racks in order to stay on the winner’s side. But he had no ball down on his break. Sanlisoy attempted a safety shot but left the 1-ball open for Souquet. The German cleared the table to get to 7:8. Rack 16 was opened by Sanlisoy then. He had a good break shot but the lowest numbered ball was a very tough thin cut. He attempted it and missed. He left a really tough shot for Souquet who actually made it into the pocket and cleared the table again, leveling the match hill-hill at 8:8. Now the advantage was on Souquet’s side. He had his own break shot coming up and took the last two racks off Sanlisoy. The pressure was strained to the breaking point. This time Souquet played a cut break and succeeded in pocketing the 1-ball in the side pocket. Three other balls broke the kitchen line so the break was legal and he also had a long shot at the 2-ball. He played a safety shot and left no other chance to Sanlisoy than leaving him a shot. Souquet took the chance and sneaked over the winning-line, winning the match 9:8 over strong Osman Sanlisoy.
Today between 19:00 and 20:00 local time, EPBF will go LIVE on Facebook with and interview of Albin Ouschan and others. Spectators are asked to interact with the video.
PREVIEW
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On the eve of the Euro-Tour, players are pouring in
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open Euro-Tour will start in Tirana, Albania, at the Expo Center. Today, most of the 150 contestants in the main field are touching down in Tirana, Albania, and practice at one of the 24 tables that are prepared for the event’s start already.
This tournament is the third of five consecutive events here in Tirana. After the Dynamic Billard European Championships Youth and the qualifier for the World Cup of Pool, it is now Euro-Tour time here. On Saturday, the Women’s Euro-Tour will be launched and both final matches will be played on Sunday.
Players in the open event include most of the top 50 ranked players from Europe. From Friday onwards, they will compete and give their best to overcome their respective opponents. Today however, there was a moment of community feeling when most players gathered in front of the TV screen which normally displays the score of table one. EPBF had converted it into a real TV and players were keeping their fingers crossed for fellow tour player Albin Ouschan who was at that very moment fighting for the title in far away Doha, Qatar, at the WPA World 9-Ball Championships. Some of the players that were watching have arrived from Doha themselves only today or yesterday. In the moment when Ouschan defeated Shane van Boening from South Dakota, United States, with 13:7, everybody in the room stood up and cheered for Albin, showing him the utmost respect for his achievement. Albin will jump on a plane after the award ceremony in Doha and fly to Tirana where he will be expected tomorrow. So he can make his appearance here at the Euro-Tour with his brand new title under his belt and probably receive many congratulations from the players, staff and crew around here.
One feature that will be tried out here is the free LIVE and interactive broadcast over the EPBF Facebook page. Every day between 19:00 and 20:00 local time, we will be online LIVE with different items. We might show you extracts of matches, have interviews with players about their games or get their opinions on other sport-related matters. Since this new feature is very interactive and user-friendly, we will also be looking forward for many users to comment on our shows, send in their questions and ideas or come up with questions for the different pros that take part in the tournament here. We will also respond to LIVE comments and questions as appropriate.
The Euro-Tour will be 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 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.eurotouronline.com, 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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