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Monday-Tuesday 8-16 August 2016
Sandor Tot, Alex Habo, Csaba Nagy (left to right)
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Hungary grabs the Gold in teams
Team Hungary triumphed 2:0 over Team Portugal at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in Tirana, Albania, tonight.
The final match between Hungary and defending Champions Portugal was pretty close at all time. The following line-up was on after the team captains had announced their players:
10-ball
Sandor Tot v Henrique Correia
8-ball
Alex Habo v Antonio Neves
9-ball
Csaba Nagy v Manuel Pereira
This team match was as thrilling as not many before. The first match finished was Nagy who managed to unexpectedly defeat Pereira very clearly with 8:4 in 9-ball. Pereira was definitely favored in this particular match but Nagy performed very high class pool. At that time, Tot was 6:6 with Correia and at the table.
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The match had been close at all times with Tot taking a small lead over Correia. However, the Portuguese was always abel to make it back and that lead to the hill-hill situation with Tot having the break shot in rack 13. At that time, Habo was 6:3 up on Neves. Tot stood the pressure and performed a perfect break and run at the table, winning the 10-ball 7:6 over Portuguese super star Henrique Correia. That brought the victory and the title to team Hungary who have dethroned the Portuguese today.
Semi-final results:
Hungary v The Netherlands 2:0
Portugal v Germany 2:0
Top Six Teams:
1. Hungary
2. Portugal
3. Germany
Portugal
5. Denmark
Italy
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET on the final day with matches of the 9-ball individuals. In the seniors division, the last 16 single elimination round will be played. In the ladies division, the loser’s qualification round is on at 09:00.
SUNDAY 14 AUGUST 2016 - AM REPORT
Henrique Correia (top) and Maciej Trudnowski
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Correia straight on track for title defence
Henrique Correia (POR), defending Champion in the seniors 9-ball individuals, has reached the round of the last 16 players by eliminating Maciej Trudnowski (POL) 8:2 from the roster.
It turned out to be a walk in the park for Correia. His Polish opponent gave him some kind of resistance in the beginning of the match only. Leading 3:1 and 4:2, Correia wasted no time with Trudnowski and demonstrated his domination at the table. Trudnowski took a time out trailing 2:6 to Correia but that did not support his game nor did it influence Correia in any way, shape or form. The Portuguese collected the needed two racks after the time out and took a well deserved 8:2 victory over Trudnowski. Correia will play Jan Keller (DEN) in the round of the last 16 players standing while Trudnowski has to settle for 17th. Keller ousted Sami Karttunen (FIN) 8:1.
Other remarkable results from today include Sandor Tot (HUN) triumphing 8:4 over Kostas Konnaris (CYP). Tot will encounter Jim Telfer (NED) in the next round who clobbered Giorgio Margola (ITA) 8:3. Vegar Kristiansen (NOR) also still has a word to say regarding the 9-ball event. He won 8:2 over Gabor Erdelyi (HUN) and will play Piergiovanni Davy (ITA) next who defeated Fabio Petroni (ITA) 8:6. The round of the last 16 players will be played tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET.
In the ladies division, Karin Michl (GER) secured her next medal here in Tirana. She got the better of Cristina Moscetti (ITA) in the winner’s qualification round and will now wait for an opponent. Moscetti needs to battle it out with Ulrika Andersson (SWE) for a spot among the top four ladies in 9-ball. The other lady in the semi-final already is Tuuliina Panula (FIN) who just made it over Susanne Wessel (GER) 5:4. Wessel will need a victory over Patrizia Ignesti (ITA) to book a seat in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Today, the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies continue with the semi-finals and the final of the team competition. The final match is scheduled for 19:00 CET.
SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 2016 - PM REPORT
Ulrika Andersson and Sanne Azar
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8-ball titles go to Sweden
Ulrika Andersson and Sanne Azar (both SWE) take the Gold Medals at the 8-ball individuals of the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in Tirana, Albania.
Sanne Azar defeated Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) in the final of the seniors with 7:5. The match was filled with ups and downs on both sides. In the beginning, the show was 100% on Azar’s side. He was on fire and left no chance to Wirsbitzki who had problems in getting started at all. After four racks, the score was 4:0 in favor of Azar. Then, Wirsbitzki got some momentum and managed to put Azar under pressure. The German won three consecutive racks and Azar could feel the tension rising. Then, it was Azar’s match again. He won two racks and got to the hill with 6:3. But Wirsbitzki is a fighter. He hung in there and won another two points to once again come close to Azar. Being 5:6 down, Wirsbitzki scratched on his own break. That was enough of a chance for Azar to finish the match and take the crown over his German opponent with 7:5.
Semi-final results:
Sanne Azar (SWE) v Sami Karttunen (FIN) 7:6
Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER) v Alex Habo (HUN) 7:2
Top Eight 8-ball Seniors:
1. Sanne Azar (SWE)
2. Reiner Wirsbitzki (GER)
3. Alex Habo (HUN)
Sami Karttunen (FIN)
5. Gianluca Boni (ITA)
Frank Forster (GER)
Jan Keller (DEN)
Janick Navne (DEN)
The final match in the ladies division was determined by a hue comeback from Ulrika Andersson. Germany’s Susanne Wessel was already leading 3:1 which is a comfortable advantage in a race to 5. In rack five, Andersson broke and scratched on the break shot which gave Wessel ball in hand with an open table. It was expected that she went on the hill but she missed the second-last ball of her group. Trailing 1:3, Andersson pocketed some balls and played a clever safety shot which forced Wessel to commit a foul. Andersson ran the remaining balls and the comeback started. She pulled rack after rack from Wessel who lost her game completely. She missed shots and fell out of position big time. On the other hand, Andersson got better and better and in the end took a deserved 5:3 victory to gain the first title in her career in the ladies division.
Semi-final results:
Ulrika Andersson (SWE) v Cristina Moscetti (ITA) 5:3
Susanne Wessel (GER) v Patrizia Ignesti (ITA) 5:2
Top Six 8-ball Ladies:
1. Ulrika Andersson (SWE)
2. Susanne Wessel (GER)
3. Patrizia Ignesti (ITA)
Cristina Moscetti (ITA)
5. Monika Jarecki (GER)
Karin Michl (GER)
The Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies will continue tomorrow morning at 09:00 CET with matches of the 9-ball individuals.
SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 2016 - AM REPORT
Sami Karttunen (left) and Tom Bjerke
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Karttunen bests Bjerke in first round of 9-ball
In the first round of the 9-ball individuals at the Dynamic Billard European Championships for Seniors and Ladies in Tirana, Albania, Sami Karttunen (FIN) bested Tom Bjerke (NOR) 8:4.
The 9-ball individuals have started today in Tirana in the seniors as well as the ladies division. 77 seniors and 14 ladies are doing their best to get a shot at the coveted title of the European Champion. In the seniors division, Sami Karttunen encountered Tom Bjerke. Karttunen broke the first rack but came up dry on the break shot. Bjerke cleared the table and opened his account with 1:0. He took the next two racks as well to gain a nice 3:0 lead over Karttunen. The Finish did not get started yet and it looked like he had missed the beginning of the match completely. However, after 5 racks the score was 4:1 in favor of Bjerke. Suddenly Karttunen gained momentum and pulled back racks from Bjerke who seemed to be surprised by the „awakening“ of his opponent. Three racks later, the scoreboard displayed a 4:4 tie in the match. From then on, Bjerke could not find his form from the beginning of the match. His safety shots were not good, he missed balls and ran out of position. That all allowed Karttunen to take rack after rack and in the end waltz quite easily into the next round on the winner’s side, taking the match 8:4. The next match with Tom Damm (GER) however stopped Karttunen’s flow on a dime. He lost 6:8 and finds himself now on the left side of the draw just like Bjerke who lost his second match in a row to Thomas Radakovits (AUT) 3:8 and is now terminated from the 9-ball individuals.
Other remarkable results from today include defending Champion Henrique Correia (POR) routing Marko Hartikainen (FIN) 8:3 in his opening match in winner’s round 1. Maciej Trudnowski (POL) took down Jesper Schmidt (DEN) 8:5 and will next encounter Jan Keller (DEN) for a spot among the last 32 players single elimination.
In the ladies division, Karin Michl (GER) demolished Barbara Bolfelli (ITA) 5:0. Ann Sofie Löfgren (SWE) got the better of Monika Jarecki (GER) 5:2. Nathalie Rohmer (nothing) made it over Anne Nieminen (FIN) with 5:2 and will now deal with Cristina Moscetti (ITA) who had a walk-over in the first round.
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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