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Euro Tour Men - Sanchez Ruiz Claims Third Euro Tour Crown

A Pro9 - Europe's No.1 Pool Player Resource Article

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Date: Monday, August 08 2022 @ 07:03:10 UTC
Topic: EuroTour



Euro Tour Men / Dynamic Billard Petrich Open
Presented by Bulgarian Billiard Federation

Petrich Arena – Sports Hall
Str. Oborishte 3
2850 Petrich
Bulgaria
www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour - facebook - live stream
www.arenapetrich.com

Saturday - Monday 6-8 August 2022


Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (Spain) - Three time champion
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Sanchez Ruiz Claims Third Euro Tour Crown

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF


FRANCISCO SANCHEZ RUIZ is the Dynamic Billard Petrich Open champion after another blistering display as he beat Klenti Kaci 9 – 6 in a high-quality final at the Petrich Arena in the southern Bulgarian town. Having won his maiden title in Lasko, Slovenia in August last year, he followed that up just ten weeks later, winning the Antalya Open for back-to-back titles.

He took a runners-up spot to Niels Feijen last time out in Austria and now completes a hat-trick of wins on the prestigious Euro Tour. The final was a pulsating affair with both players at the tops of their respective games and in the end, it was very small margins that separated them.

Sanchez-Ruiz was thrilled with his third Tour title, “I feel very excited. This year I’m playing really good and with so much confidence but to be honest in the final I was a little bit lucky but I took my chances and I’m really happy.

“My first Euro Tour was in Lasko and after that everything changed in my mind with that win and I can’t wait for the next tournament. Sometimes I play fast, especially with the shot clock where you must do but this year I’m playing really good and feel so confident every time I play. I don’t really feel too much pressure so let’s see what happens during the rest of the year,” he concluded.



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The match got underway as Kaci won the lag. There was a little back and forth safety before the Albanian ran out for the early lead. They shared the next two with run outs from the break and another one from Sanchez Ruiz levelled the score at 2-2.

The Spaniard took the first rack against the break to move into a 3-2 lead as a missed 2 ball down the rail from Kaci left it hanging over the pocket. It was Sanchez Ruiz turn to miss in the next as a difficult long 2 ball, cueing off rail, failed to find the pocket and Kaci took the opportunity.

A terrific safety battle in the seventh game saw Sanchez Ruiz leave the 1 ball on which Kaci disposed of and subsequently ran out to restore his one-rack lead. Normal service was resumed in the next game as Sanchez Ruiz ran out from the break to move the score to 4-4.

Kaci made three balls on break in the next but his safety left the 3 ball on. Sanchez Ruiz potted it but saw the cue ball fall into the middle pocket and with ball in hand, the Albanian cleared to move into a 5-4 lead.

An accurate snooker from Sanchez Ruiz saw his opponent escape but leave the 4 ball on and he duly pocketed it and ran out to put them back on level terms. It was break-neck stuff and when a loose safety from Kaci left the 2 ball on, Sanchez Ruiz took it and cleared up to take the lead again at 6-5 up.

A run out from the break from both players saw the score go to 7-6 in favour of the Spanish player. A miss from Kaci, attempting a shot-to-nothing, allowed Sanchez Ruiz to move to the hill and breaking to save the match, Kaci was forced to use his jump stick with the cue ball corralled in the corner behind the 6 ball. He made connection with the 1 ball but failed to pocket it and Sanchez Ruiz was a difficult table away from victory. He worked through the balls with precision and took down his third Euro Tour title.

Kaci wasn’t disappointed with his showing, “I broke good but just didn’t have many shots after the break and he had more than me. I was a game up then he went a game up and I had my chance at 7-6 to go 7-7 – I had a two-way shot but just didn’t really spin the ball and that was it. I’ve been playing good but it doesn’t matter sometimes – you play good but you still lose but the confidence is always there.”

The Dynamic Billards Euro Tour reconvenes from 1st to 3rd October with the Slovenian Open taking place in Lasko.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.

Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/draw-results/


Alexander Kazakis (Greece)
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Alexander Kazakis (Greece)
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DAY TWO






Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (Spain)
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Down To The Final Four At Petrich Open

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF


AFTER A HECTIC day’s play at the Petrich Arena in southern Bulgaria, we are down to the final four players. With a slightly altered schedule to take into account the start of the European Open, there were four rounds of play on the losers’ side of the bracket, one winners’ qualification round and then the last 32 played down to just four players who will return on Monday afternoon to contest the business end of the tournament.

And it is some of the big names of European pool who will gunning for the trophy as Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz takes on Alexander Kazakis and then Eklent Kaci goes up against Mario He.

For Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, it will be his sixth Euro Tour semi-final in a little over 13 months and he seems to be in unstoppable form going into the last four. He defeated Kuwait’s Abdullah Alyousef 9-5 to secure his berth in tomorrow evenings line-up.

Commented the Spaniard, “It feels so good and I feel so confident, and also so confident with my break which is working and I’m really happy with my performance. I’ll stay focused just on my game and tomorrow is the semi-final and I prefer to take it game-by-game.

“I had a few moments today; against Spasov of Bulgaria, the score was close and also the quarter-final was close. It was 5-5 and in the end I won it but it’s always tough. I’ll be trying my best but my focus is on the semi-final.”

Alexander Kazakis enjoyed a 9-3 victory over Miesko Fortunski to book his last four match against Sanchez-Ruiz, a game he is relishing.

“I’m really happy with my performance. I played four matches today and in all matches I played almost perfect and also, I had all the rolls on my side so you can’t ask for anything else! Francisco is having a great year and it all started for him when he won his first Euro Tour against me in the final last year.

“He won hill-hill and played really well and deserved it and after that he was just smashing everything. But every day is a different day and I’m going to try to do my thing, he’s going to try and do his thing and whoever has the most rolls and plays the best will win.”

It turned into an endurance test for Albania’s Eklent Kaci, who went to the one-loss side after his opening game of the tournament. That meant a busy schedule and today he came through an incredible six matches, capping it with a 9-5 quarter-final win over David Alcaide.

He said, “I was just trying play each match as it came. Six matches are a lot but I just tried to keep it going; win this one, then on to the next one and just keep moving forward. I got a bit sleepy and was travelling around the table just to stay awake. But to be honest I shot good – I made a couple of mistakes through tiredness I think but the important thing is that I’m in the semi-final and playing tomorrow.”

He will be facing Austria’s Mario He who is hoping for his first Euro Tour title since the heady days of 2018 when he triumphed twice that year. He sneaked over the line in his quarter-final match, beating Oliver Szolnoki 9-8.

Commented He, “I’m happy that I’m in the semis but I didn’t play my best game and didn’t break that well. I have to fight with myself a little bit. I feel like I need more motivation and will-to-win. I’m just a little bit easy and not caring too much and that’s usually not who I am. Tomorrow I’m going to try and get myself motivated. I need to improve my break, keep playing good and win my next Euro Tour, hopefully.”

Play continues 17:00 on Monday 8th on one table with the two semi-finals playing consecutively followed by the final at 20:00.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. In addition, the semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands)
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
B1B Box – Bulgaria

Results, live scoring and draw are available at
www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/draw-results/


Alexander Kazakis (Greece)
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Eklent Kaci (Abania)
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Huidje See (Austria)
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DAY ONE






Oliver Szolnoki (HUN)

Dynamic Billard Euro Tour Men - Day One Complete At Petrich Open

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF


THE FIRST DAY is complete at the Dynamic Billard Petrich Open in Bulgaria as 157 players set forth on their quest for the fourth Euro Tour title of the year. With just the semi-finals and final taking place on the final day, Monday, there are a lot of matches to get through and it certainly pays to stay on the winners’ side of the draw.

Big name players still standing with no defeats to their names include Joshua Filler, Niels Feijen, Alexander Kazakis, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Wiktor Zielinski, Mario He, Sanjin Pehlivanovic and Dennis Grabe.

One young player who won three from three today was the Netherland’s 17-year-old Yannick Pongers. The Dutchman has already enjoyed a wonderful stay in Petrich having won two golds – 8-ball and 9-ball – at the recently completed European Pool Championships for Youth, and he started where he left off with three wins from three including a victory over Klenti Kaci which wasn’t without some controversy.

Commented Yannick, “It was a very good day for me. In fact, it was the first Euro Tour event where I’ve won three matches in a row and I beat Kaci which was a tough match. At 5-5 he missed a 9 ball then when he started racking, he smashed the 1 ball on the table, so the referee gave me an extra rack for unsportsmanlike behaviour.

“Then he gave up basically, unscrewed his cue and left the venue. My goal here is last 32 at least, I guess. We’ll see if I make it but I’m already happy with what I did but let’s see how far I go,” he added.

Another young player to stay on the winners’ side was Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki who finally made it through after a nerve-wracking contest against Germany’s come-backing Lars Kuckherm. Szolnoki lead 7-2 with the win looking a formality, but Kuckherm plugged away as his play improved and he dragged it back to 7-7 before the Hungarian finished the match off at the death.

“I went up 7-2 and my break was working perfect and then I don’t know how, I missed an easy shot and then the match totally turned,” said a relieved Szolnoki.

“Every time he missed, I didn’t get a shot after that but he played well also and took his chances. I thought if I could just make a couple of break and runs, I would win the match but it didn’t work and somehow it was 7-7. In the end, I’m glad I’m through and survived this match.

“I saw some good signs - up to 7-2 I played very well, I think. Also, at 7-7 I managed to clear two tables under pressure so that was a positive but I’ll need to improve tomorrow,” he added.

Players reconvene tomorrow morning at 9am local time where the winners’ side have one more match to reach the last 32 single elimination knockout, while players on the one-loss side have a maximum of four games to reach the knock-out stage.

Play continues down to the final four on Sunday evening with the semi-finals and then the final commencing at 17.00 on Monday.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. In addition, the semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands)
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
B1B Box – Bulgaria

Results, live scoring and draw are available at
www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/draw-results/



Yannick Pongers (NED)






PREVIEW







Dynamic Billard Euro Tour Men - Petrich Open, Bulgaria

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF


157 PLAYERS ARE gathered in the sunny southern Bulgarian town of Petrich for the fourth tournament on the annual roster of six events on the Dynamic Billard Euro Tour. Taking place in the Petrich Arena, 20 tables are in operation as the event is set to get underway on Saturday 6th and conclude on the evening of Monday 8th August. With temperatures outside sizzling in the mid-30’s, the arena is an air-conditioned oasis, and the current top ten players are all in attendance as they bid to consolidate their positions.

With the rankings consisting of a players’ best five finishes from a rolling six-tournament tally, the oldest event drops off the list with the completion of each tournament. Still holding the No.1 spot is Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (Spain) who is defending a semi-final finish – 480 points - from Austria in 2021 so he will need to finish deep this week to maintain his position.

Still holding the No.2 rank is Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski who, despite his youth, has become one of the feared players in world pool. He is 160 points behind Sanchez Ruiz and a further 75 points back in third is and Joshua Filler, fresh from his triumphant visit to the World Games where he took gold in Birmingham, Alabama.

Those three at the top of the rankings have dominated the Euro Tour of late, having won six of the last seven tournaments, but their stranglehold on the trophies was loosened at the last Euro Tour event – the Dynamic Billard St Johann im Pongau Open in Austria - as veteran Niels Feijen swept all before him to move himself into the top ten.

In the single elimination stages in St Johann, the multi-titled Dutchman beat Daniel Maciol, Eklent Kaci, Zielinski and Oliver Szolnoki before defeating Sanchez-Ruiz 9-4 for the title. It was Feijen’s first Tour win since 2016 and his tenth in a stellar career that shows no signs of abating.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. In addition, the semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands)
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
B1B Box – Bulgaria

Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com


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