WE’RE DOWN TO the last 16 at the Dynamic Billard Terme Olimia Open at Podčetrtek, Slovenia and there are plenty of big guns still in the field to contest what promises to be an exciting final days play on Monday. In total, six rounds were fought out today as the field reduced down to last 32 single elimination and then onto the final 16 players.
No.1 ranked player Miesko Fortunski (Poland) is on track to maintain his lofty position following a 9-3 win over countryman Radoslaw Babica. He now faces Mario He, who has gamely battled back after being dumped onto the one-loss side of the draw very early in the competition. Two WPA Junior World Champions are still in the mix with Moritz Neuhausen beating come-backing Nick Van Den Berg, 9-6 and Estonia’s Karl Gnadeberg defeating Austrian Markus Pfistermuller 9-4.
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Joshua Filler, a winner at his last Euro Tour event in Austria in May, is probably the favourite to win tomorrow but he faced a tough proposition in Wiktor Zielinski in their last 32 clash. Germany’s Filler, though, came through the test by a 9-5 scoreline to set up a round of 16 match against Neuhausen tomorrow.
He said, “Of course it was the first match where I got two dry or illegal breaks, my first of the whole tournament. And, of course I got the best player out of the losers round (Zielinski). When I saw the draw, I thought it was impossible to get the best player but I was playing all my matches pretty good – maybe I missed one ball and against Wiktor, I didn’t miss one ball.
“I’m feeling confident but you also need that luck on your side because when I had two illegal breaks, I never left him a shot. But he still came with crazy good shots but I was never worried because as long as I feel good, I play good. I don’t really mind who my opponent is because the way I play, I feel that I can’t lose. As long as I stay positive and play well, then I’m happy with myself,” added Filler.
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Making a run up the rankings is the Netherland’s Marc Bijsterbosch who was a runner-up to Miesko Fortunski last time out in Tampere. Marc won his last 32 match, winning 9-8 against Wojciech Szewczyk who is always hard to beat. Bijsterbosch now faces Germany’s up-and-coming Luca Menn tomorrow.
“Wojciech is a world champion so he is always a tough opponent, but I managed to win. I was a bit lucky as he missed at 8-8 so I could finish the match but that’s how the game can go sometimes. My break is going well and I’m delighted to go through but tomorrow is hopefully, going to be a long day for me.”
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Play continues tomorrow at 10.00 with the quarter-finals at 12 midday, semi-finals at 14.00 and 15.30, concluding with the championship match at 17.00.
In the Euro Tour Women’s Terme Olimia Open, the event is down to the final four. After six rounds of play today, the semi-final line-up will see No.3 ranked player Pia Filler take on Slovenian hope Ana Gradisnik and Norway’s Nina Torvund meet Jolien Schuurman (NED).
For teenager Schuurman, it is only her second-ever Euro Tour appearance and coming off the back of a relatively disappointing European Youth Championships, which concluded last Wednesday, she will be full of confidence for tomorrow. Wins today against the likes of Veronika Ivanovskaia and then Oliwia Zalewska to make the last four, will stand her in good stead when the semi-finals get underway at 10.00.
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer, 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 by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.
Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com