THE SECOND DAY of the DYNAMIC BILLARD Antalya Open wrapped up today as the field whittled down to just 16 players from a starting field of 200. Taking place at the Xanadu Resort Hotel in Belek, the tournament is the final outing on the 2024 Euro Tour calendar. 10-ball is the game and there are some big names still in with a shout not only of victory tomorrow but also ascending to the No.1 spot on the end-of-year rankings.
Currently ranked at #2, Oliver Szolnoki of Hungary is on track for his maiden Euro Tour win after threatening over the past 18 months. With two semi-final spots, a final and a win in the European Championship 10-ball division, there is a feeling that his time is now
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Commented Oliver, “It would be nice to end the year at No.1. That would be the first time I would have led the Euro Tour rankings. To win the tournament is in my hands but the Polish guys are chasing me so I can’t relax about that yet. It will be a close battle to finish in number one position.
‘I was quite consistent lately but I haven’t managed to win it yet so I hope sooner or later it has to come. I think I played my first Euro Tour in Hungary when I was 14 years-old and since then it’s been a dream to win a Euro Tour but somehow, I couldn’t. I’ve played so many of them and it’s taken a long time to break through.
“I remember the last 32 was a big barrier and after the first time I qualified for that, I just lost all the time but the field is so strong and I was a bit unlucky as the one time I managed to make it to the final I played Joshua Filler and he was on fire so I couldn’t do much and the same thing happened in one of my semi-finals against him in Treviso. Too many good players! I’m going to have a good rest and prepare for hopefully a long day tomorrow,” he concluded.
Szolnoki takes on the dangerous Joao Grilo of Portugal in tomorrow’s last 16.
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Another player who could go to No.1 is the currently ranked #3, Mateusz Sniegocki (Poland), who won last time out in Treviso. He is on course to repeat after despatching Germany’s Ugur Turko by 8-0 in the last 32. The 39-year-old has accumulated four Euro Tour titles over the years, and will be one of the fancied players as the tournament draws to a close tomorrow.
He said, “Yes. I’m very happy that I won the match pretty easily but the balls were rolling for me. But I played very solid and I didn’t make any mistakes so in the end, it was an easy win for me and I’m happy with my performance.
“I’ll try my best to go back-to- back and of course, that’s somewhere in my head but I’ll focus on each game and that’s the goal for tomorrow. I’ve never been the first in the ranking and that would be really great. If can win this event I believe I’d go to No.1 so that is the goal and that is the dream,” he added.
Sniegocki can look forward to Labinot Markaj (TNC) in tomorrow morning’s round of 16.
Getting underway tomorrow at 9.00 is the Predator Ladies Antalya Open. Featuring a line-up of 47 players, the tournament plays through the weekend with the final at 15.45 on Sunday afternoon.
For streaming fans, Tables 1 & 2 will be shown throughout on YouTube. Table 1 will be on the Kozoom channel, while Table 2 will be available throughout on the EPBF platform. All other tables can be viewed on the Kozoom.com website, where there are a variety of subscription options.
Table 1 link = https://www.youtube.com/@KozoomTV/streams
Table 2 link = https://www.youtube.com/@theepbf/streams
Tables 1-20 = https://home.kozoom.com/en/all-cue-sports
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer. This week’s Euro Tour tournaments are 10-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors for the men and last 16 for the women. From there it is single elimination until the finish. The men’s matches are races-to-8 racks with alternate break, while the women play a race-to-6.