In an intense but one-sided match, Denis Grabe (EST) took down Eklent Kaci (ALB) with 9:2 in the round of the last 32 players at the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2018 and sent the #1 ranked player home.
The match, which was also streamed live and for free on the EPBF Facebook page, took an unexpected turn. Grabe won 5 of the first 6 racks and totally dominated Kaci. That scenario was not expected since in recent tournaments it was Kaci who normally dominated his opponents. The #1 ranked player in Europe and the World seemed to be completely off track in that match. When he scratched in rack 6 trailing 1:4, he smashed his cue stick on the table which led to a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct and a loss of one rack. Kaci took a time-out and tried to compose himself. But somehow it just was not his day today. He kept on missing easy shots and did not get into his game at all. Finally, Grabe ended the slaughtering by winning 9:2 over Kaci and eliminated him from the event.
Left to right: Denis Grabe, Jakub Koniar, Ivo Aarts and Roberto Bartol
Other remarkable results from today include Michel Bartol (CRO) ousting Mark Gray (GBR) in the same round with 9:5. That was also a clear as well as unexpected result in that match. Jakub Koniar (SVK) once again came up with a strong performance at the Euro-Tour. Finishing 5th in Klagenfurt last month, Koniar now has again secured himself a spot among the top 16 players of this event, defeating Albin Ouschan (AUT) 9:5 in the round of the last 32 players. Continuing the number of surprises today, Ivo Aarts (NED) defeated his teammate Niels Feijen (NED) by a hair’s breadth with 9:8 and advanced to the round of the final 16 players.
Unfortunately, the day started with a sad story. Austrian top player Mario He had to cancel his further participation in the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2018 for personal reasons. He informed the organisers and left before his first match in the morning, forfeiting all other matches in the event. Mario He will have no more chance to overtake Kaci in the rankings anymore. Except Grabe, none of the top ranked guns were able to capture important points in Italy this week.
Friday through Sunday, EPBF will show two feature matches LIVE on the EPBF Facebook page. The complete tournament is shown on kozoom.com for premium pass holders.
Tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET, the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2018 will continue with matches from the round of the last 16 players single elimination. At 09:00, the women’s event, the EPBF Treviso Open, will commence.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organised by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). Play starts Thursday at 09:30 local time, for further information and reference please go to the federation website eurotouronline under the Eurotour tab. You can also visit us on our Facebook page or check out the EPBF YouTube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office [email protected].