The past weekend at the Strefa club in Łódź Poland was all about elite billiard competition. Europe’s largest billiard club hosted exactly 189 participants, a record-breaking turnout for the series! Among this massive field, Radosław Babica of Akademia Bilardowa Rokietnica emerged as the champion.
The high attendance required the formation of 32 groups, featuring not only Poland’s top talent but also international athletes from Georgia, Finland, and Ukraine. The group stage saw nearly 500 matches, narrowing the field down to the top 64 players.
The single-elimination play-offs kicked off on Sunday. The bracket was stacked with favorites, including Wojciech Szewczyk, Radosław Babica, Hubert Łopotko, Daniel Macioł, Szymon Kural, Mieszko Fortuński, Konrad Juszczyszyn, and Mariusz Skoneczny.
©Maciej Urban/Polish Billiards Association
After hours of intense play, the semi-finals saw Babica face off against Łopotko, while Kural took on Oskar Jamorski, whose run to this stage was the biggest surprise of the tournament. In a hard-fought battle, Babica defeated the representative of Bank Spółdzielczy w Sokółce – Piotrowski Żuraw Białystok 6:5. In the second semi-final, Szymon Kural secured his spot in the final with a 6:2 victory.
In the final, experience triumphed over youth as Babica defeated Kural 6:3. This marks Radosław Babica’s first PREDATOR POL TOUR Grand Prix gold medal since his 2022 victory in Gdańsk (also in 8-ball). It is the 23rd career Pol Tour gold for the Greater Poland-based veteran. Łopotko and Jamorski finished the 242nd edition in third place.
1. Radosław Babica (Akademia Bilardowa Rokietnica)
2. Szymon Kural (TCF HUB – Retro Team Kraków)
3. Oskar Jamorski (UKS Snikers Rękoraj)
3. Hubert Łopotko (Bank Spółdzielczy w Sokółce – Piotrowski Żuraw Białystok)
The next PREDATOR POL TOUR will take place on April 10-12 in Kętrzyn. The prize pool for each tournament in the series is 10,000 PLN. Special prizes include a Predator cue (valued at approx. 3,000-4,000 PLN) for the best player of the season and a Predator cue to be raffled among players who participate in all 6 tournaments in 2026.
The Grand Prix Poland PREDATOR POL TOUR is organized by MAK Marketing and the East European Billiard Council.
Main Sponsors: Predator Group (USA), Brześć-Sipa Sp. kom. (Brześć Kujawski), Kamui (Japan).
Media Partners: Radio Rekord, Portal wKielcach, On Cue – Billiard Podcast, Radio Kielce, Radio FAMA, TVP3 Kielce, CKsport.pl, Radio eM Kielce, Telewizja Świętokrzyska, TVsports, Echo Dnia, 77 Billiards, Alison Chang, AzBilliards.com, Pro9.