THE 2024 DYNAMIC Billard Euro Tour got underway at the Kalevi Sports Hall as 161 players gathered to contest the Tallinn Open. There were three full rounds of play as well a number of matches in the Winners’ Round 2 as play completed around 10.40 in the evening.
One of the big guns in the field is 47-year-old Dutchman Niels Feijen, who enjoyed three wins to advance to the Winners’ Qualification bracket. Despite claiming his first podium finish at the Euro Tour back in the last century – a runner’s up spot in Tampere, Finland in 1999 – Feijen is still a player to be reckoned with.
‘The Terminator’ last won on tour in St Johann in the summer of 2022 when he defeated Francisco Sanchez Ruiz for the title.
©EPBF
Said Feijen of the current state of his game, “Practice is steady and I need some more competition to get back in stroke as there’s absolutely nobody in Denmark at the moment. Mickey Krause, my regular practice partner, is on the road nonstop so I’m missing a little bit of sparring, so it takes me a little bit longer in competition to find a good gear and to get in the competitive groove.
“I was breaking really good the first two matches and that’s a good sign. Like I said I just need a competitive groove but if I get a couple of matches under my belt, then my game is as good as ever. I’ve just got to get comfortable with playing matches, running out, battling and stuff like that. I still think I can go deep and win but one match at a time, it’s all about the process. Do the small things really well and the result will come by themselves.
“People think I practice a ton but that’s not true. When I’m at home I practice about two hours a day but I do other things away from the table which I’m very disciplined at which completes my work day and that’s like meditating two times a day for about 20 minutes. I work out pretty much five to seven days a week.
“But practicing gets harder when it’s solo. It gets more boring which I can say after about 30 years of playing. That’s what I miss sometimes, good quality, fun, heads-up sparring but that’s part of the job. It’s not always fun and you’ve got to put in the hours. Sometimes you don’t feel like it but the rewards are there in competition when you’ve put the work in.”
©EPBF
Whilst Feijen is chasing his 12th Euro Tour title, Wojciech Szewczyk is still looking to open his account and must surely be the best player currently competing to have not yet won on Tour. However, with two wins from two today in Tallinn, the classy Pole is still in the hunt.
He said, “I had a little time off around New Year’s but it’s mid-February already so I’m back in practice for several weeks. I feel like that training is starting to show in some more difficult aspects of the game like breaking, kicking and jumping. My attitude is positive but it still feels like I am observing and monitoring my game as it’s the first international event of 2024 for me.
“The field here in Tallinn is strong and I don’t expect easy matches at any stage of the tournament. As we have only just started my mind isn’t set for the 1st place just yet. I do see the possibility of that golden scenario coming true though, that’s definitely what I am trying to achieve.
“I did have some time off; it was combined with an illness on the way, so I got out of stroke for a short time. No regrets though as I cherished the family time very much. I do think it’s necessary if you want to keep going long-term and I try to catch up working smart and staying disciplined,” he added.
©EPBF
Play restarts at 9.00 on Friday morning and continues all day where they will play down to the final 16 players. For viewers at home, Tables 1 & 2 will be streamed throughout on YouTube. Table 1 will be on the Kozoom channel, who are back handling the production for 2024. 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.
LINKS
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
In addition, the Predator Women’s Tallinn Open gets underway at 9.00 on Saturday 17th February and concludes with the final at 17.00 on the Sunday.
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer, so there is everything to play for. The Dynamic Billards Tallinn Open is 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the single elimination final stages until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.
Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com