10-BALL WAS the game as the EPBF PREDATOR European Pool Championships recommenced today with action in the men’s, women’s and wheelchair users divisions. Taking place at the Kalevi Hall in the centre of Tallinn, it was the opening day of the three-day 10-ball competition.
In the men’s tournament, Germany’s Stefan Kasper was a 10-ball silver medallist two years ago in Tampere and he eased his way into the single elimination draw with a tidy 8-3 win over Miha Vicic (Slovenia).
He said, “The match was good and I’m feeling well and looking forward to a good tournament. After yesterday’s German gold medals, I’ll try my best to be on top of the podium. The team spirit here is good; we breakfast together, supporting each other and it’s a nice team spirit.
Kasper is coming into the European Championships in the best form of his career. A runner-up finish in the opening Predator Euro Tour event of the year in Italy was followed up with a fifth-place finish in the Kamui Las Vegas Open in February.
“I played in the Predator event in Las Vegas and finished in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, I played Dennis Grabe and played very bad but he played a great tournament. But it was a good tournament for me coming after the last Euro Tour. I’ve improved a lot, worked a bit on my technique in the winter so that’s why I think I’ve made the next step in my game.
“A lot is mental but my technique gives me confidence, so on pressure shots I’m more stable. I’m looking forward to the rest of the championships, you need a bit of luck to go deep in the tournaments but I think I’m prepared and I’m feeling good,” he concluded.
A young player in the ascendancy is Linnea Hjalmarstrom (Sweden) who progressed to the straight knock-out stages in the women’s tournament without conceding a rack.
She said, “I played good today; I only had one match but luckily, I played a lot of straight pool matches so I’d had table time so I knew how the tables were but my break was difficult to find out at first but now it feels good.
With three gold medals to her name, Hjalmarstrom has enjoyed some major successes at previous European Youth Championships and is fully confident in her prospects among the adult ranks, “Pool is a sport where age doesn’t matter and I’m ranked 7th now in Europe so I have quite high expectations and I’m confident. There aren’t many players who have a great chance of playing really well and outclassing me and I’ll play against every opponent like I have a chance to win.
“The Swedish team is good here, we watch each other’s matches, we have fun, we eat together otherwise it can be quite lonely but we have a great team spirit and have known each other from before.
“I’m playing the Euro Tour after this so it’s a lot of pool and I like that very much. I’ve looked forward to this a lot. I love playing as much pool as I can so this is perfect,” she added.
The wheelchair user competition commenced today and perennial gold medal winner Henrik Larsson (SWE) was in action. Having won his opening match, a 5-0 drubbing of North Macedonia’s Vladimir Gjorgjieski, he was relegated to the one-loss side, after a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Slovenian potter David Slacek.
Larsson said “Occasionally, once in a while, these matches come up. You try to get things right and the small margins, but I didn’t really take off, I think that’s what happened. And more power to him.
I’m always up for it and as long as I have a game capable of winning gold, I’m going to keep on playing and if I didn’t have that level, then I would probably let it rest.
“David is a typical guy that has for the last two or three years really developed his game. Great shot-maker and I’m pleased to see that. Who wants to see me winning everything? We need some new faces out there! But I’m still in the tournament, very much so and I’ll get back tomorrow.
“I’ve got a table at home so I’m practising as much as I can but at the same time, I’m a single parent, I’ve got two different jobs, I’m working for the WPA, I’m doing a lot of stuff, trying to make it all work. But I will play more this year, I’m really going to invest in my game more and try and take it as far as I can,” he added.
With 183 players competing across the three categories in the 10-ball discipline, the event is played out over three days, with the three finals scheduled for 18.30 on Wednesday 1st April.
This year sees a new streaming platform for the Predator European Championship events. Tables 1 and 2 will be streamed throughout on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
In addition, competing players are permitted to stream their own matches on outside tables to their public social media accounts.
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/