DAY TWO UNFOLDED at the Dynamic Billard St Johann Open today as the field reduced to the 32 players contesting the Winners’ Qualification round on Sunday afternoon as well as a host of players still battling it out on the one-loss side. In fact, there are 86 players remaining with one defeat and the whole field plays down to the last 16 tomorrow.
One young player starting out in the professional world is Poland’s Szymon Kural, who last November claimed the WPA World Junior Championship (U19). Seemingly from a never-ending production line of Polish talent, Kural is three wins from three here in St. Johann and can look forward to a Winners’ Qualification match against Mario He on Sunday afternoon.
Kural defeated Brit Sam Storey, Thomas Binder (Germany) and Attila Bezden of Hungary to make his way through on the winners’ side. The 21 year-olds previous best Euro Tour efforts were two 33rd place finishes so he has everything to play for as the event enters its third day.
Commented Kural, “I think I’ve played pretty good in all matches. Maybe not perfect but I think it the last one was a good game with some really good shots and really good racks. A few mistakes also but they weren’t that important in the matches.
“Three comfortable wins so I’m waiting for Mario tomorrow in the Winners’ Qualification. It will be a nice match and we will see. I think it will be nice to get some rest before tomorrow’s match and I will enjoy the views of St Johann because it’s a beautiful place. Maybe some good food but I’m waiting for tomorrow,” he concluded.
Szymon Kural｜©EPBF
At the other end of the spectrum is No.1 seeded player, Wiktor Zielinski of Poland. Starting with a bye in the opening round of matches, the in-form Pole came from behind to beat Austria’s Daniel Guttenberger and then comfortably beat Benedikt Hort of Germany. He now faces another German Marco Dorenburg in the Winners’ Qualification round.
“Yesterday I didn’t start very well. In the first match against Daniel Guttenberger, I was 4-0 behind but I managed to come back and won 9 – 7. I started with a mistake in the very first rack and he came with two break and runs. But then he missed a quite easy chance to go up 5-1 and I took my opportunity and made three break and runs in a row so that was good for me,” said Zielinski.
“It’s better for me having played just one match on each of the first two days as I had some kind of chemical in my eyes so it was better not to play. I’m taking great care of myself, going to the sauna and swimming pool and my eye is getting better and better,” he added.
2022 ET Lasko Open Final: Zielinski and Filler｜©EPBF
Another top star undefeated so far is Germany’s Joshua Filler who enjoyed two quick wins over the first two days of play to set up a Winners’ Qualification match against Karol Skowerski.
Commented Filler, “I’m feeling actually quite good but sometimes you have a bad day and have less concentration and yesterday I didn’t feel 100% focused but I try to fight through and won 9-3 which is still a good result. Really, I struggled in the beginning but towards the end I made a couple of run outs and didn’t make any mistakes. The second match, I played one bad safety and that’s it. Overall, I’m still happy and as long as I get the nine games on my side then I’m happy with that.
“With only one match a day, I’m a player that likes to play more matches but sometimes it’s hard with the schedule so I can understand that part but I’m just looking out for myself and trying to play as good as I can always. It will be a tougher match tomorrow but if I play my best game, I’m probably going to win so I’ll always be confident and have fun.”
Joshua Filler｜©EPBF
Play recommences on Sunday morning at 9.00 with more Losers Round 3 matches.
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.
All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurot
The semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or
highlights on the following television stations across Europe;
SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Eyecons – Netherlands
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria
Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com