AFTER AN EXCITING’S days play, there are just eight players left in the quest to claim the title of 2022 Dynamic Billard St Johan im Pongau Open champion. Taking place in the picturesque mountain resort of the Alpina Sporthotel in the Austrian mountains, this is the third event of six on the 2022 Dynamic Billards Euro Tour.
There are no unexpected interlopers as the tournament reaches the business end. Solid favourites like Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Joshua Filler and Wiktor Zielinski will all be vying for the title and having each won two of the last six Euro titles, no sensible person would back against them.
Hot on their heels are seasoned winners in Niels Feijen and David Alcaide while Dimitri Jungo, who has been enjoying a good renaissance, is still in the battle. Up-and-coming Hungarian Oliver Szolnoki will be making a bid for his first ET title as will solid Italian player Daniele Corrieri.
The quarter-finals commence at 10.00 on Monday morning, with the two semi-finals at 16.00 and then 17.30, followed by the championship match at 19.00.
Dimitri Jungo｜©EPBF
Dimitri Jungo, who has twice won on the Euro Tour going back to 2000 and then 2011, is enjoying a new lease of life in pool and having missed a few events this year, will significantly improve on his current ranking of #112 come Monday night. He faces Daniele Corrieri tomorrow in the last eight and will be approaching the match with renewed vigour following wins over David Alcaide, Mateusz Sniegocki and Moritz Neuhausen.
Jungo attributes his success to a new found dedication to pool; “Since January I’ve played more pool than ever before and it’s been unbelievable how fast my game has gone after six months. When I get up in the morning, I can focus on pool and I’ve been playing all the big tournaments now which is maybe why I come more focused and more fluid in my game.
“Of course, I’ve won twice before on the Euro Tour, but it’s tough to win the tournament but there’s always a new match tomorrow and I can look forward with confidence,” he added.
Oliver Szolnoki｜©EPBF
Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki is definitely a bright, young hope on the European pool scene, having made significant progress in the last 12 months. A semi-finalist in Klagenfurt in 2018, he was able to use the corona virus break to his advantage.
“Before Covid time, I was usually last 32 or last 16 but I used the enforced break for practicing a lot and working on my game and when the tournaments resumed, I could do some damage. I’ve been going far in tournaments and I’m hoping I can keep that going tomorrow.
“For me, it’s always about going to the very top. I’ve been wanting to be World Champion since I was ten years old; I want to win everything and I have the potential. The last couple of months I’ve been making some changes in my game as I’ve looked at some videos and I didn’t like my technique. I think I was making a lot of mistakes due to technical errors so I’ve been working on that and in the last few tournaments it seems like I’m going in a good direction.”
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, 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 at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com