A FULL DAY of action in Estonia saw the 2024 DYNAMIC BILLARD Tallinn Open reduce down to the final 16 players at the Kalevi Sports Hall. Mark Magi is the last Estonian player left in the event from a starting line of 23 and he coasted into the last 16 with an impressive 36-minute 9-1 thumping of defending champion Mohammad Soufi of Syria.
Magi is an infrequent visitor to the Euro Tour these days and was coming to the event on a wing and a prayer but he has compiled a string of impressive wins including the scalps of Joao Grilo and compatriot Dennis Grabe.
Commented Magi, “I played my best game tonight. I made some good breaks and my game went very well and I took my chances and did what I had to do. I don’t think it’s pressure being an Estonian player here – it’s helping me more. Against Dennis I played really well. I was down 7-3 and after that I came back 8-5, 8-8 and then 9-8 so I had a very good match.
“I told my friends before the game tonight that it would go quick and I’d play my game and see what happens and it went really well. I haven’t practised much and I thought I’d just come to play and see what happens and now I’m in the last 16,” he added.
Magi can look forward to a last 16 match-up against Daniel Maciol (Poland), another young player looking to open his Euro Tour account.
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Niels Feijen is still on track for Euro Tour title No.12 as he handily defeated Wojciech Szewczyk 9-4 to advance. The other Dutchman in the last 32 draw was WPA World Junior Champion Yannick Pongers and he defeated young Pole Dominik Jastrzab to progress. Yannick will be looking to go one better than his brother Quinten, who made the semi-finals in Lasko last year.
Another veteran looking for his maiden Euro Tour victory is Poland’s evergreen Radoslaw Babica. The hardy Pole was a runner-up last time out in Treviso in November and is well in the mix here in Tallinn as he bumped off countryman Michal Olech 9-1 to reach the final day of competition.
Babica said, “Actually I’m happy to be in the last 16; maybe my game is not so special but it’s very effective. I’ve lost just seven racks in four matches so far. In Lasko I lost to Joshua (Filler) in the semis, in Treviso I lost to Joshua in the finals and now he’s absent! But there’s a long way to go yet. There were no targets coming here; just to play my game and focus and that was my goal.”
Fransisco Diaz-Pizarro, who is regularly seen racking up the medals at the European Seniors championship, is enjoying a renaissance on the Euro Tour as he defeated local hope Mikhel Rehepapp to advance. The wily Spaniard was a semi-finalist in Tampere last year and should not be discounted as he faces Sebastian Batkowski in the round of 16.
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On Saturday morning the final day’s play gets underway at 10.00 with the last 16. The semi-finals are at 14.00 and 15.30 followed by the title match at 17.00. 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.