Greece’s Dimitris Loukatos beat Wiktor Zielinski in a sudden death shootout to win the Predator Germany Open on Saturday and in the Women’s division Kelly Fisher’s dominance in the Pro Billiard Series continued when she beat Eylul Kibaroglu, also by sudden death shootout.
Both champions earn €20,000 after delivering tense drama in their finals. Fisher has now won three Pro Billiard Series titles in less than nine months. She had battled back from a set and two games down to take her match to a gripping shootout which she won 9-8 when Kibaroglu missed in the tenth innings. Fisher’s previous Pro Billiard Series titles meant she had already qualified for the 2022 Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, to be staged in Austria in September, so Kibaroglu will receive an invitation.
Prior to the start of the Open division final, spectators and viewers had been treated to a brilliant championship match in the Women’s division. Fisher’s third Predator Pro Billiard Series title came with a 1-4, 4-2, 9-8 win at the expense of Kibaroglu, from Ankara, Turkey, who had won the first set with some comfort.
Final: Eylul Kibaroglu (L) v Kelly Fisher (R)｜©Pro Billiard Series
She ran the first game and a 3/10 combo shot gave her the second. A dry break in the third had allowed Fisher off the mark but an errant bank by the Brit afforded her opponent ball in hand, and after making it 3-1, Kibaroglu closed out the set in the fifth game.
Kibaroglu has three European titles to her name and it would have been hard to bet against her adding the Predator Germany Open to her resume as she calmly rolled in another 10 to continue the second set as she finished the first. The Turkish player was clearly in the zone and playing with confidence as she then moved one set and two games ahead.
Fisher needed an opening and she got one in the third game. She left herself a difficult 8 along the rail but showed why she is a World champion with a couple of high-pressure shots to cut her deficit to 2-1. A missed 3 was Kibaroglu’s first major mistake of the match but it allowed Fisher back in the fourth game and the set the Turkish player had led 2-0 was soon locked at 2-2.
A 3 left in the jaws by Kibaroglu allowed Fisher to go unpunished when she couldn’t make a carom with the jump shot. Kibaroglu then missed two jumps of her own at 3-2 down and the second awarded Fisher ball-in-hand. Perfect position to the 7, which was tied close to the 10, created a roadmap and Fisher took the set 4-2, despite leaving herself a nervy 10 to complete the game.
The Brit missed her first shot of the shootout but was level after Kibaroglu missed in her second innings. At 3-3 after four innings each, the Women’s final had come down to Sudden Death, with Fisher shooting first each innings.
©Pro Billiard Series
Both players were dealing with the pressure impeccably; neither even touched the jaws in the first four innings of Sudden Death. Fisher breathed a sigh of relief when her fifth did need the side of the pocket, but her opponent again found the middle. Neither player had now missed in a combined 15 shots when the decisive moment finally came on Kibaroglu’s next shot; a miss by the Turkish player meant the title would belong to Fisher. After such a gripping final, both players received a standing ovation from the German crowd.
Fisher said: “I thought I was going to lose 2-0. She was playing better than me and I was a little bit off. I managed to scrape the second set, so going into the shootout I just tried to relax. The first few were the most nervous but then I felt quite calm, considering.
“I have been doing this a long time, I don’t really have any magic routines before a tournament, I just prepare the best I can, whether I am home or traveling.”
“I must say that the equipment, the lights, the tables, the venue, everybody would agree it was spectacular and the conditions were perfect. The table and cloth played the best I have felt in any of the Pro Billiard Series events. It was nice and fast, consistent, for me it was a great setup and perfect conditions.”
The next Predator Pro Billiard Series event is the Predator Canada Open in Red Deer, Alberta, from August 16-20.
Follow @probilliardseries on Facebook, @probilliardseries
©Pro Billiard Series
德國公開賽女子組決賽在 Kelly Fisher 與 Eylul Kibaroglu 中登場，倆人為現場及轉播前的觀眾們上演了一場精采的決賽。Fisher 以 1-4、4-2、9-8 (點球) 擊敗 Kibaroglu 拿下勝利。
Kibaroglu 來自土耳其的選手，擁有三個歐洲冠軍頭銜。Kibaroglu 開局後率先拿下第一局，第二局以3-10號組合球再下一局。第三局開球未有進袋給了 Fisher 機會回到場上，扳回一局，緊接著 Fisher 在第四局4號球灌中袋未進，Kibaroglu 把握機會連拿兩局並以4-1拿下首盤。
面對非常強勁的對手，Kibaroglu 在拿下首盤後狀態顯得相當不錯，並且愈發自信，第二盤開局後便又連下兩局以2-0領先。 然而比賽在進入第三局後有了些轉變，雙方在 2號球上進行了一番攻防，Kibaroglu 在安全球做得不理想的情況下率先給出了機會，Fisher 上場後清光將比分縮小至 2-1。第四局，Kibaroglu 長距離3號球沒打進袋，不僅成為她在比賽中的第一個重大失誤，更讓 Fisher 將比數扳平形成 2-2。
Kibaroglu 在3-8的組合球上，8號球進袋後3號球的位置並不理想無法繼續進攻，Kibaroglu 嘗試以顆星解進3號球，然而3號球留在袋口給了 Fisher 機會上場並取得 3-2 領先。Kibaroglu 在第六局中第一次6號球沒有跳進，緊接著第二次則形成犯規給了 Fisher 自由球，並讓 Fisher 以 4-2 拿下第二盤，將比賽帶入點球驟死賽。
©Pro Billiard Series
點球大戰中，Fisher 在第一球未打進，而 Kibaroglu 則在第二球出現失誤，雙方打成 3-3 平手後母球位置也往後移一顆星，緊接著雙方不僅完美地應對著壓力更展現出高水平的準度，兩人點球相加連續打進15球，比數形成 9-8 Fisher 領先，很遺憾地 Kibaroglu 在接著第10次的點球未能再次將球進袋，也將獎盃拱手給了出去，Fisher 在點球大戰中以 9-8 拿下德國公開賽勝利，收穫2萬歐元獎金，這也是 Fisher 所贏得的第三座職業撞球系列賽 (Pro Billiard Series) 的冠軍。而在如此精彩扣人心弦的的比賽後，現場觀眾們也紛紛起立為兩名球員鼓掌。
Fisher 賽後表示: “我以為我會以2-0輸掉比賽。她打得比我好，而我有些走神了。我設法拿下第二盤，所以在進入點球大戰時我只想試著放鬆一下。前面幾球是最緊張的，但那之後我開始越發平靜。”
“在比賽前我沒有任何特別地準備慣例，我只是盡我所能地做好準備，無論是在家亦或是旅行之中”
“我必須說無論是燈光、球桌或場地等設備，每個人都會贊同它們不僅非常驚人且引人注目，而且環境條件都很完美。在職業撞球系列賽事比賽中我感受到了球桌與球台布各方面都非常好，對我來說這是一個完美的比賽設置。”
贏得職業撞球系列賽 (Pro Billiard Series) 的選手都將自動獲得女子10球世錦賽的參賽資格，而由於此前 Fisher 已贏得其他站冠軍，所以參賽名額的邀請也將順延給到 Kibaroglu。2022 “美洲豹” 世界女子10號球錦標賽將於9月在奧地利的克拉根福登場。