Konrad Juszczyszyn has moved inside the World Nineball Tour’s Top 20 with victory in the Mezz Bucharest Open, sealing his first title on the WNT in the process.
Juszczyszyn defeated Ko Ping Chung – who had reached the quarter-finals of the UK Open earlier in the month – 11-10 in a thrilling final.
Juszczyszyn’s climb up the rankings sees four Poles move into the top 20. The WNT No. 17 is joined by countrymen Wiktor Zielinski (No. 8), Wojciech Szewczyk (No. 16) and Mieszko Fortunski (No. 20).
Polish pool continues to thrive in 2023, with Juszczyszyn’s win being the countries third of the calendar year – with Zielinski winning in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Szewczyk in Zaragoza, Spain.
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Ko, who climbed into the top 20 himself, had beaten older brother Pin Yi – recent victor of the World Pool Masters – in the semi-finals to reach the final.
Pin Yi, the defending champion going into the event, reached his third successive Nineball semi-final.
The Romanian ranking event attracted a stacked field of talent from across the World Nineball Tour, with the likes of Shane Van Boening, Alexander Kazakis and David Alcaide attending ahead of the inaugural Spanish Open Pool Championship.
Van Boening was knocked out of the tournament by Juszczyszyn in the quarter-finals, with two-time World Pool Master Alcaide defeated in the same round by Pin Yi.
Tobias Bongers had an incredible run to the semi-finals – his best showing at a WNT event. The German potter defeated Petri Makkonen, Kazakis and Walter Laikre on the way.
14-year-old Swedish prodigy Laikre had earlier defeated Britain’s Tom Staveley on course for a last 32 finish – following up a strong showing for the teenager at the UK Open.