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.
Final: Dimitris Loukatos (L) v Wiktor Zielinski (R)｜©Pro Billiard Series
Loukatos will play the 2023 World 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas after he ended Zielinski’s winning streak in the PBS. The Pole had won 15 straight Pro Billiard Series matches in winning the Alfa Las Vegas Open and reaching the final in Germany.
The Open division final was a tale of two sets. A dry break at the start of the match by Zielinski let Loukatos clear for a 1-0 lead. The Pole missed a 1 in the second game and didn’t reach for his cue again until he was 3-0 down in the set.
Zielinski was back at the table after a pushout in the fourth game but miscued over a jump. Another chance arrived for the Polish player when Loukatos had to play safe around the 4, which was tied to the 8, but it was the Greek who got the upper hand in that battle too, and the set was won 4-0.
The final made a 180 turn in the second set. A missed 8-ball bank by Loukatos got Zielinski his first game, the second soon followed, and an errant jump awarded the Las Vegas Open champion ball in hand to make it 3-0.
©Pro Billiard Series
Loukatos had one last chance in the fourth game but played a poor shot trying to escape a safety and left his opponent with an easy shot on the 2 – the set finished a reverse of the 4-0 score of the opener.
Zielinski missed first in the shootout, failing on his second innings, but when Loukatos missed on his third shot, a final was headed for Sudden Death for a second time on the same day. Both players made their fifth shots but Zielinski couldn’t make the sixth, and though the ball rattled in the jaws, Loukatos sent the 10 down to claim the €20,000 title, winning 4-0, 0-4, 5-4.
Loukatos said: “All this week there has been pressure because I lost my second match and finally, I won this tournament and I can’t believe it. It was a very tough match, Zielinski is one of the best players in the world.”
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