Mariusz Skoneczny triumphs in Georgia! Great performance by a Pole in Batumi
Another tournament from the Dynamic Billard Best of the East series has become history. Last weekend, 88 athletes competed in the Georgian Ajara Cup 9-ball, which was organized there in cooperation with Mak Marketing and the East European Billiard Council. In the 3-day competition, the medalists were Poles and Slovaks.
Representatives from 10 countries signed up to participate in the tournament. Of course, the host team was the most numerous in Batumi, but it is worth noting that there was also a 13-person group from Azerbaijan and a 12-person team from Poland. In addition, Czechs, Turks, Belarusians, and Slovaks also showed up at the start. There was also a representative of China, Iran, and Northern Cyprus.
The first two days were the group stage games. Participants in 22 groups played in a round robin system, and only the first two places were awarded with promotion to the knockout zone.
The play-off phase was held on Sunday. The semi-finals were decided between the Slovaks (Jakub Koniar – Köles Balazs) and the Poles (Dominik Jastrząb – Mariusz Skoneczny). Koniar beat Balazs 7:3, while Skoneczny won against Jastrząb 7:5. In the final stretch, Skoneczny beat Koniar 7:5 and he won all the main prizes, i.e. 1200 euros plus a Cuetec cue worth 750 euros.
– Whenever I came here for a tournament, I always won. That is why I wanted to repeat it during this year’s Dynamic Billard Best of the East. It wasn’t easy, but I won the entire tournament. I am glad that I came here. I will definitely come back to Georgia for the next competition, because it is a great place, full of friendly and extremely hospitable people. I guarantee that anyone who comes here will not regret it – says Mariusz Skoneczny, gold medalist in Batumi.
Marcin Krzemiński, head of the East European Billiard Council responsible for organizing the “Bests”, also speaks highly of the hosts. – We have spent an amazing time in Georgia, not only because of the sports emotions, but also because of the wonderful hospitality of the hosts. I would like to thank Temur Kakhidze from Batumi, as well as the Georgian Billiard Federation and sponsors for their partnership. Their contribution and commitment to organising this tournament was enormous, the results of which were visible both within the Piramide club and on the broadcast. I hope that this successful cooperation will pay off with another tournament – says Krzemiński.
– In previous years we organized tournaments here, but only the combination of the Ajara Cup with Dynamic Billard Best of the East allowed us to develop. Today we have a full list of participants from ten countries, which we are very happy about. The best of them turned out to be Mariusz Skoneczny. It is a pity that this time our representatives did not take the highest places and we have to be satisfied with fifth place. This is a bit too little, below our ambitions. This time Poland is number one, but I promise that next year Georgia will show itself from the best side! So far, cooperation with the EEBC has been great, so I hope that we will come to an agreement and organize another competition together in 2026 – emphasizes Temur Kakhidze.
Earlier, T. Kakhidze was awarded the “Friend of East European Billiard Council” Badge. The guests on the last day of the tournament were: Deputy Minister of Education and Sports Ajari Irakli Abuladze and Head of the Sports Department Irma Nizharadze.
The competition in Batumi ended with a friendly meeting organized by the hosts in a stylish Georgian restaurant. The competitors and organizers spent several hours enjoying Caucasian music and great food. There was dancing, singing, toasts and friendly conversations.
The next competition in the Best of the East series will be held on August 16-17 in Kielce. The Polish 9-ball Open tournament will take place on these days.
The media coverage of this tournament was provided by the www.cksport.pl team. The meetings from the TV table will be broadcast on YouTube via the company TVsports.pl. The media patrons of the series are: AzBilliards (USA), 77.billiards, (Philippines), alison-chang.com (Taiwan), Radio Rekord (POL) and Echo Dnia (POL).
Series sponsors: Dynamic Billard Company, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Aramith, Cuetec.
Prize pool: €5,500
1. Mariusz Skoneczny – 1,300 euro, + CUP + medal + Cuetec Cue (750 euro).
2. Jakub Koniar – 900 euros + medal + Cuetec Cue case (400 euros).
3. Dominik Jastrząb – 680 euros.
3. Köles Balazs – 680 euros.
5-8. Avakian David, Trudzowski Maciej, Alacam Bilge, Regieli Jerzy – 350 euros.
9am-4pm. Pastula Martin, Mrva Kristián, Nasirov Azhdar, Malinowski Tomasz, Furko Timothei, Szabo Mark, Dimitradze Giorgi, Bakradze Nodar – 100 euros.