THE FIRST DISCIPLINE of the 2024 DYNAMIC BILLARD European Seniors Championships completed this afternoon at the Xanadu Resort Hotel in Belek as Meric Reshat (GER) and Henrique Correia (POR) took straight pool golds in the 45-plus and 55-plus categories respectively. For Reshat, it was his first European Championship gold, following on from a silver and bronze last year, while Correia can add another one to his tidy collection of EC medals.
In the 45-plus final, Reshat got the match underway but he left a stripe on which Aslan pocketed to open the scoring. The Turk came unstuck on 6 points, as with few options, he missed the 9-ball uptable. Reshat reached 4 points before he missed the orange 5 ball and at the close of the rack, Aslan lead 10-4.
Aslan couldn’t hold the table after the racking and Reshat had an opportunity to put some points on the board. However, a missed combination saw his visit finish in what was a cagey start to the match. Aslan overcame some nerves to clear the table to leave himself leading 20-8.
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It was a tentative start from both players and that continued although the Turkish player always maintained a lead to stand him in good stead. He was 27-15 to the good after the third rack and 33-23 ahead after the fourth.
However, Reshat got the better of the next rack as he tied it up at 34-34. They stayed close over the next two racks as race-to-75 match was finely poised at 48-47 as Reshat cleared the table to take the lead for the first time at 48-47.
A missed 8-ball from Reshat while attempting to open up the pack, gave Aslan a chance but he missed a 3-ball. Reshat, who hadn’t looked his best in the early stages, was starting to come right back into it, and coupled with some tense play from his opponent, saw him lead 60-49 at the end of the eighth rack.
With a big split off the next break, Reshat was in a great position to close the match out if he could hold himself together. And he did just that, saving his best till the last to run out a 75-49 winner to take the gold medal.
Commented Reshat, “Last year in Slovenia I had two vice-champion spots so this year is unbelievable. It’s awesome that I won the gold in straight pool as it’s a lovely game and I’m so happy. This title is for my son and partly for Oliver Ortmann who has helped me practicing over the last few months, it has paid dividends.”
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The German put on quite the exhibition in his quarter and semi-final matches, winning in 30 and 35 minutes, respectively.
“I’m happy we had a good crowd. I’m a quick player and hate slow play so it was great we had a good crowd to watch. In those two games I had a 75 runout and then a 63 runout in the semi-final. I’m hoping I can go one better in the 10-ball after last year’s silver, but I’m so happy with my first title and anything else is a bonus,” he added.
Medals – 45-Plus 14.1
Gold – Meric Reshat (GER)
Silver – Cetin Aslan (TUR)
Bronze – Markus Kamuf (GER)
Jorgen Nilsen (NOR)
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It was the second year of the recently innovated 55-plus category and the 14.1 title went to Portugal’s Henrique Correia, a long-time veteran of the European pool scene. He defeated Sweden’s Sten Jaerledal by 75-37. Correia’s last gold medal came in 10-ball in 2019 so it was a welcome return to the top of the podium.
Commented Correia, “We don’t even have this game in our country but it’s what I practice, so I feel a little bit comfortable about the game but a final is always a final and I was very nervous, obviously. I think I honestly deserved it because of the way I went through the game, never gave up and I’m really happy.
“We both had four games in a row today and we’re old but still, we do what we can so this extra energy is helping a lot. This is my first year in plus-55 so let’s see what happens. First there’s 10-ball, then 8-ball and then 9-ball and then teams which I really love as you’re playing for your country, not yourself, so let’s see what I can do.”
Medals – 55-Plus 14.1
Gold – Henrique Correia (POR)
Silver – Sten Jaerledal (SWE)
Bronze – Johny Vanrijkel (BEL)
Johann Schernthaner (AUT)
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Play continues on Tuesday with 10-ball action in all three divisions.
For streaming fans, Tables 1 & 2 will be shown throughout on YouTube. Table 1 will be on the Kozoom channel, while 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.
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
Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com