IT WAS FITTING that the last gold medal of the PREDATOR EUROPEAN Youth Pool Championships went Lithuania’s way as they triumphed in the Under 19s Team final. The Baltic nation certainly punched above their weight as they topped the medal table, grabbing four golds as well as a silver and a bronze.
In the championship match, they defeated Norway in a close game, with double-gold medal winner Jokubas Silantjevas clinching the winning point in a 9-ball match against Joakim Langkas. It was a game he never led until dropping the final 9-ball, showing terrific stamina after playing three rounds of 9-ball en route to a gold medal earlier in the day, as well as the team semi-final.
Lithuania’s other gold medal winner, Ąžuolas Tadaravicius, weighed in with the first point, defeating Robin Hauge Pettersen 7-5 in the 8-ball. The other match featuring Kristupas Blazys, was finely poised before Silantjevas ended the proceedings.
Silantjevas said, “It’s been an amazing tournament for me and the team event is really special. In the final, in the last match I had no energy. I took a time out at 4-4 and my coach said that you’re not playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team and that’s what pushed me and I came back from 5-7 down to win 8-7. I had to show my character for my team.”
Tadaravicius added, “I enjoyed it a lot, I played really good, my team mates played really good, everything was really fun. It’s heaven!”
In the Under 17’s final it was Germany who prevailed as they dashed home hopes, defeating Slovenia. 8-ball gold medallist Valentin Schmitz got the ball rolling with a 6-1 win over Maj Badovinac in the 8-ball, before Fabrizio Ingrasci brought it home 20 minutes later. He defeated Svit Pavlinjek 7-3 in the 9-ball. The final match – Martin Roser against Maks Benko – failed to complete as Germany won the gold.
Martin Roser, who won a bronze in the opening straight pool event, said, “I feel incredible. It was a tough final and tough semi-final but we won both matches really well. I mean it wasn’t really close at all and I’m really proud of that. I’m proud of these two for playing so well.”
Fabrizio Ingrasci added, “It means a lot to me as it’s my last year in the Under 17 and it’s the last discipline and I didn’t get any medals so it’s a really nice feeling to get the gold medal and to celebrate with all my friends.”
The Predator European Youth Pool Championships is in its 44th year and is presented by the European Pocket Billiard Federation.
Streaming of Tables 1 and 2 for the duration of the Predator European Youth Championships can be found on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel – https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/
EPBF Sponsors
▸ Predator Group
▸ Iwan Simonis Billiard Cloth
▸ Aramith Billiard Balls
▸ Longoni Cues
▸ Kamui Brand