World champion and WNT No.1, Fedor Gorst, along with Albin Ouschan, Jayson Shaw, Aloysius Yapp, Eklent Kaçi, and Shane Van Boening are amongst the first top players to qualify on day one.
The 2024 European Open Championship, now in its third year, returns to Hotel Esperanto, in partnership with the City of Fulda and local sport’s authority Fulda Die Sportstadt, as well as renowned broadcaster Sky Sports.
©Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Gorst began the tournament with a dominant performance against Hai Long Le, winning the first five racks with ease. An accidental foul after an attempted long shot allowed the Vietnamese cueist to secure two racks in a brief comeback attempt, but a miscalculated 7-ball long shot saw Gorst regain control and finish the match 9-2.
Gorst closed the day with a final win of 9-3 against Denis Waldecker, securing his spot in the winners’ qualification. Gorst commented: “I played well in my first match. I was breaking and running the first five racks without missing a ball. I played my A game. In the second match, I didn’t play as well, but a win is a win.”
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Hanoi Open champion Jayson ‘Eagle Eye’ Shaw lived up to his nickname in his first match, delivering a clinical 9-2 performance against Lukas Lubczyk. However, Shaw faced a significant challenge in his second match, trailing 8-3 against Lu Hui Chan. Demonstrating his resilience, Shaw capitalised on Lu‘s mistakes to stage a dramatic comeback to win 9-8. Shaw advances to the winners’ qualification round, where he will face fellow Englishman Darren Appleton.
The 2022 European Open champion, Albin Ouschan, began his quest to reclaim the title with two solid performances: a straightforward win against Italian Carlo Blasi, followed by a dominant 9-1 victory over Khalid Alghamdi. The brother duo Ko Ping Chung and Ko Pin Yi also advanced with ease on day one, delivering strong performances in both their matches.
©Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport
Shane Van Boening showcased his finesse with two commanding 9-2 victories over Christos Davetas and Ricardo Gutjahr. The South Dakota Kid is set for a thrilling showdown in the winners’ qualification against Scottish Open and Welsh Open snooker champion Gary Wilson. The Tyneside Terror, advanced to the next stage with a solid 9-1 victory against German Eyup Ay, after receiving a bye in his first match.
The first qualifiers of the upcoming Reyes Cup, Eklent Kaçi and Aloysius Yapp, delivered formidable performances in their opening matches. Yapp defeated the Korean Seo Seoa with a swift 9-1, while Kaçi secured a 9-4 victory against the Greek cuesman Vaggelis Seidis. Both Kaçi and Yapp went on to win their final matches of the day against Alex Montepellier and Yuma Dorner, respectively, advancing to the next stage.
Session Times
The European Open Championship will take place from August 6-11.
All times are local (CEST)
6-9 August – from 10 am daily
10 August – 12 pm – 4:30 pm / 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm
11 August – 12 pm – 4:30 pm / 6 pm – 9 pm