| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Press release, May 5th, 2019
Day 11: EC ends with an outstanding closing ceremony
On Sunday the final decisions were made at the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany. The highlight was the final of the 3-Cushions-competition for National Teams.
Belgium and Spain made it to the final and at the beginning the match between Frédéric Caudron/Eddy Merckx and Daniel Sanchez/Ruben Legazpi wasn’t as world class as expected. After seven innings the score was 12:10 in favor of the Belgian duo, followed by a sudden the increase in pace. Caudron/Merckx made a run of nine points which gave them in a comfortable lead.
After a short five-minute-break the match continued and in the eleventh inning Belgium ran another eleven points, and only one inning later they reached the 40 point finish.
Sanchez/Legazpi had ony 19 points on their account but they still had the chance of another run. Sanchez made the opening shot but seconds later Legazpi missed the next one to make Belgium the new European Champion.
In the semifinals earlier today the Spaniards delivered an absolute gala performance against the Danish representation. Sanchez/Legazpi not only ran ten points in a row, they also played consistently throughout the entire match, winning by 40:7 after eleven innings and an average of 3.636. Dion Nelin and his colleague Thomas Andersen had to be satisfied with the bronze medal – along with the German team.
Martin Horn and Ronny Lindemann had a great comeback in the quarterfinal against The Netherlands with European champion Dick Jaspers and his partner Raymund Burgman. After being down 20:30, they were able to turn the match and moved into the semifinals.
However in this match they didn’t have much to order against the Belgian duo. The decision was made in the 13th inning when Caudron/Merckx managed a 12-point run and increased the score to 35:15. A little later, the final score of 40:22-points was set.
European champion in the women's 3-cushions-event is Therese Klompenhouwer. The Dutchwoman had already been mentioned as the top favorite in the run-up and the throughout whole tournament she lived up to this role. In a very one-sided final, especially at the beginning, she took the lead 16:0 after only a few innings. Then Klompenhouwer took it a bit easier and her Turkish opponent Guzin Mujde Karakasli also scored a few points. After 25 innings Klompenhouwer had reached the necessary thirty points and Karakasli was only able to reduce the gap by a bit. The final result was 30:16-points.
Both in third place were Irena Hamblakova (Czech Republic) and Andras Hofman (Netherlands), who were clearly defeated in their respective semi-finals. For the German Steffi Daske the dream of a medal was over after a 22:28-defeat against Hamblakova in the quarterfinals.
New European champion in 3-cushions on the small table is Omer Karakurt from Turkey who almost overrun Steven van Acker from Belgium. After five innings the score was 17:14 in favor of Karakurt and it looked like the spectators could expect a very close and thrilling final. They didn’t ask Karakurt for his opinion on that, in turn six he ran a great series of 15 points and took a comfortable lead. Just three innings later he reached the finish line and crowned himself as European Champion with a final score of 40:17.
The two bronze medals went to the Czechs Ivo Gazdos and the Frenchman Gregory Le Deventec.
Also today there was the launch of a demonstration competition for wheelchair players. In total four athletes from Belgium and the Netherlands participated and showed what they are able to do despite their handicaps. This year the focus of this event wasn’t the competition, but the presentation of an unusual sporting activity away from the mainstream. This was very well done due to the great frame parallel to the above mentioned finals.
 The European Championships ended today with the closing ceremony. For the fourth time in row this major event took place in Brandenburg an der Havel and it remains to be noted that the public interest has never been so great locally, as well as nationally and internationally. Encouraged by the number of spectators on site, the livestream and, of course, the media presence at the venue. TV-stations were seen in the Stahlpalast on several days and two live-interviews were broadcasted on a radio station.
The Continental Confederation CEB hopes to be able to host the European Championships of all disciplines again in 2021 in Brandenburg an der Havel. In the coming year, there will be decentralized competitions, but the wish for a return in two years has been clearly communicated.
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| | | Press release, May 4th, 2019
Day 10: Dick Jaspers is the new European Champion
The current 3-cushions world champion Dick Jaspers is now also European champion. In the continental championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany, the Dutchman secured the title on Saturday afternoon by a 40:31-victory over the reigning champion Marco Zanetti from Italy.
 In the beginning this match saw a very strong Dick Jaspers who made some runs and took a lead of 20:9-points. But then tide turned - at least temporarily. Zanetti made an unbelievable run of 16 points and was suddenly ahead by 25:20-points.
Those who expected Jaspers to be impressed were wrong. With many smaller runs he closed the gap and took the lead again. Just a few innings later he secured the 40th point in the 16th inning. Zanetti still had another chance but the gap was just too big.
In the semifinals which were played earlier today both Dick Jaspers and Marco Zanetti seemed to be on a mission. In their matches against Ruben Legazpi (Spain) and Murat Naci Coklu (Turkey) they set off like there is no tomorrow, played both double-digit series and were already ahead with over 15 points. After the break Jaspers continued like this, with Legazpi also convincing with seven consecutive balls, but Jaspers countered them immediately and finished in only eight innings. Meanwhile, Zanetti took some kind of a longer break, but at the right moment he ran another seven points to secure his win.
In the free game for players under 21 years of age there was only scheduled one match today and this was the final between the Frenchman Pierre Martory and his Durch opponent Leon Dudink. In contrast to the semi-finals on Friday, the game was much more complicated and Dudink wasn’t able to run higher scores. The eventual winner Martory had a highrun of 168 points and won the match safely by a score of 300:56 points.
In the women's 3-cushions event on the match table, the victory is probably only about the Dutch Therese Klompenhouwer. In today's quarter-final match against Danielle Le Bruyn from Belgium, she won by a clear score of 30:13-points. Unfortunately, more games were not finished at today's editorial deadline.
Meanwhile, in the 3-cushions-competition on the small table, the top 16 players are determined. Once again the Austrian Gerhard Kostistansky, who easily reached the round of the last 16, presented himself strong. Also his fellow countryman Herbert Szivacz acted at a high level and is quite eligible for a medal. One should certainly also have an eye on Kenny Miatton (Belgium) and the two Turks Omer Karakurt and Serdar Bas.
The competition for 3-cushions national teams has also started today. In total 24 teams participate in eight groups of three. Only the first-placed will reach the quarterfinals. Host Germany is represented with two teams, with the second selection defeated by Sweden this afternoon. Dustin Jäschke and Lukas Stamm lost against the duo Blomdahl / Pennör with 30:40 after 37 shots.
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| | | Press release, May 3rd, 2019
Day 9: Final 4 in 3-Cushions determined
Today the final 4 of the 3-Cushions Individual event on the match size table were determined at the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany.
 The title holder is Marco Zanetti from Italy and in 2019 he is still in the tournament. After wins against Peter Varga (Hungary) and Birol Uymaz (Turkey) he reached the quarterfinal where he had to play Eddy Merckx from Belgium. In the beginning Zanetti played well with an average around 4,00, with this he was able to take the lead with a score of 27:7-points. After the break Merckx reduced the gap a little bit, but Zanetti wasn’t in danger at all, after 16 innings the final score was 40:19.
In the semifinal Zanetti will play Murat Naci Coklu (Turkey) who was able to beat his fellow countryman Semih Sayginer in a very close match with a score of 40:38-points.
 World Champion Dick Jaspers from the Netherlands is also still in the competition. In his quarterfinal he was down to Dion Nelin from Danmark almost the whole match, but after the break he came back like a real champion. His match point in the 21st inning was absolute style. Jaspers will play Ruben Legazpi from Spain who had no problems beating Glenn Hofman. The Dutch player opened the day with one of the biggest surprises in the history of the event as he eliminated Frédéric Caudron (Belgium), one of the top favorites of the tournament.
The free game competition for players unders 21 years is down to only two players. In tomorrow’s final Pierre Martory from France will face Leon Dudink from the Netherlands. Martory had won his semifinal in only two innings with a score of 300:22 against his fellow countryman Sébastian Verel. The second semifinal was dominated by Leon Dudink who reached the finish line after five innings. His opponent Simon Blondeel from Germany had only made 68 points at that time.
The group stages of the 3-Cushions tournament on the small table is still underway. One of the top favorites seems to be Serdar Bas from Turkey who finished second in yesterday’s club team event together with his countryman Omar Karakurt. Bas has won all three matches in his group and showed his strength with runs of 14 and 12 points. Also Gerhard Kostistansky from Austria is unbeaten in his group with high runs of 11 and 10.
Today also the 3-Cushions-event for the Ladies kicked off. In total 24 players are divided into eight groups. The top two of each will advance into the round of last 16. The final of this event will take place on Sunday.
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| | | Press release, May 2nd, 2019
Day 8: Maxime Panaia with nerves of steel in 3-cushions
Today was the eighth day of the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany and the new continental champions in the disciplines 3-cushions for players under 21 years of age and the 3-cushions clubs-teams were determined.
 The final of the 3-cushions event for juniors was thrilling. Maxime Panaia from France was the first to reach the goal of 30 points, but his Austrian opponent Nikolaus Kogelbauer kept his nerve and leveled the score. The game went into extra innings with Panaia starting with two points. Kogelbauer also made two and then missed his match ball. Another extra inning was needed and this time Panaia scored three points that Kogelbauer couldn’t equalize. He only made one point and Panaia finally began his celebration. The third place went to the two Italians Alessio D'Agata and Emanuele Criscino.
European champion in the 3-cushions-competition for club-teams is the Belgian quartet from BC De Goeie Queue. Starting today with the semifinals, the team counted on the great Frédéric Caudron, who ultimately made the difference. He won his respective games with an average more than 4,00.
In the semi-final, his colleague Joey de Kok also won his match, so the duo from BC Havirov (Czech Republic) were defeated 4:0. In the final against the Turks from Hemsin Spor Kulübü, who earlier eliminated the BK Kladno (also Czech Republic), only Caudron won his game, but that was enough in total because of the better average. His team mate Jerry Hermans lost versus the former European under 21-Champion Omar Karakurt, but in the end the Belgians had an total average of 3,00 whilst the Turkish duo only had 2,695.
Jean-Paul de Bruijn was the fourth member of the winning team.
One of the highlights of this year’s European Championships is the 3-cushions event on the match table. A total of 48 players are divided into 16 groups, only the first-placed will reach the round of the last 32. The stars of the scene, Frédéric Caudron, defending champion Marco Zanetti (Italy), the Dutch world champion Dick Jaspers and also Germany's ace Martin Horn are added as seeded players.
Probably the biggest surprise of the competition so far was the very early end of the Belgian Roland Forthomme, who already lost his two matches in the group stage.
Also the 3-cushions event on the small tables began today. 60 athletes are divided into fifteen groups with the first two players to reach the round of the top 32. Two seeded players will then also join the event.
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| | | Press release, May 1st, 2019
Day 7: Gold for Dave Christiani and Italian Youngsters
Today, May 1st, two more medal decisions were made at the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany. The new European champion in 1-cushion is Dave Christiani from the Netherlands, who beat Eddy Leppens (Belgium) by 120:111-points in the final.
In the beginning both players were on an equal level, but at a score of 66:62 in favor of the Dutchman he brought some distance between him and his opponent with a run of 27 points.
Although Leppens was able to shorten the score to 99:110, Christiani made the necessary ten points to reach the goal of 120 in the next inning. However, the Belgian had another chance but was only able to score another twelve points. This made Christiani the new European champion after 21 innings in total.
 European champions in the Biathlon team-competition for players under 21 years of age is the duo from Italy. In the mix of 3-cushions and 5-pins, Alessio D'Agata and Riccardo Matini prevailed against the German team (Marcel Back and Max Gabel) with a score of 200:160-points. Back brought his team to the lead in 3-cushions, but the European 5-pins individual champion Riccardo Matino was able to turn the match. Within a few innings he had equaled the score and just a bit later he was ahead of Max Gabel with 30 points. In the end the score was 200:160 in favor of the Italian duo.
The third places went to the second German representation and to the duo from France.
The competition of 3-cushions club teams is now at the stage of the final four.The Turkish duo from Hemsin Spor Kulübü are still playing very solid and will face the Czech team from Kladno on Thursday morning. In the second semifinal their compatriots from Havirov and the Belgians from BC De Goeie Queue will compete for a place in the finals. The best duo from the host nation Germany were Markus Schönhoff and Uwe Werner for SV Lok Staßfurt. They were beaten by De Goeie Queue in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile the first matches of the group stages in the 3-cushions individual event for players under 21 were held today. A total of 24 athletes are divided into six groups, with only the first place certainly to reach the quarterfinals. The best match so far was played by Maxime Panaia from France who only needed 11 innings to run the necessary 25 points. His high run was 10.
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| | | Press release, April 30, 2019
Day 6: Xavier Gretillat and Team Italy European Champions
Two new European Champions were crowned today at the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany. Xavier Grettilat from Switzerland won the Balkline 47/2-event with a clear score of 250:0 after two innings against Willy Gerimont from France.
After the first inning the score was only 1:0 but then Grettilat started this absolutely amazing run of 249 points. His French opponent also had another chance due to the rule that every player has to have the same amount of innings, but Gerimont failed making the opening shot.
 The 5-pins national teams-tournament ended today with another win for the Italians. Their opponents from Germany wanted to reach the relay which is only possible when the score is 2:1 in favour of one team, they needed a win in either one of the two singles or in the doubles. Toni Rosenberg, who usually plays in the singles, switched to doubles whilst Marco Berner played the single match. Germany was hoping to make the necessary point in the doubles but didn’t do well. The only player that had a chance to score was Thomas Hähne, but when it came to the end of the match he made a foul which put the game into the hands of the Azzurri.
Team Italy showed its superiority once more as they did not need the relay to decide the match. Michelangelo Aniello and Andrea Quarta played in the singles while Matteo Gualemi and Daniel Ricardo Lopez won all their doubles.
The one-cushion competition is now underway. 24 players are divided into eight groups and only the winner will advance to the quarterfinal. Up to now only one match is played in each group. Sam van Etten from the Netherlands made a run of 100 points in the second inning to win his match against Bernard Baudoin (France) by a score of 100:12.
Two of three group matches were played in the Biathlon-event for players under 21 years of age. The highlight of the day was the match between Italy and Germany 1 which could be a possible final. After the 3-cushions players, the score was 100:56 in favor of Italy but then it was Germany‘s Max Gabel, who played brilliantly in 5-pins. He managed to level the score within minutes and finally beat the newly crowned European champion Riccardo Matino.
Germany has two victories and should reach the semi-finals. It’s possible that they will face the second German team as they are playing for second place in their group this Tuesday evening. In this group France has also two wins and will surely reach the round of 4.
The group stage of the club team event in 3-cushions is almost finished now. In total 32 teams played in eight groups and the first two of each group will make it to the round of last 16. The turkish duo from Hemsin Spor Kulübü with Omar Karakurt and Serdar Bas played some impressive matches so you can count them as one of the favorites. From the host nation the BC Frankfurt-Nied also advanced to the round of 16.
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| | | Press release, April 29, 2019 Day 5: Ricardo Matino and Jelle Billiet are new European Champions On day 5 of the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany two further competitions were completed. New European champion in the Junior 5-pins discipline is the Italian Riccardo Matino who beat Lukas Mortensen 3:1 in the final. The Danish youngster was only able to compete in the second and third set, but managed only to win the second one. All other sets went in favor of Matino who impressively demonstrated his superiority - especially in the first and fourth set. In the semifinal Germany’s Max Gabel was eliminated by Lukas Mortensen. Gabel won the first set but his Danish opponent shifted up to a higher gear and played brilliantly with almost no mistakes. Another medal for Germany was won by Michel Peters, who was defeated 1:3 by the eventual European champion. The continental champion in the free game for players under 17 years of age is Jelle Billiet from Belgium. He beat the Frenchman Nathan Legendre in ten innings with a score of 200:66. Nick Dudink (Netherlands), who had the best results after the group stage, was unable to match his performance in his semi-final against Legendre and lost in nine innings. At the same time Jesse Billiet beat his countryman Nick Rosier in just five innings. In Balkline 47/2 the two finalists were determined today. In two high-class semi-finals, Willy Gerimont (France) and the Swiss Xavier Gretillat prevailed. Gerimont managed to beat top favorite Raymund Swertz (Netherlands) with a score of 240:4 which included a run of 228 points. In the second semi-final the Belgian, Eddy Leppens, was on his way to the final before he missed a shot at 131 points. Gretillat had only 45 points but ran a fantastic 205 points in the second inning to win the match. The final will be played on Tuesday. The competition of the 5-pins national teams is still underway. As usual, the Italians had no problems reaching the quarterfinals, they gave no chances to their opponents from Spain and won both singles and doubles. Therefore the relay which brings two points for the winner does not have to be played. The German quartet also made it very clear against Luxembourg. After the first three matches the game was over and the host nation will find themselves in tomorrow’s semi-final. There they will face France while Italy has to deal with the winner of Denmark vs. Switzerland. A brand new competition in the European Billiards Championships is the team event Biathlon for players under 21. Biathlon is a mixture of 3-cushions and 5-pins. To begin the 3-cushion competitors play until a certain score and then the match is continued in 5-pins billiards. Only four matches are finished until now. Italy has won its match as well as both German duos. The match between Germany 2 and Austria was a very close one with an interesting ending. Austria was ahead 194:190 in a race to 200 until Sebastian Heimrath (Austria) made a foul which brought Germany the missing ten points. At the same time the club team-event in 3-cushions on the small tables is getting underway. A total of 32 teams are divided into eight groups, whilst the first two duos of each group will reach the round of 16. The final will be played on Thursday. Press release, April 28, 2019
Day 4: Andrea Quarta European Champion in 5-pins
At the European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany, the only competition that ended on Sunday was the 5-pins individual event. Once again this one was completely in the hands of the Italian players. When it came to the medals, the Azzurri were once again among themselves.
The final was played between Andrea Quarta and Fioravante Ceccione and in set one it was Quarta who impressively showed who is the favorite. But in set 2 he had problems making the last points, Ceccione took the opportunity and tied the game.
 Quarta seemed to wake up and from then onwards he played on a completely different level. The Italian finished set 3 with a score of 66:33 and just a few moments later he was already more than thirty points ahead of his opponent in the fourth set. Ceccione had no chance for a comeback, all he could do was congratulate his fellow countryman for another European title. The final score of this set was 61:23 in favor of Andrea Quarta.
The bronze medals go to Camilo Gomez and Michelangelo Aniello, both of course also from Itlay. Aniello had a great chance to beat Quarta in the semifinal but in the end he lost the deciding fifth set with 51:60.
In Balkline 47/2 the group stage was played today.
Title holder Eddy Leppens from Belgium showed, in two group matches, that he is still a class act in this discipline. Only Raymund Swertz from the Netherlands, who won the balkline 71/2-event yesterday, played a higher average than Leppens. Pascal Dessaint and Willy Geromint, both from France, also won two matches in the group stages.
For the host nation Germany this competition was very unlucky. Both Sven Daske and Arnd Riedel had the same amount of wins on their side as the resepective group winners but didn’t make it to the knock out stage due to a lower average.
Max Gabel from Germany is clearly on a mission in the 5-pins individual event for players under 21 years of age. Today the title holder won his three group matches and therefore advanced easily to the semifinals. His strongest competitor is Riccardo Matino from Italy who also managaed to win three matches in the qualification stage.
The last competition of the day was the free game for players under 17 years. Nick Dudink (Netherlands) as well as Jelle Billiet and Nick Rosier (both Belgium) all won their matches in the group stage and should be the favorites for the gold medal. The highest average was played by Dudink.
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Livestream | | | Press release, April 27, 2019
Day 3: Four new European champions crowned!
 The European Billiards Championships in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany was officially opened this Saturday evening, with a one-hour atmospheric celebration where the President of the continental association CEB, Diane Wild, officially opened the event. Mrs. Dr. Tietlind Tieman, former lord mayor of the city of Brandenburg an der Havel and now member of the German Parliament, mentioned the importance of the event for the city and thanked Mrs. Helga Blawid, her billiards club and all the helping hands for their effort.
Right before the opening ceremony the first European Champion was crowned. The two Dutchmen Erik Vijverberg and René Dericks faced each other in the Artistic-event. Dericks was favorite but the unusual system that was played for the first time made it a little tough for both players. At the start Vijverberg made a terrific 83 points in one inning, with his fellow countryman being a bit shocked about that. From then on both players made their points and showed great artistic performances, but Dericks was unable to reduce the gap between him and his opponent and it was Erik Vijverberg who was the first to reach the goal of 200 points. Marvin Heinrich from Germany as well as Kevin Tran from France fell short in the semifinals and therefore finished the event with the bronze medal.
Another Dutch winner brought the balkline 71/2-tournament. Raymund Swertz was the man to beat and in the quarterfinals it was Eddy Leppens from Belgium who almost made it. At a score of 200:200 the extension was needed. Swertz managed to make the necessary 20 points whilst Leppens failed after a round of only 6 points. In the semi final it was Swertz ‘s countryman Michel van Silfhout but after only three innings the match was already over with a score of 200:130 in favour of Swertz.
On the other side of the tableau Germany’s Sven Daske managed to beat Marek Faus (Czech Republic) to reach the final. That last match was close only in the first three innings, Swertz then ran the missing 111 points to celebrate another European Championship title.
The final of the Women’s Free Game tournament finished very fast. Magali Declunder from France managed to score the necessary 150 points in the first inning. Afterwards, of course her opponent Christel Willemse from the Netherlands had the chance to equal the score but naturally the pressure was very high. Too high, as it turned out a short time later, Willemse only scored a few points until she missed.
A few hours earlier she certainly had nerves of steel as she managed to make the required six points to win the match by a score of 150:144 against Germany’s Susanne Stengel-Ponsing. The second bronze medal goes to Monique van Exter (Netherlands) who lost 42:150 to Declunder.
According to the previous matches Denizcan Akkoca from Turkey was the favorite in the 3-cushion-event for players under 17 years. However, finals often turn out a little different. Demitrios Seleventas from Greece scored 10 points in the first two innings with Akkoca being a little shocked about that. During the next innings he failed to reduce the gap so it was Seleventas who had his first matchpoint at a score of 29:19. The final then became very dramatic. The Greek youngster failed to make the final point six times and Akkoca gradually came closer and closer. Seleventas finally made the 30th point to become European Champion. Both Luis Mira (Spain) and Jas Gaspari from Germany finished third. Gaspari was on the way to beat Selevenats in the semis but in the end the Greek won with a close score of 30:28.
In the 5-pins individual event the title holder Matteo Gualemi is already out of the tournament. He was seeded for the round of the last 32 but had to play against his fellow countryman Michelangelo Aniello, also a former European Champion. The whole match was absolutely thrilling and on a high level. At the end it was Aniello who had the better nerves and a bit of luck to win the fifth and final set by a score of 60:56-points.
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| | | Press release, April 26, 2019
Day 2: Defending champion Serdar Gümüs eliminated!
The European Billiards Championship in Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany already has their first big sensation. Two time defending champion Serdar Gümüs from Turkey has been eliminated in the Artistic Billiards-Event with two defeats in his group. He lost first to the Hungarian David Keller, before the Dutchman Sandor Jonen ended Gümüs’ hopes.
For the host nation this tournament is a success so far. The German champion Marvin Heinrich as well as Thomas Ahrens and former vice world-champion Bernd Singer are in the round of the last 16, which will be played on Saturday. Heinrich kicked out Baris Cin, who lives in Germany, but competes internationally for his home-country Turkey.
 The group stage in the 5-pins tournament was played today. In total 48 players divided into 16 groups played for 16 places in the single elimination stage. Losing wasn’t allowed today and one of the group winners was Michelangelo Aniello. The former European champion from Italy had to play the qualification due to the fact that too many Italians were already seeded for the round of last 32, Aniello also reached that stage without a problem.
Meanwhile the biggest hope for the host nation is Toni Rosenberg who finished 5th at the last world championships. He will have to deal with his fellow countryman Christopher Schock in the first round of the single elimination stage. The winner of that match will face the winner of Aniello and Gualemi Matteo (both Italy).
The third tournament which also started today is Balkline 71/2 on the match table. Dutchman Raymond Swertz seems to be on a mission once again. Both games of the group stage were finished by him in the first inning. One victim of the superiority of this exceptional player was the German Thomas Nockemann who unfortunately was eliminated as runner-up in his group.
However, his compatriot Sven Daske is still in the running, playing for a place in the quarterfinal against Spaniard Raul Cuenza. Fans should also keep an eye on the two Dutchmen Sam van Etten and Dave Christiani, who were also playing their final group stage matches on Friday evening.
From the German point of view the 3-cushion competition for players under 17 years is very pleasing. Youngster Ali Ibraimov played a great group stage with three wins and is through to the quarterfinals. He is followed by his countryman Jan Gaspari, who also won his group to advance to the final eight. The favorite for the European title seems to be Denizcan Akkoca from Turkey who performed also very well in his group.
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--------------------- Press release, March 25th 2019 European Billards Championships starts this evening This year’s European Billiards Championships will begin this Thursday evening. Following 2013, 2015 and 2017 the City of Brandenburg an der Havel/Germany is the host of the continental championships for the fourth time in a row. Around 500 players from over 20 nations are competing for the titles in the next eleven days. On Thursday the first disciplines will kick off. While 16 players of the 5-Pins-Event are already seeded for the single elimination stage, another 48 are divided in 16 groups to determine another 16 players for the final round. As usual the favorites are coming from Italy, but also the host nation as well as players from France will compete for the medals. The second event that will kick-off today is the Artistic-tournament.  The reigning champion is Serdar Gumus from Turkey who will have his first match on Friday. In total 24 players are competing in eight groups while the first two of each will advance to the single elimination stage. Especially this discipline of billiard sports is interesting for everyone, because the spectacular figures that need to be solved seem often to undermine the laws of physics.
You can follow the action live on www.kozoom.com. You can also check out www.germantour.net. In the section „Mediathek“ you will find the latest pictures along with reports in three languages. You can download the programme, the time table and much more. EC overview , EC media page
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