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Euro Tour Men / Dynamic Billard Estonian Open
Presented by the City of Tallin
Kalev Sports Hall
12 Juhkentali Street
Tallinn
10132
Estonia
www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour - facebook - live stream
www.tsh.ee/eng

Monday 20 February 2023

Mohammad Soufi (Syria) - claims first ever Dynamic Billard Euro Tour title.
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SOUFI CLAIMS MAIDEN ET TITLE

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF

MOHAMMAD SOUFI, the German-based Syrian, claimed his first ever Dynamic Billard Euro Tour title as he defeated World No.1 Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (Spain) 9-6 to claim the Estonian Open in Tallinn. Staged at the Kalev Sports Hall in the Estonian capital city, the match was a re-run of last month’s World 9 Ball Championship final but this time the outcome was different as Soufi got the better of a sub-par Sanchez-Ruiz.

Soufi’s best ever finish on the Euro Tour was a semi-final in Lasko, Slovenia in 2021 but he seems to have found the confidence to take his always-entertaining game to the highest level. Sanchez-Ruiz came into the final on a roll of all rolls, having totally dominated tournament pool in the past 12 months. However, mistakes here and there allowed Soufi the opportunity to claim victory.

Commented Soufi, “I’m very happy to win this event. After our last match in Poland and coming second in the World 9 Ball Championship, it gave me a big push to win my next tournament. It inspired me.

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“Before coming here, I felt I had to win it. I’ve the greatest respect for Francisco – he is the best player in the world, he plays very, very good but I wanted to get to this final. I’m so happy and ready for the next event. I’ve been training so hard and I believe that I have so much more and I want everyone to see what I can do,” he added.

Starting the match as favourite, Sanchez Ruiz unluckily scratched going from 6 to 7 in the opener and Soufi mopped up the table to take the opening rack. Not hanging about, the Spaniard dropped two balls on the break and a quick 2/9 combo levelled things up. Soufi, whose fast-paced style can unsettle opponents, took no time to run out from the break and restore his lead at 2.1.

Sanchez Ruiz enjoyed a golden break to get back on level terms, before Soufi gave the next away, missing the 7 ball into the centre pocket. That gave Sanchez a 3-2 lead but he missed the 3 ball in the next and after some safeties, the Syrian banked it up table and cleared the rack to level it once again at 3-3.

A great table-length cut on the 1 ball from Soufi set up the runout and restored his lead at 4-3. The next rack slowed the pace down as both players had visits as they traded safeties before Soufi fouled to give ball-in-hand to Sanchez and he kept himself together to restore parity as the intriguing match moved to 4-4.

Three off the break gave Soufi a great chance to restore his lead, but he failed to bank the 2 ball and left it hanging over the centre pocket. There were errors from both players before a double kiss from Sanchez left the 3 ball on for his opponent and Soufi ran it out for a 5-4 lead.

Both players had visits in the tenth game but it was Soufi who saw it out to open up a two-rack lead at 6-4. That soon became a three-rack lead as a jump shot from Sanchez saw the cue ball fall favourably for Soufi.

Sanchez Ruiz took the next with a well-executed run out but Soufi reached the hill in the 13th rack as he whizzed through the table to put himself on the brink of his first major title. In a must win rack, Sanchez delivered a crusher which saw two balls drop and leave the 2 ball available. He made it and then locked Soufi in a tight snooker, which he escaped from but left the 3 ball on for Sanchez who pocketed it and ran out for 8-6.

Soufi's next break was both dry and illegal but left nothing easy for the incoming Sanchez. He didn't play the best safety and Soufi downed a long 1 ball to stay at the table. There was a 4/9 combination available and Soufi rattled the 9 ball but it stayed out.

Soufi tied up Sanchez in a tight snooker and Francisco had a flash at it that saw balls scatter across the table. Soufi then missed the 4 ball, as the drama mounted, and left it on for Sanchez. He looked favourite but made a shocking miss on the 7 ball to leave three balls between Soufi and the title which he duly executed for a terrific victory.

Soufi has caught the pool world’s imagination with his speedy play and devil-may-care attitude around the table and it is something he wants to work on; “I play fast and sometimes I play so fast but I need some coaching in how to play slower at times. It’s two or three seconds but I probably need to slow down on some shots. I’ll always give my best and I know there are so many good players on the Euro Tour but I’m ready!”

Earlier, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz had beaten Alexander Kazakis 9-6 to move into the final, while Soufi squeezed past Niels Feijen 9-8. The Dynamic Billard Euro Tour returns at St Johan Im Pongau, Austria on 14th April.

All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.

Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com

Mohammad Soufi (Syria) - claims first ever Dynamic Billard Euro Tour title.
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DAY TWO

JUST 16 LEFT IN ESTONIA

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF

WE’RE DOWN TO the last 16 players at the Dynamic Billard Estonian Open following a full day’s play on the second day of three of the event. Taking place at the Kalev Sports Hall in Tallinn, the tournament is the first of 2023 on the Euro Tour’s six event calendar.

The first man through to the last 16 was Switzerland’s Ronni Regli, the No.14 ranked player. He beat game youngster Karl Gnadeberg 9-7. Reaching the final 32 was a tremendous achievement for the 2022 WPA World U17 Champion, who beat some good names earlier in the competition.

For Regli, who has reached one Euro Tour final before, back in 2016, it was a good result against a potentially tricky opponent. He said, post-match, “The goal is always to win the tournament but we will see how it goes. It’s tough, the Euro Tour, and tomorrow is a new day and now it’s time to calm down and prepare for tomorrow.

“There was no extra pressure playing Karl; there are so many young guns today and they play really great and for sure there is a good future for Europe,” he added.

Regli will face Miesko Fortunski tomorrow. The Pole has battled back well after losing his opening match to the aforementioned Gnadeberg.

Big guns Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and Niels Feijen, at opposite ends of the draw, both prevailed against Joao Grilo and Mats Schjetne, respectively. No one would bet against these two facing each other in tomorrow’s final.

Dennis Grabe is the last remaining Estonian player left in the competition as he defeated Spain’s Jose Alberto Delgado 9-5.

“I don’t think playing in Tallinn puts more pressure on me, rather it gives me more energy and motivation to play my best game in front of my friends and in front of my home crowd,” said Grabe.

“I’ve showed that I can play really good – I just finished in ninth place in the World Championship and I beat a lot of good players so I’m in good shape and I’m confident,” said Grabe.

The last 16 commences at 10.00 on Monday morning with the final set to take place at 20.00. As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

Running alongside the men’s event is the Ladies’ Estonian Open and from 38 starters, they have played down to the last four. No.1 ranked player, Eyllul Kibaroglu (Turkey) is one course to maintain her top spot as she overpowered Czech player Veronika Hubrtova 7-3. She will play Oliwia Zalewska (Poland), whose semi-final spot is her best Ladies Euro Tour finish in the past 12 months and could well get better.

The second semi-final is an all-German match between Veronika Ivanovskaia, who beat Bojana Sarac 7-3, and Melanie Sussenguth who got the better of Ina Kaplan 7-5. Both semi-finals get underway at 10.00 on Monday morning.

All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. The semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Duo5 - Estonia
SportKlub – Poland

Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com

DAY ONE

DAY ONE WRAPS UP IN TALLINN

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF

PLAY GOT UNDERWAY at the Dynamic Billard Estonian Open as the opening day unfolded for the 200 or so competitors at the Kalev Sports Hall in Tallinn. Almost four rounds of play were completed and absentees Joshua Filler and Wiktor Zielinski were joined by No.4 ranked player Eklent Kaci who failed to materialise for his first-round match, having failed to travel to Estonia.

That gave extra impetus to some of the big names competing, as 2022’s player of the year, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz won his opening game, beating Panagiotis Ksipoliteas (Greece) by 9-6. The Spaniard plays again tomorrow morning when he faces countryman Salvador Garcia Fernandez.

Estonian No.1 Dennis Grabe enjoyed a 9-7 win over Portugal’s Joao Grilo to safely negotiate day one, while countryman, reigning WPA World U17 champ Karl Gnadeberg, scored a fantastic win over No.10 ranked player Miesko Fortunski by 9-5. Both players had table time in the Longoni 9 Ball League on Friday evening but Gnadeberg certainly sent out a message with the win.

Another highly-decorated junior, 15 year-old Felix Vogel (Germany) made it two wins from two in Tallinn. Vogel was a gold medallist at the European Junior Championships last year and even at a tender age, is a dangerous opponent for anyone.

He beat Eero Romppanen 9-0 and then Azhdar Nasirov 9-3 to set up a Winners Round 2 match against top Hungarian Oliver Szolnoki, which will be a real test for the precocious young talent.

Mario He, the winner in Treviso last time out in November, suffered a body blow as he lost his opening match 9-6 to Adam Stankiewicz. The 21 year-old Pole is currently ranked No.76 on the Euro Tour and that was certainly one of his finer moments.

He though, bounced back on the one loss side as he defeated 16 year-old Finnish junior Juho Teittinen 9-6 to keep his hopes alive and he can look forward to facing another Finn, Leevi Auresto at midday tomorrow.

There are plenty more matches in store on Sunday as the field plays down to the last 16. Action continues in the morning at 9.00am local time, with Losers Round 2 as well as Winners Round 2 matches.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page. The semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Duo5 - Estonia
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria

Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com

PREVIEW

SANCHEZ RUIZ SET TO TAKE NUMBER ONE SPOT

Reporter: Luke Riches on behalf of the EPBF
Photography: ©EPBF

2023’s DYNAMIC BILLARD Euro Tour season gets into gear this Saturday 18th February – as 200 players gather at Kalev Sports Hall in the picturesque Estonian capital city of Tallinn to contest the Estonian Open. Played out over three days, with the semi-finals and final set for live TV coverage on Monday evening, the event operates as double-elimination down to the last 32 players before moving to single elimination to the conclusion.

Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, currently ranked #2, has a golden opportunity to slide into the number one position as his two biggest rivals, Wiktor Zielinski and Joshua Filler, have opted to sit out the tournament. The Spaniard is enjoying an unrivalled run of form which started when he triumphed in back-to-back Euro Tour events in mid-2021.

Since then, he has cleaned up, winning World 8 Ball and 9 Ball titles as well as the US Open and host of other championships. Sanchez Ruiz is without doubt, the best player in the world currently and will be the man to beat in Tallinn.

Absentee Zielinski will be on 2,390 points following the conclusion of the Estonian Open while Filler will finish on 2,280 points. This will shift them to fifth and sixth positions respectively in the ET rankings.

This opens the window for Sanchez-Ruiz to usurp the No.1 spot as well as give Eklent Kaci - #4 - and Mario He at #5 a great opportunity to improve their positions. Both players contested the final of the last Euro Tour event of 2022 – the Italian Open in Treviso - with He emerging a 9-5 winner.

It’s a first-time visit to Estonia for the Euro Tour and there is a large contingent of 29 local players entered. Heading the list is Euro Tour winner Dennis Grabe, ET ranked No.12, who will be hoping to impress in front of his home crowd. He will be ably supported by recent WPA World U17 Champion Karl Gnadeberg who is looking to make strides in the senior ranks.

Play gets underway at 9.00am local time, with the semi-finals and the final taking place on Monday evening, 20th February.

As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.

All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.

The semi-finals and final, played out on Monday night, will be live or highlights on the following television stations across Europe;

SportKlub HD – Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Greece
Duo5 - Estonia
SportKlub – Poland
ORF – Austria

Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com

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