THE DYNAMIC BILLARD Euro Tour returns to one of its most popular venues as the St Johann im Pongau Open gets underway this Friday 14th April in the picturesque Austrian Alpine town. In fact, the Euro Tour’s history here goes as far back as 2010 when Karl Boyes defeated Nick van den Berg for his only Dynamic Billard Euro Tour victory. Since then, the likes of the Likes of Niels Feijen, Dennis Grabe, Mark Gray, Mario He, Alexander Kazakis, Eklent Kaci and Joshua Filler have all recorded championship wins in St. Johann.
Given the popularity of the venue, there is a whopping field of 246 players representing 41 countries registered to compete this week and due to venue sizing, the tournament is lengthened to four days with a conclusion being played out 17th April. The semi-finals and the final will be broadcast live or delayed to ten countries across Europe. For all other territories, play is available throughout via the EPBF website.
In addition, there is a Women’s Euro Tour event taking place on April 15th, concluding on Sunday 16th April. 55 players from 20 nations have registered which means that over 300 players will be in attendance in St Johann this weekend.
The defending champion this week is the ever-green Niels Feijen (Netherlands) who comes to St. Johann as the tour’s most successful player here, having recorded three victories in the Austrian mountains since the Euro Tour first visited in 2010. Wins in 2013, 2015 as well as last year where he defeated Francisco Sanchez Ruiz in the final, make this a happy hunting ground for the Terminator.
The 46 year-old Dutchman explained why, “I think, first of all, I really enjoy being in St. Johann. It’s a lovely place and the weather has always been awesome when we’ve been here. It’s a feel good place, you have the wellness, the swimming pool, the fresh air, you can go for a walk, and that’s good for the mind, good for the soul and that’s good for the game.
• World Nineball Tour to provide a minimum of $3-million prize money this year
• Over 40 World Nineball Tour events
• 1,000 hours of live pool in 2023, from the Matchroom Majors
Matchroom Pool is proud to unveil the formulation of the World Nineball Tour marking the benchmark for the game of professional pool globally with events reaching all four corners of the world boasting a minimum prize fund of $3 million: minimum of 40 ranking events and a minimum of 1,000 live TV hours for Matchroom events globally in an ever-growing list of broadcasters creating opportunities for all players.
Following in the footsteps of Matchroom’s highly successful model that has seen the Professional Darts Corporation and the World Snooker Tour both with over £15 million in prize money for the forthcoming season. The World Nineball Tour will accelerate at pace to provide a commercial platform for professional pool and change players lives.
The Nineball ranking structure has expanded to new territories to help players turn fully professional worldwide; the Tour will build a fair, transparent, and commercial constitution where players will see a profitable future, break new ground, and inspire stars of the future globally.
2023 will see 10 major events forming the backbone of the calendar promoted by Matchroom with a new signature 256-player field Spanish Open Pool Championship recently announced as part of a wider partnership in Spain. Similarly, the Southeast Asia territory will shortly announce a host of new events aligned to the World Nineball Tour.
We believe a collaborative effort between Matchroom and the rest of the world of pool will be the best way to ensure players have endless opportunities to earn World Nineball Ranking points that provide a gateway to the most-valuable tournaments on the calendar.
This year’s schedule is ever-expanding with the World Nineball Tour keen to work with organisers and federations all over the world as underlined with the launch of numerous new Ranking events across continents including the Americas, Asia, Oceania, and Europe.
It offers a platform for not only the players to earn a fair living but also for local organisers to grow their events with both Matchroom and the third parties set to benefit from unrivalled insight into the game. The direct goal is to also open further ranking event opportunities in the USA, South America, and central Europe.
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NINEBALL WORLD NO.1 SANCHEZ RUIZ TO HOST FSR JUNIOR OPEN
• Matchroom Pool invests further into Junior Nineball with third tournament
• Set to take place alongside Spanish Open on June 23-24
• Zero entry fee with total prize fund of $10,000
• Juniors to play in same arena as Spanish Open closing stages with final live streamed
Nineball World Number One and current world champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz will host the FSR Junior Open, the third junior event on the Nineball World Tour calendar set to take place alongside the Spanish Open Pool Championship in Lugo, Spain from June 23-24.
The tournament will follow the same format as the SVB and JS Junior Opens with 64 juniors aged 17 and under able to enter for free. A prize fund of $10,000 is in the offing as well as free entry into next year’s Spanish Open Pool Championship with all players also receiving a free custom jersey courtesy of partners Onboard Sportswear.
Sanchez Ruiz cannot wait to cheer on the juniors in a town where the Spaniard won his first-ever junior tournament: “To be honest, it's hard for me to assimilate everything from this last year and this news. After the victory in the Derby City Classic, I have had a lot of confidence and I have worked very hard to achieve everything that I have achieved.”
“Honestly, having a junior event in my name is a dream! I think billiards is growing a lot and young people can have a good future as a professional. My junior memories are wonderful and decisive in my career. I think that in the beginning, like anyone else, they are the most beautiful.”
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WORLD CUP OF POOL CHAMPIONS SPAIN TO DEFEND TITLE ON HOME SOIL
• World Cup of Pool to follow Spanish Open from June 27 to July 2 2023
• Second of three announcements this week for Nineball in Spain
• Nineball World No.1 Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide looking to defend title on home soil
• Nineball World Ranking used as qualification and seedings for first time
Defending World Cup of Pool champions Spain will get the opportunity to defend their crown on home soil with the 2023 edition set to take place from June 27 to July 2 at Pazo De Feiras E Congresos De Lugo just days after the completion of the inaugural Spanish Open Pool Championship live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in Spain.
World champion and Nineball world number one Francisco Sanchez Ruiz alongside confidant 2019 World Pool Masters winner David Alcaide will step out in Lugo looking to become the first country in the tournament’s history to defend their title and they will do it in front of a rapturous home crowd.
15 of the 32 countries competing have qualified from the Nineball World Rankings with the likes of two-time champions Austria, Great Britain, the USA, and Chinese Taipei amongst the sides to be on the seeded half of the draw. As host nation, Spain will also field a B team with rising stars Jose Alberto Delgado and Jonas Souto Comino set to join forces as the 16th seeded side.
The unseeded side will offer plenty of danger for the seeded countries with the 16 wild cards set to include China’s return to the international stage and three-time champions the Philippines with further countries to be confirmed over the coming weeks on the Matchroom Pool social media pages.
Guaranteeing each team at least £3,625, the World Cup of Pool is the only scotch doubles event on the Nineball World Tour with a total prize fund of $250,000 on offer.
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MATCHROOM POOL LAUNCHES SPANISH OPEN IN STRING OF ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SPAIN
• Spanish Open one of three announcements for the Nineball World Tour in Spain this week
• Spanish Open to take place in Lugo from 20-25 June 2023
• $200,000 prize fund for 256 player field event
Matchroom Pool is delighted to announce another signature multi-table major event, the Spanish Open Pool Championship set to take place from 20-25 June 2023 in Lugo, Spain at Pazo De Feiras E Congresos De Lugo with a $200,000 prize fund and the final two days broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in Spain.
The Spanish Open Pool Championship is the fifth 256-player field tournament promoted by Matchroom on the Nineball World Tour with players set to fight through a seeded double elimination stage led by the top 128 on the Nineball World Rankings before only 64 make it to the single elimination rounds.
Entries will open Monday, 3 April at 2 pm UK time with the top 64 on the current Nineball World Rankings given priority entry. The remaining spots will be up for grabs with entries costing $250.
In partnership with The Asociación Gallega de Billar Pool (AGP). The AGP was founded in 1992 by Carlos Iglesias Lorenzo in Cangas del Morrazo (Galicia - Spain), with the aim of promoting and disseminating pool billiards in Galicia, a modality that to date was not known.
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European Open 2023
The IPA professional pool tour returns for 2023 with the first of five events, starting off at Newcastle at the ever-popular Gosforth Park Hotel with the European Open from March 31dt though to conclusion on Sunday the 2nd of April, with free entry for spectators from start to finish.
250 players have eagerly entered with the Open, Amateur, Professional, and Ladies events up for grabs and plenty of money to win – though make no mistake, it will need to be earned in this field, and with 22 tables in constant use it’s going to be fast, furious – and noisy.
Newly crowned World Champion Clint I’Anson will be looking to build on his outstanding form, but can he shake off the champions curse which has seen the champs struggle the following season with everyone gunning for the main man, or will Marc Farnsworth bounce back and cement his place as rankings number one? Nothing is ever as simple as it looks, and in a sport growing exponentially throughout the UK and elsewhere, it would come as no great shock to see an alternative name on the first trophy of 2023.
With the C4 Sports YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuBUop_kfoY) covering the events live from 3pm Friday and 12pm Saturday and Sunday, and various bookmakers offering odds, this is my chance to take a guess at the main contenders – read on or make your own minds up, either way we are in for a festival of pool regardless...
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Francisco Sanchez Ruiz Claims Premier League Pool Title
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz has won the 2023 Premier League Pool title beating Jayson Shaw in the final 7-4 at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, England live on Matchroom.Live, Viaplay, and networks worldwide.
Sanchez Ruiz reached his fourth final in the last five Matchroom individual tournaments and did so by finishing top of the league by four points with a record 22 points overall before meeting Naoyuki Oi in the semi-finals. Oi maintained his spot in the top six for most of the week going into the final day and made sure of his spot late on with a 5-3 win over Shaw. A year back, Oi missed out on the final four by rack difference but on this occasion, the tables turned as Sushi Boom made it on the number by racks won. When it came to the semi-final, Sanchez Ruiz slayed Oi 7-3 at a canter to set up a tantalising final with either Sanjin Pehlivanovic or Shaw.
Pehlivanovic had led for large parts of this week but fell off the pace over the weekend, but held it together on the final day to face a tough semi-final with Shaw. Shaw meanwhile has played with freedom all week and hadn't looked too fazed with the job at hand. The Brit lost the opening rack but came good from there to leave Pehlivanovic trailing in his wake at 6-3 before wrapping up victory at 7-4.
Konrad Juszczyszyn's faint hopes of making the final four were ended abruptly in the afternoon whilst Alex Pagulayan missed out on the final spot by the margin of racks won to Oi. Pagulayan needed a heavy Oi defeat late on and at least register his own win. Pagulayan got the win but the heavy loss he needed Juszczyszyn to inflict on Oi along with Shaw beating him was not forthcoming for Sushi Boom.
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