Wiktor Zielinski (POL), youngest Euro-Tour winner ever
The winner of the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2017 is 16-year-old Wiktor Zielinski (POL). In the final match, he outclassed his opponent Mario He (AUT) 9:1.
The final event of the 2017 Euro-Tour series has a sensational winner. He is probably the youngest and also fastest player to ever win a Euro-Tour event. So far, Zielinski’s best achievement in the Euro-Tour was a 5th place finish in Albufeira, Portugal, earlier this year. Here in Treviso, Zielinski started his quest with a 9:5 victory over his teammate Piotr Ostrowski (POL). His next victim was Gentjan Gega (ALB) 9:6. Then, he was defeated by Stefan Huber (AUT) 6:9 and sent to the loser’s side. Zielinski finished Jakub Koniar (SVK) 9:5 to get to the single elimination stage. In the round of the last 32 players, Zielinski wiped the floor with Abdulrahman Alammar (KSA) 9:1. Then, he outplayed local hero Daniele Corrieri (ITA) who had also played a strong tournament until then. In the quarter-final, Zielinski eliminated former World Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) 9:5. Said Peach on Facebook: „I lost 9:5 to Wiktor Zielinski from Poland in the quarterfinal so that’s a 5th place finish for me. He played excellent and I didn’t see a shot until 5:0 down, I battled back but it was a lot to ask. Watch out for this kid, he is 16 years old and an unreal talent in the game…. yeah another up and coming star from European pool.“ Peach was dead right with this estimation. In the semi-final, Zielinski took down Denis Grabe (EST) 9:2, winning nine consecutive racks against the Estonian. Then he got to the final match against Mario He. The Austrian also played pretty strong so far and he had an impressive list of opponents who he had taken down here in Treviso this time. Maksim Dudanets (RUS), Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, Niels Feijen (NED) and Eklent Kaci (ALB) were all ousted by He. The expectations for the final match were a bit in favour of Mario He since he was the more experienced player by far. So far, he has achieved one victory, one runner-up and 4 third places on the Euro-Tour. Today, the final match was a one man show by Zielinski only. He demolished Mario He 9:1 in a final match that only lasted 23 minutes !! Probably that was the fastest final in the history of the Euro-Tour. „I practiced very hard for this“, stated Zielinski after the match, „ and I’m so happy now that it is hard for me to express my happiness in words“, he added. This victory is for the record book in two aspects: the youngest winner and the fastest final match ever.
Top Eight Players
1. Wiktor Zielinski POL
2. Mario He AUT
3. Denis Grabe EST
Eklent Kaci ALB
5. Albin Ouschan AUT
Daryl Peach GBR
Niels Feijen NED
Aleka Pecelj SRB
As for the final rankings of 2017, Ralf Souquet (GER) has taken the lead position over from David Alcaide (ESP) who dropped three places. Souquet is the only player who has won two events in 2017. The two Austrian powerhouses Mario He and Albin Ouschan are right on Souquet’s heels.
Top Ten Euro-Tour rankings
1. Ralf Souquet GER
2. Mario He AUT
3. Albin Ouschan AUT
4. David Alcaide ESP
5. Nick Van Den Berg NED
6. Denis Grabe EST
7. Niels Feijen NED
8. Ruslan Chinakhov RUS
9. Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz ESP
10. Wiktor Zielinski POL
That concludes the coverage from the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open 2017. The next event to be covered will be the Dynamic Billard Italian Open in March 2018.
The event was hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.eurotouronline.com visit us on Facebook or check out our youtube channel for regular news clips or contact our press office press@epbf.com.
