Joshua Filler (GER), the German wonderkid, just defeated Mika Immonen (FIN) in the single elimination round of the last 32 players of the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open in Tirana, Albania, with 9:7.
The result of the match is definitely a surprise but not yet the biggest story about the match. Also the pure fact that Filler won against Immonen in itself is not the biggest upset here. The major surprise of the match is the fact how Filler managed to triumph over Immonen. After eight racks played, Immonen was leading 7:1 (!) over Filler and just needed two more racks to waltz into the round of the last 16 players tomorrow. But then the match turned 180 degrees. Filler did not miss any more shots while Immonen started making mistakes. He scratched while playing a push-out, ran out of position and hooked himself up behind the wrong ball and left safety situations for Filler that the young German was able to run-out. What could hardly be believed became bitter reality for Immonen in this match. Filler succeeded in turning the match around, tore eight consecutive racks off Immonen and left the slate as the winner with a final result of 9:7. Filler will now face Nick Van Den Berg (NED) in the round of the final 16 players tomorrow morning at 10:00 CET. The Dutch just managed to stay alive in the field in squeaking past Maximilian Lechner (AUT) 9:8.
More surprising results happened in the round of the last 32 players tonight. Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH) who already eliminated Ralf Souquet (GER) one round earlier got the better of Mats Schjetne (NOR) and sneaked through with 9:8. The last remaining Albanian player, Eklent Kaci (ALB), out of the blue ousted EPBF Player of the Year 2015 Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (ESP) 9:6 and keeps his hopes alive for a high finish in the tournament on his home soil. 15-year-old Polish player Wiktor Zielinski (POL) continues his good performance from last week at the Youth European Championships. He sent former Mosconi-Cup player Nikos Ekonomopoulos (GRE) home with 9:5 and will now face Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) in the next round. Spanish stellar player David Alcaide (ESP) made short work with former World 9-Ball Champion Daryl Peach (GBR) and took him down with 9:3 in a single sided match. Tomorrow Alcaide will be up against Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) who eliminated Joao Grilo (POR) from the event with 9:8
Last 16 Players Single Elimination Lineups
Mark Gray (GBR) v Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz (ESP)
Joshua Filler (GER) v Nick van den Berg (NED)
Konstantin Stepanov (RUS) v David Alcaide (ESP)
Ruslan Chinakhov (RUS) v Wiktor Zielinski (POL)
Albin Ouschan (AUT) v Marcus Chamat (SWE)
Eklent Kaci (ALB) v Mateusz Sniegocki (POL)
Konrad Juszczyszyn (POL) v Sanjin Pehlivanovic (BIH)
Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) v Niels Feijen (NED)
In the Women Albanian Open, the quarterfinalists who made their way through the winner’s round are Nataliya Seroshtan (RUS), Veronika Ivanovskaia (GER), Diana Khodjaeva (BEL) and Kristina Tkach (RUS). They are waiting for the winners from the following matches:
Losers Qualifikation Round
Marharyta Fefilava (BLR) v Monika Zabek (POL)
Claudia Von Rohr (SUI) v Katarzyna Wesolowska (POL)
Ina Kaplan (GER) v Melanie Suessenguth (GER)
Pia Blaeser (GER) v Ine Helvik (NOR)
Tomorrow, the Dynamic Billard Albanian Open will continue at 10:00 local time with matches from the last 16 single elimination. The Women Albanian Open will commence at the same time with matches from the loser’s qualification round.
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