Darren Appleton (Foto: EPBF/AMM)
Darren Appleton (GBR) defeated Mario He (AUT) 9-8 in an incredible thriller at the Eurotour's Treviso Open.
The whole match was determined by the different playing styles of the two contestants. Appleton was the experienced and calm player while He played aggressively, being the young gun in this match. It seemed like Appleton would be able to come out on top of He without any problems. He was already on the hill with a very comfortable lead of 8-5 over He, but then the young Austrian player demonstrated coolness and refreshing aggressiveness in his performance. In the 14th rack, Appleton had the break shot and made some balls on the break. However, he had to start with a combination shot 1-ball on 6-ball and missed it. Mario He got to the table and played without showing any nerves. That was really amazing, having in mind that He just got out of the junior's division. He ran the balls and another rack, making the score 8:7 for Appleton. In the 16th rack, Appleton tried to pocket a ball over one cushion but failed. Mario He ran out and made it a hill-hill match; 8-8. The 17th rack had to decide who made it to the semi-final and who had to go home. And it became a dramatic finish. Mario broke the rack and made the 1-ball but the 2-ball was hiding behind the 3-ball. Everybody expected He to play a safety shot or a push-out. But He pulled out his jump cue and fired the 2-ball in, getting perfect position for the 3-ball. The audience went wild and applauded and everyone thought the match was over now with Mario He being the winner. But all of a sudden he missed an easy 4-ball. He could not believe what he had just done. Appleton got to the table and pocketed the 4-ball and 5-ball but got no good position for the 6-ball. The screenplay for the final rack could not have been written any more thrilling. Appleton missed the 6-ball and left a tough position for He. The Austrian decided to play a safety shot and rolled the 6-ball behind the 9-ball. Appleton took a very close look at the balls and played a kick-shot combination into the 6-ball, firing the 9-ball in the side pocket. Appleton won 9-8 and will now face David Alcaide from Spain in the semi-final.
Quarter Finals:
Mario He vs Darren Appleton 8-9
David Alcaide vs Noel Bruynooghe 9-6
Nick van den Berg vs Radoslaw Babica 9-4
Mark Gray vs Chris Melling 9-8
Semi-Finals:
Darren Appleton vs David Alcaide
Nick van den Berg vs Mark Gray
The semi-finals will be Alcaide starts at 14:30 local time while the match between v.d. Berg and Gray commences at 16:00 local time.
The event is 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.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
