Great comeback without happy end
Thursday, 16 August 2012: Nick Malai (ALB) eliminated Olivier Mortier (BEL) from the event, defeating him 8:6 in the first loser’s round.
It was one of those close battles that are nowadays characteristically for the Euro-Tour, due to the high concentration of good players. Mortier opened the match and won the first two racks. Malai made some errors that were directly punished by Mortier. Then, Malai ran away and took a 5:3 and 6:4 lead over Mortier. At that stage, Malai controlled the match and it did not look like Mortier would be able to stop him anymore. But the young Belgian played some strong and skilful shots and found himself, only trailing 5:6. Yet, Malai had the better performance but he ran out of position for the 9-ball. He tried to play a combination shot but he missed the 10-ball. Mortier took the chance and tied the match at 6:6. The pressure was on now for Malai. Giving away a 2- point-lead at that stage of a match can have a fatal impact on a player’s mind. But to the opposite, it seemed as if Malai even grew stronger. Mortier broke the balls and had the 1-ball down. When he tried to pocket the 2-ball, he scratched. That was his last visit to the table. Malai ran that rack and broke and ran the next one in order to take the match with 8:6 from Mortier.
Other notable results include one of the two female participants Sara Rocha (POR) won her match over Roman Yaroshenko (RUS) with 8:6. Dominik Jentsch (GER) creamed Petri Makkonen (FIN) 8:1. Young Dutchman Roy Gerards sent Daryl Peach (GBR) to the loser’s side with 8:5.
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.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
