Katerina Spyrou (CYP)
Portoroz, Slovenia: Martine Christiansen (NOR) accomplished her mission over Katerina Spyrou (CYP) with 7:3.
Spyrou had a great start but she could not keep that level throughout the whole match. In fact, her safety play and break shots need to be improved. "I normally play black ball and snooker. Pool is relatively new to me", stated Spyrou after the match. In fact, she is playing her first European Pool Championships here this year. She started two years ago. The Nr. 1 from Cyprus proved that her shotmaking skills were very good. She seemed to struggle with the safety play though. And her biggest disadvantage to Christiansen was the break shot. The Norwegian player seemed to be impressed by Spyrou's shotmaking in the beginning since she missed several shots including scratching while pocketing the 9-ball in the 5th rack. So Spyrou could get a 3:2 lead over Christiansen. But then, things went Christiansen's way. Spyrou still played strong shots but her strategic safety play could not keep up with the one from her opponent. 7:3 was the result in the end in favor of Christiansen. "I think I could improve my game. If I had known the rules better, I would have taken some different decisions every now and then", said Spyrou. "However, she played very well. She took advantage of my errors which is what you are supposed to do. And then she finished me off. So I have no problem in accepting that defeat. I know I will do better next time".
Other notable results from the 9-ball individuals include Huidji See (NED) winning with 9:5 over Nicolas Ottermann (GER). In an all-German clash between two former World Champions, Ralf Souquet clearly defeated Oliver Ortmann 9:4. Dominic Jentsch (GER) joined his teammates Ottermann and Ortmann by losing 6:9 to Jim Chawki (SWE).
In the women's division, Girls World 9-Ball Champion 2011 Oliwia Czuprynska (POL) defeated Girls World 9-Ball Champion 2012 Kamila Khodjaeva (BEL) with 7:5. It was the third time they met during these European Championships and all three times, Czuprynska left the table a winner.
In the wheelchair division, Jouni Tahti (FIN) hammered Henrik Larsson (SWE) 7:0! That was probably the most surprising result in the whole wheelchair competition this week.
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 or contact our press office.
