David Alcaide (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Defending champion David Alcaide has secured his place in the Last 16 of the 2024 European Open Championship, while World Nineball Tour stars Jayson Shaw, Ko Pin Yi, Aloysius Yapp, and snooker champion Gary Wilson have exited the tournament.
Now in its third year, the European Open Championship returns to Hotel Esperanto, in partnership with the City of Fulda, the local sports authority Fulda Die Sportstadt, and renowned broadcaster Sky Sports.
Alcaide’s title defence gathered momentum on the fourth day, beginning with a commanding 10-1 victory over Germany’s Ricardo Gutjahr on his home turf. Alcaide continued his dominant form, concluding the day with a decisive 10-2 triumph against Fitim Haradinaj to advance to the Last 16.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz mirrored his friend Alcaide’s success, overcoming Max Lechner 10-5 in his first match and then defeating Niels Feijen 10-7 in a closely contested encounter.
Hanoi Open champion Jayson Shaw fell short in the Last 64, trailing 8-3 against Chang Yu Lung of Chinese Taipei. Although Shaw managed to recover two racks, a risky 2-9 carom attempt backfired, allowing Chang to capitalise and close out the match 10-5.
Fellow Englishman Gary Wilson also faced disappointment, joining Shaw on the sidelines after a 10-8 defeat to Sanjin Pehlivanovic in the Last 64.
World champion Fedor Gorst continued his unbeaten streak in Germany with a dominant 10-2 victory over Salvador Garcia. Gorst then faced Aleksa Pecelj in a rematch of last year’s US Open semi-final, once again emerging victorious to advance to the Last 16, where he will be joined by Mosconi Cup Team USA captain Skyler Woodward.
Despite an earlier setback in the Losers’ Qualification round, Joshua Filler demonstrated his prowess throughout the day. Filler first defeated Jonás Souto Comino 10-4, before cruising past Labinot Markaj 10-2 in the Last 32, becoming the first player of the day to secure a spot in the Last 16.
Albin Ouschan staged a comeback in his first match, overturning a 3-2 deficit to defeat Lin Ta Li 10-6. The two-time world pool champion then faced Mohammad Soufi, who had previously eliminated him from the 2023 World Pool Championship. Ouschan, living up to his nickname ‘Smooth Operator,’ maintained his composure to claim a 10-5 win and progress to the Last 16.
Although all three Ko brothers advanced to the Last 32, Ko Ping Han and Ko Pin Yi were later eliminated by Johann Chua and Oliver Szolnoki, respectively. The only brother to advance was Ko Ping Chung, who defeated Marc Bijsterbosch in the Last 32.
Aloysius Yapp, the first qualifier for Team Asia in the Reyes Cup, made it to the Last 32 but was unable to continue his run, falling to Poland’s Daniel Maciol.
Mustafa Alnar advanced to the Last 32 after a decisive 10-2 victory against Greek cuesman Dimitris Loukatos. Despite his strong start, Alnar struggled in his next match against Alexander Kazakis, trailing throughout. However, he staged a dramatic comeback, clinching victory with a crucial 1-9 combo in a tense hill-hill showdown.
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Session Times
All times are local (CEST)
10 August – 12 pm – 4:30 pm / 6:30 pm – 11:00 pm
11 August – 12 pm – 4:30 pm / 6 pm – 9 pm
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Live rack-by-rack scoring will be available throughout the event at www.wntlivescores.com.
Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to catch the action with broadcasters globally and live on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected territories and on Matchroom.Live. UK-based fans can see the final two days on Sky Sports with the opening four on Matchroom.Live and the Matchroom YouTube. Fans in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.
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