Chris Melling
Day one is complete at the Dynamic Billiard Laško Open as a whopping 215 matches took place across 28 tables in double elimination play. With a big field of 217 players gathered in Slovenia, the play was unrelenting as stars of the game, seasoned pros and young up-and-comers battled to avoid an early trip to the one loss side.
An opening match defeat generally means a minimum of a further six wins to reach the last 32 single elimination stage, while staying on the winners’ side throughout means that only three victories are needed to reach a similar stage.
Hosted by the smart Hotel Thermana Park, there were a few big names that succumbed on the opening day. English duo of Chris Melling and Darren Appleton both lost; to Spain’s evergreen David Alcaide and rising Polish star Daniel Maciol respectively, which puts them both under pressure on day two. Former Euro Tour winner, Finland’s Petri Makkonen, also fell early, losing 9-8 to young Greek player Nick Chatoupis. The Finn bounced back winning his next match but has it all to do on Sunday.
Petri Makkonen
The seasoned Polish duo of Karol Skowerski and Mateusz Sniegocki also suffered defeats. Wiktor Zielinski, winner of the last Euro Tour event – in Treviso last November – was beaten 9-2 in a shock upset by fellow countryman Kamil Szaszor. 2021 Euro Tour finalist and European Under 21 Champion Aleksa Pecelj of Croatia also lost his opener and will have it all to do on Sunday.
On the winners’ side, most of the big names here in Lasko progressed without a stutter including Joshua Filler, Eklent Kaci, Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, and Alexander Kazakis. Play gets underway in earnest on Sunday morning as the field play down to the final 16 competitors.
The tournament concludes on Monday 28th February, starting at the round of 16 and playing down to the championship match. This is a new time slot for the tour, made to accommodate a live TV broadcast, initiated for 2022.
This the first of six events in the 2022 Dynamic Billiard Euro Tour series and players battle for Tour ranking points, as well as world ranking points for the newly implemented system operated by Matchroom Sport.
All the matches can be viewed live at www.kozoom.com
Results, live scoring and draw are available at www.epbf.com
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