Szymon Kural
WE ARE DOWN to the final 16 players in Austria as day two of the DYNAMIC BILLARD St Johann Open concluded a fierce day’s play. Nine of the top ten ranked players were in competition this week and there are six of those nine still in it as the tournament reaches its final day.
The last remaining Austrian hope left is Mario He who enjoyed three wins today including a last 32 9-3 victory in the round of 32 over young German Boris Ivanovski. He can look forward to a match against Mateusz Sniegocki tomorrow morning.
Joshua Filler enjoyed two wins today in his quest for a sixth consecutive Dynamic Billard Euro Tour title and he will be fancied as he faces recent WPA World Junior Champion Szymon Kural in the round of 16.
Young Pole, Kural, battled back strongly after getting relegated to the one loss side early in the day. He beat Germany’s Sebastien Ludwig by 9-2 to secure his passage to the final day’s play, where he faces the unenviable task of trying to derail Filler’s imperious run on the Euro Tour.
Kural, who is 19, said; “Joshua will be the toughest opponent I can play tomorrow but after this day I don’t mind. I started today with a hard loss to Valentino Cordelli in Winners’ Round 2 and I couldn’t do much and was a bit angry. I found my game, though, on the left side and played four matches in a row so it was definitely a hard day and a marathon but I’m happy that I’m playing tomorrow and will do my best as always.
“I know that I can play very very good but I think in a match with Joshua the most important thing will be the break. He has a very good one but if I can break well then maybe I can win. We shall see, he added.
Mohammad Soufi, the German-based Syrian, who won his maiden Euro Tour title last year in Tallinn, Estonia, is on course for number two as he defeated Dennis Grabe in a final rack decider on table one.
He said, “I played all the games well today but my break didn’t really work but I think positive and fight and as I have to win. Right now, I don’t feel I’m playing my best – my father is sick in hospital and that is affecting me but I’ll give it my best for him.
“I feel very good with my new cue. I’ve been playing with it for about six weeks and each time it gets better. Because it’s new and you have to really practice to make the change.”
Soufi faces a tough one against Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki in the next round.
The remaining competitors are back at 10.00 on Saturday morning for the last 16 matches and play through the day with the championship match getting underway at 17.00.
The Predator Euro Tour Women’s St. Johann Im Pongau Open gets underway on Saturday morning with the Round One matches starting at 9.00. There is a strong field of 48 players and they play down to the last 16 which reconvenes on Sunday morning to play to a finish. The final is scheduled for 16.00. All matches are a race-to-seven with alternate break.
For viewers at home, Tables 1 & 2 will be streamed throughout on YouTube. Table 1 will be on the Kozoom channel, while Table 2 will be available throughout on the EPBF platform. All other tables can be viewed on the Kozoom.com website, where there are a variety of subscription options.
Table 1 link = https://www.youtube.com/@Kozoo
Table 2 link = https://www.youtube.com/@theep
Tables 1-20 = https://home.kozoom.com/en/all
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer, so there is everything to play for. All Euro Tour tournaments are 9-ball and players compete in a double-elimination format, playing down to the last 32 competitors, and then single elimination until the finish. All matches are races to 9 racks with alternate break.
Results, live scoring, and draw are available at www.epbf.com
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