Mario He
DAY ONE WRAPPED up in St Johann im Pongau at the second event of the season on the Dynamic Billard Euro Tour. With 243 players in attendance, there were plenty of matches as three rounds completed. With the Tour’s strongest field contesting, there are plenty of intriguing matches set for tomorrow as the field reduces down to just 16.
Many of the starting Austrian line-up of 35 players made good progress with big name Mario He defeating Matjaz Erculj of Slovenia by 9-2 and then winning a final rack decider against Dietmar Pitz (Germany) to make his way into Winners’ Round 2 where he faces off against another German in Tobias Hoiss. Other Austrians to advance on the winners’ side include Mirzet Pandur, Gerhard Koch and Patrick Pomberger.
Joshua Filler (Germany) was gunning for his incredible sixth consecutive Dynamic Billard Euro Tour title in six starts, following consecutive wins starting at the Lasko Open in 2022 and taking in victories in St Johann, Podčetrtek, Lasko again and then Treviso. He opened his account today with a 9-3 victory over Poland’s Jegor Michejenko and now faces Alvaro Canoniga (Spain) in Winners’ Round 2 at midday on Friday.
Commented Filler; “Of course when you look at the stats and the chance to win six in a row, there’s pressure but I’ve had that before the event because I know, most likely, I’m the favourite to win it every time. The way I break, the way I play and the way I feel about the Euro Tour is always positive.
“When I played my very first one, I was 13 and I had the chance to play Oliver (Ortmann) and Dimitri Jungo and also beat them so I always have good memories when I look back on the Euro Tour so every time I come here, I’m enjoying the event, the table is playing good and it’s also my favourite place here, St Johann. I played my first final here, against Niels in 2015 so coming back there’s always pressure and this is what I like about sports, having pressure and having the chance to make records so I always look at the positive things.
“When I look back to when I was 17 or so and I looked to Albin who was winning the China Open and his first world title and he was 25 or 26 and I though ‘damn, he’s already that old’ and now I’m 26 myself but I know you can do this sport on the high level until you’re 45 so I still have a long way to go.
“Seeing all the new young players is also good because it shows you, we always bring up good people and the younger generation enjoys the sports which is always positive and this is what the future will bring. When you play these youngsters, they’re going to pick up many, many things from you. We have players like Felix Vogel from Germany who’s already been to a final then Walter Laikre and many more. I keep an eye on them and it’s good to see,” he concluded.
Another player fancied to do well this week is the in-form Pole, Mieszko Fortunski, who is starting to make a real name for himself in a national squad that is very deep in talent. Fortunski came through with a 9-6 win over Kostas Connaris (Turkish North Cyprus) and goes up against Sajan Schroter (Germany) tomorrow.
Sitting at No.2 on the ranking and having enjoyed his second Euro Tour victory in Tampere last year, Fortunski has emerged as arguably the strongest player in the Polish pack.
He said, “I won for the first time in a long time on the Euro Tour last year, so now I focus on every single tournament and I just want to win one of them this year. I just want to focus on my game. It’s really tough to win here as there are a lot of really good players in Europe and every match is tough so you have to keep that focus on every single shot and get the luck every now and again.”
Play continues at 9.00 on Friday with the conclusion of Losers’ Round 2 and plays all the way down to the last 16 with a total of eight rounds.
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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