Wojciech Szewczyk
The cream of European pool is gathered in the Northern Italian city of Treviso this weekend for the second event on the 2022 Dynamic Billard Euro Tour roster, the Treviso Open. Presented by BHR Treviso Hotel, who are hosting the event, as well as 5M Games, over 200 players will be in action, all chasing an elusive Euro Tour title over three days of compelling 9 ball action.
The tournament commences on Saturday 30th April, and concludes on the evening of Monday 2nd May. This is a new time slot for the 2022 season, as the Tour looks to consolidate its new live television broadcast which currently shows the closing stages of each tournament to a host of countries across the continent.
It’s fair to say that in the last six months, European pool has belonged to the Poles as both Wiktor Zielinski and Wojciech Szewczyk have swept all before them in a bonanza of world-class competitions. The 21-year-old Zielinski started his run in November when he won this title in Treviso and then followed that up by winning the next Euro Tour event, the Lasko Open in February. Shortly after, Wiktor bested a strong international field to claim the Las Vegas Open, a Predator 10 Ball event.
For countryman Szewczyk, the reward for a life-time of hard work and perseverance paid off on 1st of April when he was crowned World 10-Ball Champion in Las Vegas, beating Christopher Tevez in the final to lift the title.
Commented Szewczyk, “It was the biggest achievement of my life, pool-wise and overall, I’d say and this can only improve my confidence here in Treviso. A Euro Tour tournament is something I’ve wanted to win for a long time already. I did the math and I’ve played over 50 Euro Tours in my life and haven’t come out on top yet.
“I know the World Championship is the biggest event, but the Euro Tour is still the one I really want to win. Las Vegas showed me that the work I’m putting in over the last months and years is in the right direction. I don’t think I made a big mental jump, rather the win was proof that my continuous work has been beneficial.
As to his prospects this week in Italy, he said, “It’s very important here to start strong and if you go through the first two rounds as a seeded player then you’re already in the winners’ qualification. If you lose quickly, though, then you have five matches ahead and there is a very good chance that if the draw is unlucky then you’re going to have to beat three great players just to qualify for the last 32 so if you have an early hiccup then it can cost you.”
As well as the prize money, there are Tour ranking points on offer as well as world ranking points, 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.
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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