Semi-finals played
Sunday, 31 July 2011: Marc Bijsterbosch (NED) is the first player to reach the final of the straight pool in the juniors division. He defeated his fellow countryman Ivar Saris with 100:41.
The matchup between the two Dutch players was promising from the very beginning. Saris, who already took one gold and one silver medal in the 2008 pupils European Championship, just came back from a training camp in the Philippines for which he has qualified in his national federation. His opponent Bijsterbosch just failed to qualify. Both players are from the same hometown, both turn 18 this year and both know each other for the most time of their lives. Saris has defeated Jakub Koniar from Slovakia in the quarter final with 100:91 while Bijsterbosch eliminated Dmitri Storozhenko (RUS) with 100:86. Now these fine young players met in the semi-final of the European Straight Pool Championships.
On paper, Saris was the favourite. But the match unfolded not to his liking. Bijsterbosch, who plays a very solid tournament here in Luxembourg started very strong and took a quick 33:8 lead. Then Saris got to the table and tried to play a safety shot but scratched, giving Bijsterbosch ball in hand. Bijsterbosch took his chance and widened the gap to 58:7. When everything looked like Saris was almost beaten he managed to come back and tried to reach his A-game. He ran two racks but then again ran out of position. He just did not play confident enough and ended up having the cue ball in awkward situations. The fact that Saris did not play well was topped with the fact that Bijsterbosch performed at his peak. He made very difficult shots and continuously pocketed ball after ball in order to win the match with 100:41. He will have to deal with Bence Varga from Hungary in the final who, after a tough battle, defeated favourite Lars Kuckherm (GER) with 100:85
In the pupils division, the final match will be played between David Maslov (RUS) and Vitaly Pavlukhin (RUS). Maslov crushed Bongers (GER) with 75:48 while Pavlukhin overcame Tian Zhang (SWE) with 75:67.
The European Championships are hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epbf.com , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
