Souquet out !
Friday, 26 August 2011: In a match that contained all ingredients that a real thriller must have, Oliver Ortmann (GER) eliminated Radoslaw Babica (POL) from the event.
The match went ahead as tight as expected. In the beginning, Babica seemed to be the steadier player. He had the better defensive break and ran his racks while Ortmann needed Babica to make mistakes in order to put points in his account.
Babica looked like the sure winner when he could not get position on the 10-ball in the 12th rack, already leading 7:4. Both players missed the 10-ball but Ortmann proved to have the better nerves. “I got a second life in that rack and I wanted to make use of it”, said Ortmann after the match. Missing the 10-ball in that rack was the beginning of Babica's downfall. In the next rack, Ortmann was able to pocket a combination shot, playing the 1-ball on the 10-ball, making the score 6:7 from his point of view. Then, Babica played a poor safety shot and again gave Ortmann the opportunity to win another rack. Hill-hill match! Then both players took a time-out. When they came back, it was Ortmann's break. He saw Tony Drago in the audience and told him to leave. “Tony and I are friends and I like him but every time when he is watching my matches I lost”, stated a superstitious Ortmann. Not today though. Ortmann broke the balls and had two easy shots in front of him to line up a combination shot with the 3-ball into the 10-ball. He called the 10-ball and made it, winning the thriller in Brandenburg tonight with 8:7.
In another encounter, soon-to- be hall of famer Ralf Souquet (GER) got ousted by dark horse Kevin Becker (GER). Becker was the underdog in that match but always kept the pace with Souquet. At a score of 2:2, Becker shifted into overdrive and snatched five consecutive racks fom Souquet, taking a comfortable 7:2 lead. Though Souquet was still fighting back, Becker managed to take the match 8:6 in the end.
The event is 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.eurotouronline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
