Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz is the Dynamic Billard Petrich Open champion after another blistering display as he beat Klenti Kaci 9 – 6 in a high-quality final at the Petrich Arena in the southern Bulgarian town. Having won his maiden title in Lasko, Slovenia in August last year, he followed that up just ten weeks later, winning the Antalya Open for back-to-back titles.
He took a runners-up spot to Niels Feijen last time out in Austria and now completes a hat-trick of wins on the prestigious Euro Tour. The final was a pulsating affair with both players at the tops of their respective games and in the end, it was very small margins that separated them.
Sanchez-Ruiz was thrilled with his third Tour title, “I feel very excited. This year I’m playing really good and with so much confidence but to be honest in the final I was a little bit lucky but I took my chances and I’m really happy.
“My first Euro Tour was in Lasko and after that everything changed in my mind with that win and I can’t wait for the next tournament. Sometimes I play fast, especially with the shot clock where you must do but this year I’m playing really good and feel so confident every time I play. I don’t really feel too much pressure so let’s see what happens during the rest of the year,” he concluded.
The match got underway as Kaci won the lag. There was a little back and forth safety before the Albanian ran out for the early lead. They shared the next two with run outs from the break and another one from Sanchez Ruiz levelled the score at 2-2.
The Spaniard took the first rack against the break to move into a 3-2 lead as a missed 2 ball down the rail from Kaci left it hanging over the pocket. It was Sanchez Ruiz turn to miss in the next as a difficult long 2 ball, cueing off rail, failed to find the pocket and Kaci took the opportunity.
A terrific safety battle in the seventh game saw Sanchez Ruiz leave the 1 ball on which Kaci disposed of and subsequently ran out to restore his one-rack lead. Normal service was resumed in the next game as Sanchez Ruiz ran out from the break to move the score to 4-4.
Kaci made three balls on break in the next but his safety left the 3 ball on. Sanchez Ruiz potted it but saw the cue ball fall into the middle pocket and with ball in hand, the Albanian cleared to move into a 5-4 lead.
An accurate snooker from Sanchez Ruiz saw his opponent escape but leave the 4 ball on and he duly pocketed it and ran out to put them back on level terms. It was break-neck stuff and when a loose safety from Kaci left the 2 ball on, Sanchez Ruiz took it and cleared up to take the lead again at 6-5 up.
A run out from the break from both players saw the score go to 7-6 in favour of the Spanish player. A miss from Kaci, attempting a shot-to-nothing, allowed Sanchez Ruiz to move to the hill and breaking to save the match, Kaci was forced to use his jump stick with the cue ball corralled in the corner behind the 6 ball. He made connection with the 1 ball but failed to pocket it and Sanchez Ruiz was a difficult table away from victory. He worked through the balls with precision and took down his third Euro Tour title.
Kaci wasn’t disappointed with his showing, “I broke good but just didn’t have many shots after the break and he had more than me. I was a game up then he went a game up and I had my chance at 7-6 to go 7-7 – I had a two-way shot but just didn’t really spin the ball and that was it. I’ve been playing good but it doesn’t matter sometimes – you play good but you still lose but the confidence is always there.”
The Dynamic Billards Euro Tour reconvenes from 1st to 3rd October with the Slovenian Open taking place in Lasko.
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 as well as selected matches on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.
Results, live scoring and draw are available at
www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurot
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