Can SalimGiasar, Jan-Henrik Wolf and Tobias Bongers Foto: EPBF
Sunday, 02 December 2012 Today, the final spots for the 2012 WPA World 9-Ball Championships have been decided. In the junior division, Can Salim-Giasar, Jan-Henrik Wolf and Tobias Bongers (all GER) snatched the final spots. In the girls division, the three remaining spots went to Katerina Polovinchuk (UKR), Ana Gradisnik (SLO) and Natalia Seroshtan (RUS).
29 junior players tried to get hold of one of the final three spots for the main field. Some of the better known names were Wojciech Szewczyk (POL) and Tobias Bongers (GER). The only one of the two to live up to his expectations was Bongers. He won all his matches and went straight into the main field. Szewczyk fell to the sharp blade of Salim-Giasar with 5:8 in the quarter-final. Unfortunately for him, that was the first round were the format was single elimination. Salim-Giasar had lost to his teammate Wolf in the second winner’s round and then defeated another teammate, Florian Zuewert with 8:4 in the loser’s qualification round. Then he defeated Szewczyk and Halbinger to secure a spot for him in the World Championship. The third in league was Jan-Henrik Wolf. He defeated Adrian Borowiec (POL) in the quarter-final with 8:4, and then lost to Bongers with the close result of 7:8. He then dominated the play-off for the third spot and clearly ousted Johannes Halbinger (GER) 8:6.
The girls had also three spots but only six players found their way to Willingen, Germany. Kate Polovinchuk and Ana Gradisnik both left no doubt that they wanted to be in the World Championships main field. They won their matches and made their way straight into the field. Natalia Seroshtan had to face Natalie Seichter (NED) in the play-off match for the final spot. The match was close and both players would have deserved to be in the final stage. But a decision had to come. After 8 racks, the match was tied at 4:4. Then, Seroshtan showed the more solid performance and took two racks in a row, winning the match with 6:4.
The World Championships will begin on Wednesday, December 5th, at 09:00 CET in the Sauerlandstern Hotel in Willingen, Germany.
The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) in conjunction with the WPA and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.wpapoolonline.com , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office.
