NORWAY, REPRESENTED BY Mikael Oegaard and Emil Andre Gangflot, came from behind to defeat the Netherlands 9-7 in an exciting conclusion to the 2023 Longoni 9 Ball League in Treviso. The Dutch duo of Marc Bijsterbosch and Jan Rempe lead in the middle stages but saw their two-rack advantage evaporate as they found themselves on the wrong end of a five-rack burst from the Norwegians.

Things got underway and Norway took the opener before getting pegged back and the Dutch pair then moved into a 2-1lead. That went to 3-2 and then 4-2 as the Netherlands neared the halfway point. Leading 4-2, Rempe got the seventh game underway and with a ball down, Bijsterbosch was at the table. He left a tight cut for his partner who saw the cue ball drop into the centre pocket. It was a great opportunity for Norway to get back into it and they duly obliged to make it 3-4.

Norway lost the visit and but returned only for Gangflot to miss a bank shot into the centre bag. From that position, the Dutch duo were able to restore their two-rack lead. The Dutch looked good for the rack before Bijsterbosch overran getting to the 6 ball and Rempe missed a difficult attempt on it. Oegaard took on the long pot and Norway cleared to reduce the deficit as the score moved to 5-4.

Breaking, Oegaard just about made it on the three-point rule but left a long combination on the 1/8 which Gangflot declined and played safe. It was a weak one and Bijsterbosch made a good attempt to lock the cue ball up. Both sides had visits, combining safety with difficult missed pots before Norway closed it out to level the match at 5-5.

A loose safety from Gangflot in the next left the 1-ball on for Bijsterbosch but with two clusters on the table his miss didn’t look to be critical. However, the 1 ball rolled nicely into position for a combination on the 9-ball and the Norwegians won another one to take the lead at 6-5.

A very good safety from Rempe brought out a superb two-rail escape from Gangflot and the Netherlands couldn't recover from the position as Norway ran the table to increase their lead. A solid break from Bijsterbosch left no shot on the 2-ball as Rempe pushed out. Bijsterbosch got lucky as he potted the 2 ball off three rails but Rempe's miss on the subsequent 3-ball allowed the Norwegians back in. They made no mistakes as they dished up to reach the hill at 8-5.

It wasn’t quite over as the Dutch took the next to keep themselves in the game. The balls were out in the open in the 15th game for the Netherlands and they completed the rack to get within one of their opponents.

However, Gangflot's next break kept Norway at the table which was there for the taking. Sensing victory the Norwegian pair made no mistakes as they ran out 9-7 champions.

Friday morning sees the start of the Dynamic Billard Treviso Open which runs until Monday 27th November. All the matches can be viewed live by visiting www.epbf.com/tournaments/eurotour/ and clicking on the ‘LIVE’ button. This will take you through to viewing options. In addition, selected matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on the EPBF page.