10th July 2024 - Podčetrtek, Slovenia
10 BALL GOLD FOR SZOLNOKI, FILLER AND MALANOWSKI
THE SECOND DISCIPLINE completed this evening at the 2024 DYNAMIC BILLARDS European Championships in Slovenia as Oliver Szolnoki, Pia Filler and Emil Malanowski took the 10 ball gold medals after a long day’s play. Szolnoki (Hungary) defeated Niels Feijen 8-6, while Filler made light work of Spain’s Maria Teresa Ropero by 6-1 and in the wheelchair division, Malanowski (Poland) got the better of Slovenia’s Matej Brajkovic by 5-2.
In a match characterised by difficult layouts following the break, as well as tentative play from both players, it was Szolnoki who opened up the early 2-0 lead as neither player really asserted themselves. It was a confident Feijen who found his feet in the third rack as he cleared a difficult table to reduce the deficit to one rack.
A failed kick from Szolnoki gave Feijen a good look and he completed the run out to level the match. Following some quality safety play from both players, it was Feijen who had the first opportunity and he methodically worked his way around the table to take the lead for the first time at 3-2.
Despite having ball-in-hand, Feijen failed to convert in the next as he ran out of position and Szolnoki took advantage to tie the match up. He restored his lead in the next following a miss on the 8 ball by Feijen which presented the rack to Szolnoki.
The Hungarian potter took the next to restore his earlier two-rack lead before Feijen’s kicked escape from a safety left a makeable 2 ball for the Hungarian. He potted it, going rail first, and from there he completed the rack for a 6-3 lead.
There was some joy for Feijen in the next as he made a ball on the break and left himself a shot on the 1 ball. From there, he held it together to get the score back to 4-6. Feijen kept it going in the next as he eroded Szolnoki’s lead as the score stood at 6-5.
Szolnoki won the next rack though to reach the hill and then delivered the best break of the match that saw two balls drop. However, neither player could develop the table. Szolnoki had a good chance on the 1 ball but missed it to present a great opportunity to Feijen who made the most of it to get to 6-7.
However, that was to be Feijen’s final contribution as Szolnoki took the next to win the match and the coveted goal medal.
“I had to wait a long time for this gold. I lost a final in the Under 17 division, I lost a semi-final in the Under 19s, I lost a final in the Under 23 but finally I managed to win and it feels very good!
“I didn’t play the other disciplines, I only came for the 10 ball and the chance to qualify for the World Games, so I’m over the moon to finally get there and have a chance to experience that event. It was a risk but I live quite near and my opponent in the quarter-finals was playing in the 8 ball earlier in the day and I could rest for the match. Maybe I was more fresh.”
Bronze medals went to the German pair of Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen.
Once again, it was Pia Filler who made it two gold medals from two events as she coasted through the women’s 10 ball final, defeating Spain’s Maria Teresa Ropero by 6-1. Filler, who had taken straight pool gold on Sunday evening, never looked threatened as she romped to the finish line, opening up a 5-0 lead.
The win completes the set for Pia Filler and she can now add her 10-ball gold medal to the 9 ball she won last year, the 8 ball in 2022 and of course, the straight pool gold she won earlier in the week.
The bronze medallists were Lena Primus (Austria), her second medal of the championships and Sweden’s Linnea Hjalmarstrom.
10 ball was the first medal event for the wheelchair players and it was Poland’s Emil Malanowski who took the honours, defeating local hope, Matej Brajkovic who was defending this title. 5-2 was the scoreline and it was Malanowski’s first European Championship gold medal, building on last year’s two bronzes.
Malanowski had earlier climbed a mountain in defeating wheelchair legend Henrik Larsson in the semi-final, while Brajkovic had put paid to multiple gold medallist Jouni Tahti’s hopes.
Commented the jubilant Pole, “This victory tastes so wonderful because before the semi-final, I wasn’t thinking about the final or the gold medal. Coming into the match, I had a very big headache so I just focused on my headache. Matej played very well for sure, but missed some easier shots and soon I was up 4-1, and I knew it would be hard to lose from there. I hope to sleep today but I’m not sure!”
Play continues on Thursday 11th July with the resumption of the 8 ball tournaments.
For viewers at home, Tables 1 & 2 will be streamed throughout on YouTube. Table 1 will be on the Kozoom channel, while Table 2 will be available throughout on the EPBF platform. All other tables can be viewed on the Kozoom.com website, where there are a variety of subscription options.
Table 1 link = https://www.youtube.com/@KozoomTV/streams
Table 2 link = https://www.youtube.com/@theepbf/streams
Tables 1-20 = https://home.kozoom.com/en/all-cue-sports
ENDS