Monday 9th September
PREDATOR WPA WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
VAN BERKEL & MAIMRE LEAD EUROPEAN MEDAL HAUL
MIKA VAN BERKEL (NED) and Revo Maimre (EST) led the way for the European representation at the 2024 Predator WPA World Junior Championships in Hamilton, New Zealand as they took gold medals in the Under 19 and Under 17 divisions respectively on Sunday. In total, the European contingent won six medals - two golds, one silver and three bronze from the total of 12 available.
In the Under 19’s, it was Van Berkel who came through a strong field to lift the trophy. Following on from his stellar performance at the European Championships in July where he won a gold and two silvers, Van Berkel went undefeated through the field. Staying on the winners’ side, he recorded wins over Jeronimo Izetta (ARG), Nabil Alshamrol (KSA), and Henry Nguyen (NZL) to take him through to the quarter-finals where he disposed of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Bo Cheng to guarantee a medal.
There he faced old rival, Felix Vogel (GER) in a 50/50 match which saw Van Berkel prevail 7-3. That set up the final against up-and-coming American Adrian Prasad which saw the Dutchman seal the deal with a 7-3 win.
Van Berkel, who lost out at the same stage at last year’s World Championship, was naturally thrilled with his win, “It feels great, I feel very proud for my country. It feels great to bring a trophy back home. Yes, the match was quite close in the beginning because we both underperformed. The weird thing was that I felt less pressure than last year and that’s I think why I don’t play my best. My next goal to get far in a major tournament.”
Revo Maimre took Under 17 gold for Estonia as he defeated Sweden’s Walter Laikre in a last rack decider of an all-European final. Maimre got off to the worst possible start, as he was defeated 7-5 by Poland’s eventual bronze medallist Jakob Chrobot 7-5 in his opening match. That relegated him to the one-loss side where he defeated local player Sean Beggs to progress.
Further wins over American Kaden Hillman and Lin Tzung Yi (TPE) saw him through to the quarter-finals where another American player, Hayden Ernst, was despatched 7-2. That saw Maimre face Lin Cheng Yen for a place in the championship match, and a 7-4 win set him on the path to glory.
Commented Maimre, “It still feels so unreal and I’m happy that I can bring a good name for Estonia’s juniors. The final was tight but I still played with him like any other competitor and I’m happy that I could play with him like that. My next goal is to win back-to-back World Championships so I will try my best so that I’m in the best possible shape for next year.”
The final of the Girls’ World Junior Championship was a nail-biting All-American affair which saw Sofia Mast defeat Savannah Easton in a deciding rack. Switzerland’s Shirin Volery, though, took a bronze medal after a great run through the tournament.
Volery enjoyed some strong wins, victims including European rival Jolien Schuurman in the quarter-finals before falling to eventual winner Mast at the penultimate hurdle.
It was a great experience for Volery who built on her European Championship form where she won a gold and two bronzes. She was more than happy with her trip down under; “It feels truly amazing. Already the European Championship was incredible but being able to compete with the best in the world and belong to them feels like a dream. I’m glad that I can give my country something back and represent them well.”
Medals
Under 19s
Gold – Mika van Berkel (Netherlands)
Bronze – Felix Vogel (Germany)
Under 17s
Gold – Revo Maimre (Estonia)
Silver – Walter Laikre (Sweden)
Bronze – Jakub Chrobot (Poland)
Girls
Bronze – Shirin Volery (Switzerland)
Further event details including scores can be found at the tournament’s Official Site: https://probilliardseries.com/