THE 2026 PREDATOR Euro Tour series got underway today at the Miracle Resort Hotel in Antalya as 130 men and 38 women uncased their cues for the Predator Turkish Open. 8-ball is the game as, like last year, the tour looks to rotate the events between the three main disciplines of the sport. There were three full rounds completed in the men’s event and two rounds in the women’s.
Among the victors was Pia Filler, who battled through for a hard-fought 5-4 win over local hope Eylul Kibaroglu. Filler, who had spent some time in the United States prior to Türkiye, chose to sit out the Predator European Championships in favour of recuperation and will be looking to add to her three Euro Tour titles this week.
She said, “Eylul is a good opponent, she’s a contender to win and I’ve had a lot of battles with her and I once lost a Euro Tour final to her. She made one or two mistakes and I made two mistakes but overall, a good opening match as the first one is always tough so I’m glad.
“Obviously coming back to Germany from Vegas is a nine-hour time difference and to here, it’s 11 so I knew it would kill me coming from Vegas. I always struggle and being in Vegas for two weeks with non-stop competition - I was seven weeks in America in total so a lot of tournaments back-to-back. I have to choose wisely; I’ve got to set my priorities in order to perform at my best level because I don’t want to compete if I know I can’t perform to my best.
“Josh and me are building a house so there was plenty of stuff to do and that’s why I had to skip unfortunately because I really love to play the European Championships. I hope to be there again next year for it. The most important room is done – the rest isn’t quite done yet but I’m happy with the pool room that’s all I need!” she added.
In the men’s event, Hubert Lopotko won his opening match and the unsung Pole will be looking to build on his late 2025 form when he reached the last four at the Predator Spanish Open in Gandia. Lopotko had no troubles getting past Hervis Hamid (NED) and can look forward to a tougher proposition tomorrow morning when he faces Casper Matikainen (FIN) for a spot in the winner’s qualification round.
Commented Lopotko, “I played good, the break wasn’t the best but I had some chances and I won the match. I play a lot of tournaments and a lot of Euro Tours these past two years so the confidence is bigger every time and I’m practising a lot now. I stopped working so billiards is my life. My goal for the year in Euro Tour events is to go to the top eight of the rankings.”
A player who competed throughout the European Championships is Sweden’s Walter Laikre who got his campaign underway with a solid 7-3 win over young German Martin Roser. He advances to winner’s round two where he will play Juan Carlos Exposito, who claimed the Predator European 8-Ball Championship last week.
Commented Walter, “I’ve played Martin many times in the European Junior Championships but I struggled pretty bad this match as it’s hard to restart. I’ve been here for such a long time, playing so many matches that it’s hard to be motivated every match but I managed to crawl through this match.
“It’s really difficult to be honest but I try and do something else between my matches than just sitting here in the venue or sitting in my room. Going to the gym, going outside, exploring the city, going to the pool, anything than sitting in the venue all day because then it’s really difficult.”
Tables 1, 2 and 3 at the Predator Turkish Opens will be streamed throughout on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/
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