LOS ALCAZARES - The main billiard talents from all over Europe will gather this week in the famous Spanish billiard school in Los Alcazares near Murcia on the Mediterranean coast. The European billiards Championships for players under 25 will be organized there from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 December. The four Spaniards, with Spanish champion Ivan Mayor (20), are among the contenders for the title, two French champions, Gwendal Maréchal and Maxime Panaia, are the main rivals. Among the participants are multiple Turkish champion Doğukan Çorbacı, Danish champion Lukas Mortensen, Dutch champion Joris van 't Zelfden, Italian champion Alessio D'Agata, Austrian champion Nikolaus Kogelbauer, Belgian champion Stef van Hees and German champion Ali Ibraimov.
The Sports Academy, Centro Infanta Cristina, is the training centre for young Spanish athletes, who live there internally and study in the cities nearby. Among others, the Spanish federation has accommodated 10 young billiard talents (9 boys, 1 girl) in a total of 80 athletes. The wonderful location, on a big sports complex with its own beach on the Mediterranean, has already developed well-known Spanish billiard players such as David Zapata, David Martinez, Ruben Legazpi, Javier Palazón and Carlos Anguita. The brain behind the trainings is the former top player José Maria Quetglas. Other European talents regularly come to the school for short training stages. Besides billiard players, the sports centre also develops tennis players, athletes, boxers, sailors and beach soccer players for professional careers.
The European Championship under 25 will be played this weekend with 32 participants divided into eight groups of four players. The participants have been selected by their own federations, including Spain, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Austria. The European tournament, which was under 21 then, was last played in Brandenburg in 2019, when Frenchman Maxime Panaia was the winner ahead of Nikolaus Kogelbauer from Austria. This is the first time that the championship is now being organised with players under 25, to give players an international stage who were unable to play championships during the COVID period.
Two of the four Spaniards at this EC are being trained internally at the centre: Ivan Major (20), who is from the Alicante area, and Mario Mercader (23). Daniel Peña (23) also trained for many years, lives in Valencia now. The fourth Spaniard, Sergio Martinez, lives in Barcelona.
In this centre, the then 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Anguita, who now plays for the PBA in Korea, surprisingly became world champion in the juniors four years ago in a field where big Korean talent Myung-woo Cho and Frenchman Gwendal Maréchal were the big favourites. Anguita is also a product of the Spanish school. Mario Mercader and Daniel Peña were among the participants that year in their own training centre.
Ivan Mayor, who was Spain's junior champion for the last two years, last year ahead of Sergio Martinez and Marcos Morales, is a big fan of the Spanish trainings. ''Jose Antonio Carrasco is our trainer. We work with him every day, all following the programmes of José Maria Quetglas, the big trainer and coach behind the successes.'' The top young Spanish players, of whom Zapata and Martinez are celebrating successes in Korea, have been trained by Quetglas for years. ''I know that David Martinez lived and trained here for nine years. We have a fantastic time here.''
Mario Mercader, who has lived and trained at the complex for eight years: ''The centre offers place to both athletes who stay and train internally and athletes who only come to train and live externally. Of the billiard players, 7 live permanently, 3 live externally. Jose Antonio Carrasco is the technical director of the Spanish billiard federation and also the coach of the players. Previously, it was José Maria Quetglas, who still comes to the centre regularly, especially when there are events for the juniors, like now with the European Championships, to see them play and spend a few days with them at the sports centre.''
Yvan Mayor, who has six Spanish titles to his name, sees the two French players Maréchal and Panaia as the main rivals for the Spaniards. ''But also Alessio D'Agata from Italy and the Turkish players. We will not underestimate anyone, because every player who comes to a European championship is dangerous.''
Ivan Mayor (20) from Ibi, Alicanrw
Six rimes Spanish champion in three ages, 5th at World championship under 22
Gwendal Maréchal (24) from Vannes
European champion under 21 and 18, 2x French champion
Maxime Panaia (20( from Colmar
3x European champion under 17, 1x European under 21, 9 French titles
Greek player Dimitrios Seleventos, winner at the European podium under 17
Alessio D'Agata (21) from Catania
5x Italian champion juniors, 3th World championship, 2nd under 17
Doğukan Çorbacı (20) from Ankara
3x Turkish champion juniors, 5x second in Turkey, 3rd European championship
Nikolaus Kogelbauer (19) from Vienna
2nd European championship under 21, 3x Austrian champion under 21
Enzo Riquart (21), from Amiens, France
2x French champion under 18, one time under 21, Second at European championship under 18
On the day before the start of the championship, players have the opportunity to practice at the complex. The tournament starts at 11.00 on Friday according to the following schedule:
11.00: Groups A, B, C and D
13.00: Groups E, F, G and H
Then sessions at 15.00 and 17.00.
Saturday: 9.00 and 11.00: group matches
Saturday 14.00: 1/8th finals 18.00: 1/4th finals
Sunday: 9.00: first semifinal, 11.30: second semifinal
15.00: final.
Party length: 30 points/maximum 50 innings
Finals: 40 points (no equalizing inning).
Organization: Spanish billiard federation
CEB representative: Did Schintgen.
The group layouts for the European Championships under 25:
Group A:
Gwendal Maréchal (France)
Dimitrios Seleventas (Greece)
Seymen Özbas (Turkey)
Pallucca Lenny (Luxembourg)
Group B:
Dogukan Corbaci (Turkey)
Nathan Duriez (France)
Alessio D'Agata (Italy)
Sebastian Heimrath (Austria)
Nathan Duriez (France)
Group C:
Maxime Panaia (France)
Daniel Peña (Spain)
Marcel Back (Germany)
Daniel Kristiansen (Denmark)
Group D:
Tom Löwe (Germany)
Mario Mercader (Spain)
Lukas Mortensen (Denmark)
Nick Dudink (Netherlands)
Tom Löwe (Germany)
Mario Mercader (Spain)
Lukas Mortensen (Denmark)
Nick Dudink (Netherlands)
Group E:
Ivan Mayor (Spain)
Simon Blondeel (Germany)
Björn Jensen (Denmark)
Joris van 't Zelfden (Netherlands)
Simon Blondeel (Germany)
Group F:
Nikolaus Kogelbauer (Austria)
Ali Ibraimov (Germany)
Christos Falangas (Greece)
Nick Rosier (Belgium)
Ali Ibraimov (Germany)
Group G:
Enzo Riquart (France)
Stef van Hees (Belgium)
Tom Slikker (Netherlands)
Luis Pinto (Portugal)
Stef van Hees (Belgium)
Group H:
Sergio Martinez (Spain)
Muhemmed Mustafa Kilic (Turkey)
Emanuele Criscino (Italy)
Goncalo Santos (Portugal)
Pictures Kozoom, Spanish federation, Ton Smilde, Edmund Mevissen, Paul Brekelmans, Hervé Lacombe
All matches broadcast live on Kozoom