The European U25 Three-Cushion Championship began on Friday, October 16, in Los Alcázares, Spain, with the group stage bringing together some of the continent’s most promising young players.
With a place in the knockout rounds at stake, the opening day offered a first look at the contenders for the European title. The 24-player field was divided into eight groups of three, with the top two in each group advancing to the last 16.
Morales and Özbas impress in the group stage
Spain’s Marcos Morales produced one of the standout performances of the opening day, defeating Sweden’s Mio Svensson 30–6 in just 13 innings, for an outstanding average of 2.307. Morales finished his group with four match points and an overall average of 1.578.
Turkey’s Seymen Özbas also made a strong impression, winning both of his group matches and finishing with the best overall average of the group-stage qualifiers: 1.714. Spain’s Bruno Martinez and Denmark’s Lukas Mortensen also topped their respective groups with two victories.
Defending champion Amir Ibraimov progressed from Group A after a win over Toon Bollansee and a draw against Gonçalo Santos. The German will now face Portugal’s Luís Pinto in the Round of 16.
Knockout stage begins
The Round of 16 gets underway on Saturday, with Morales facing fellow Spaniard Toni Garcia and Özbas taking on France’s Nathan Duriez. The quarter-finals are scheduled for later in the day.
The championship concludes on Sunday with the semi-finals and final, as the next generation of European three-cushion talent battles for the U25 crown.