THE 8-BALL MEDALS were determined this evening in Podčetrtek as three exciting finals unfolded at the DYNAMIC BILLARDS European Youth Championships. Two athletes claimed their second gold medals of the event – Riku Romppanen (FIN) and Maks Benko (SLO), while Linnea Hjalmarström (SWE) upgraded from the bronze she won at 10-ball. She also won a spot in September’s Predator World Junior Championships.
The Under 19 final was a real clash of the junior heavyweights with Mika Van Berkel, with a gold and a silver already to his name, taking on Riku Romppanen, the 14.1 champion. It was a tremendous match which once again proved the saying that it’s never over until the final ball drops.
Romppanen got things underway but it was Van Berkel who took the opener and in the second, taking stripes, the young Dutchman cleared from the break to double his lead at 2-0. The Finn lost position in the next, trying to break up a two-ball cluster and subsequently missed the 10 ball into the centre pocket. The leave wasn't the easiest for Van Berkel but he confidently cleared to give himself a 3-0 lead.
Van Berkel stayed on after his break but he too lost position and could not recover. Romppanen was in dire need of a prolonged stay, but he fouled on his first shot, scratching into the centre pocket. Van Berkel looked to be out of luck but an outstanding bank shot kept him alive in the rack and it was soon 4-0.
Romppanen got his first rack on the board in the fifth as he cleared from the break. It was still a big ask but his confidence was certainly boosted. Van Berkel wasn’t hanging about though as he speedily ran through the table for a 5-1 lead
There was no margin for error now and Romppanen cleared from the break for 5-2 but he was now relying on errors from his opponent. They both had opportunities in the next but it was Van Berkel who closed it out to reach the hill at 6-2. Romppanen ran out from his break to get to one back but it was now Mika’s to lose.
Van Berkel dropped a stripe from his break and stayed on them. With no trouble ahead, he looked set for the win but glaringly, he missed the final 8-ball into the corner pocket. Romppanen cleared for 6-4 and stayed in the match.
The Finnish lad then took the next rack from the break and Van Berkel was now under pressure, breaking for the match with no margin for error. A dry break was the last thing he needed and Romppanen had a chance to square the match on the hill. Full credit to Romppanen, he ran out and having looked dead and buried for most the match, was now breaking for the gold medal.
The break saw the cue ball roll up against the pink 12 with very few options available. He took a long time to decide but under the do-or-die circumstances it might have been the shot of the match as, with no cueing angle, he cut it into the centre pocket.
He went through a difficult table to leave himself a high-pressure 8 at an awkward angle into the middle pocket. Romppanen completed the task to win a crazy final and take the gold medal.
A delighted Riku said, “I’m really happy. He missed one 8 ball to keep me in it and I broke and ran all my racks. I never gave up despite being behind all the way and I’m hoping I can go on and win the 9-ball for three gold medals.”
Estonia’s Karl Gnadeberg and Mykola Moroz of Ukraine took the two bronze medals.
In the girls’ division, Sweden’s Linnea Hjalmarström completed the full set of gold medals as she overcame Oktawia Brodecka (Poland) by a 5-3 margin. She had previously won gold medals at 9 and 10-ball at the ECs in 2023. Linnea had trailed 1-2 in the early part of the match but won two frames to take the lead at 3-2 and from there, she never looked back.
Commented Linnea, “I’m really thankful for winning the 8-ball; in fact, it was quite frustrating that I didn’t win it last year. So, I’m really happy to have secured my spot in the World Championships and to have completed my hat-trick.
“I’m feeling really good for the 9-ball. I played a great match today and I love 9-ball so I’m going for a double. My goal was a triple but I would be really satisfied with that. I love to see all the new girls here and they’ve really impressed me playing at a high level,” she added.
For the two bronze medal winners – Shirin Volery (SUI) and Jolien Schuurman (NED) – it was their second podium finish this week.
The final gold medal of the day, in the In the Under 17 category, went to the irrepressible Maks Benko, who brought the home fans to life as he secured the second gold for Slovenia. He defeated Sweden’s Walter Laikre by 6-4 in a ding-dong match that saw Laikre take the early lead, relinquish it to Benko, regain it again at 4-3, then watch as Maks took the next three racks for victory.
The 14-year-old Benko had earlier won silver at straight pool and gold at 10-ball and he too will be on the long-haul flight to New Zealand in September.
Said Benko, “I’m very happy because I wouldn’t have imagined this before the tournament and I was so tired before the 8-ball and couldn’t imagine winning this title. I’ve won two out of three and the other was a second so I’m so happy with that.”
Today’s bronze medallists were Fabrizio Ingrasci of Germany and Poland’s Jakub Chrobot, who claimed his second medal of the championships.
From official website www.EPBF.com