THE PREDATOR EUROPEAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIPS got underway today at the De Bonte Weever Hotel in Assen with the start of the straight pool tournaments for both plus-45 and plus-55 men. It’s the start of a nine days of non-stop pool as 159 players gather to do battle across four disciplines - 14.1, 10-ball, 8-ball and finally 9-ball.
The over-45s division played its way down to the final 32 which gets underway at 9.00 tomorrow (Wednesday). One player hoping to keep the Polish end up after Dominik Jastrzab’s Predator Euro Tour win in the same venue last Saturday is Krzysztof Gastman, who won two out of two to advance.
After beating Jorge Tinoco (POR) to qualify, he said, “It was a very tough game but I held the line and got the win. I feel very nervous; I’ve not played in international tournaments for maybe 15 or 20 years so I tried my best but every opponent will be hard for me.
“We have seniors ranking tournaments in Poland and this year we had 10 to qualify for next season. I’m 13th in Polish rankings so it’s also a very tough division at 45-plus with a lot of tough players so it’s not easy playing in Poland.
“My favourite games here are 8-ball and maybe straight pool. 9-ball and 10-ball, I don’t have any luck at these games so a good result for me in these divisions would be a lottery but the other two are my better games,” he added.
A player no stranger to the podium at the European Seniors is Germany’s Reiner Wirsbitski. His impressive track record over the past seven years includes three golds, three silvers and two bronze medals. Unbeaten after two matches in the over-55s, he resumes in the last 16 on Wednesday morning.
Beating Berno Heeb of Lichtenstein, 75-42, saw him into the single elimination stage and he said, “I started very good and got in front, 52 to under 10, and then I lost my game a little bit so in the end it was a tight match. I think I must play a little bit better in the next round. I prefer 8-ball, in Germany we play a lot of that so that’s my best game.
“I hope I can win a medal and I really want to win one of the tournaments so I’m really looking forward to the next week. It’s the first day and I need a bit more time on the tables. It’s the first time I’ve played on Predator tables and the feeling is good but I need one or two days more to get a better feel.”
Tomorrow sees the closing stages of the two 14.1 events with the two finals scheduled for 17.00 in the main arena. The ladies’ get underway tomorrow with the opening rounds of the 10-ball tournament.
Streaming of Tables 1 and 2 for the duration of the Predator European Seniors Championships can be found 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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