AFTER EIGHT DAYS of play at the 2026 KAMUI European Youth Pool Championships, just one day remains and it promises to be a medal extravaganza. The three 9-ball finals plus the two Team championship deciders add up to a day of thrills, spills, joy and heart-break. It will also complete the medal table, currently being led by Slovakia with Germany, Sweden and France all hot on their heels.
Germany’s Valentin Schmitz is looking for a big finish on Monday after a disappointing Championships, for his lofty standards. A gold and bronze in 2025 made him one of the favourites to show this year and he get’s his final chance after defeating Poland’s Wojciech Glob 8-5 to advance to Tuesday morning’s quarter-finals. With sister Merle a gold medallist in the 10-ball division, Valentin is fully incentivized to deliver in the final Under 19s 9-ball competition.
He said, “I’m happy to win this game 8-5 as I played really good. It’s given me some confidence and I hope it ends with a gold medal. The other events were a little bit disappointing but I had a difficult draw, I played three times against Ruben Gomes and he played really good all the time, so yeah. Here there are a lot of matches and I have to give my best in every match so it’s really difficult to play really good every day but it gives you a lot of experience.”
The aforementioned Ruben Gomes (POR) advanced alongside Schmitz, albeit in the opposite half of the draw, as he won the clash of the gold medallists, defeating 10-ball king Walter Laikre 8-4. For Laikre it was a disappointing end to his youth career, but he travels home with gold and bronze medals in the bag as he looks to bigger things.
Gomes, who won straight pool gold as well as 10-ball bronze, is a match away from adding to that. He said, “I knew since the beginning that it was going to be a very good match because Walter is one of the best junior players in world and I know I have the capacity to fight with him but the game came from my side and I was just enjoying it and potting the balls, and doing what I always do and that is giving my best.
“In 10 ball I didn’t play my best in the semi-final and I lost a game that I should have won and in 8-ball I didn’t play my best in the last 16 but it is what it is. We can’t always be perfect as we are only human. 9-ball, I feel that it’s my favourite discipline so I’m excited to play and I’ll try to win.”
In the Girls’ 9-ball, Poland’s Julia Cabala is hunting her second medal of the Championships after collecting silver in the 8-ball competition. She plays Tina Gulic of Croatia on Tuesday morning for a spot on the podium. It’s Cabala’s first trip to the Youth ECs and she’s certainly making the most of her visit.
Commented Julia, “Actually, I’ve been enjoying it a lot here. I was looking forward just to be here and I’m finally here and trying to do my best. I was a little bit surprised in the 8-ball as I wasn’t practicing it that much but I think I’m just trying to do my best. I’m really proud of myself, just trying to hold the pressure and to play freely. We have a really good team, we’re good friends and we’re really enjoying ourselves.”
Another girl at her first European Championships is Selina Scherrer of Austria who played her way through to the last eight of the 9-ball with a hard fought 6-4 victory over Altin Oyku of Turkey. Scherrer has been improving here tournament by tournament and has a shot at a medal on Tuesday morning.
She said, “I enjoy it, I’m having a lot of fun and it’s a big experience. I’m a little bit nervous but that’s OK and I’m very happy to have that chance. It’s a big experience and I’ve had a lot of fun and met a lot of players and I have a lot of people who support me.”
In the Boys’ Under 17s, Maks Benko, Timothei Furko and Mark Szabo are all in the race for a gold medal double but the likes of Azuolas Tadaravicius, Maj Badovinac and Wiktor Kaczmarek will have something to say about that.
Tuesday is the final day of the Kamui European Youth Pool Championships and there are five more sets of medals to be determined. The three 9-ball events resume at 8.30 at the quarter-final stage, with the three championship matches set for 12.15. Later in the afternoon, the two Teams competitions resume at the semi-final stage with the title deciders slated for 16.15.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 at the Kamui European Youth Pool Championships are 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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