DAY TWO OF the 2026 LONGONI Italian Open completed today, while the Longoni Italian Women’s Open got underway. Both men and women are down to the Winner’s Qualification round on one side of the draw, with several rounds to compete on the one-loss side. The events are taking place at the BHR Best Western Hotel, and the game is 10-ball.
There was a Euro Tour first as a father and son pairing faced off when Roman and Alessio Hybler met in the Winners’ Round 2. In the end, it was Roman who prevailed, defeating Alessio 7-5 in a hard-fought encounter.
Whilst there have been two historical sibling against sibling matches – Albin vs Jasmin Ouschan in 2014 and more recently Diana vs Kamila Khodjaeva – this was the first time a parent has done battle against their child.
Commented Roman, “For me it’s a really difficult match because it was the first time – it’s a new experience for me. In the future I know I’ll play more and more against him and he’ll play more than me here because I’m getting older and older but it was really tough because he played really good.
“We made some easy mistakes but it’s another situation when you play with your son and it’s not so easy. He started when he was 9 years-old and I go to every Euro Tour with him and to the German Championships and I watch every match of his. He’s growing up, he’s bigger than me now and I think if he does like he does in these last months and years he can be a really, really good player.”
Alessio said, “It’s always tough because since I was a kid, I’ve been playing and practising with my dad and since then I don’t like to play against friends or family so it was very difficult. My father is a really hard fighter and I’m more of a shooter and I don’t like it when the game is very slow and then I don’t play that good.”
Always a danger in any tournament he enters is Poland’s Daniel Maciol, who enjoyed victories over Virgile Messager and Daniele Corrieri to set up a tasty winner’s qualification clash against Stefan Kasper on Saturday morning.
Maciol is hovering at #15 on the rankings and enjoyed some gold medal successes, winning the 9 and 10-ball divisions, at the European Championships back in March. After a restorative mid-summer break, he’s back and ready to do business.
He said, “I feel very satisfied with my performance so far, with two wins. The summer break was very important to me; I had free time so I was spending time practicing, with friends, with my fiancée, so I feel prepared for the upcoming tournaments and I’m looking forward to it.
“I don’t give myself any specific goals for the year. In the upcoming months, there are so many tournaments coming up so I just try to focus on every single one but in the beginning of the year, I had good results, double European Champion and second place in the teams in Vegas so the year is going fine for me and I hope to make it even better in the next months,” he added.
The Longoni Italian Women’s Open commenced today as 51 players gathered and looking to add to the Predator Luxembourg Open title she won back in May is Germany’s Pia Filler who coasted into the Winner’s Qualification with two wins. She now faces Chantal Stadler after defeating Ine Kaplan 5-1, and then Merle Schmitz by the same scoreline to progress.
Currently sitting at No.2 on the WPA World Rankings, Filler is priming herself to see out the remainder of 2026 with some more high finishes.
She said, “I played very good in my first match this morning; this one right now wasn’t the best but you know, I still won. I always want to go deep as I want to win every tournament I’m in, even though the odds are not on my side but I just enjoy playing the Euro Tour and I look forward to playing the next two days.
“I’m travelling quite a lot and there’s a big Asia trip coming up – I think I’m on the road for eight weeks, so a lot of exciting tournaments awaiting. I can’t wait for Vietnam and Bali with the World 9-Ball Championship. I’m ready, excited and I can’t wait. It’s part of my job and I love travelling, I love to compete going to different places around the world, so I really enjoy it.”
A player quietly making her way up the Predator Euro Tour rankings, and currently at No.3, is London-based Ukrainian Daria Siranchuk. She defeated Katrine Saetereng of Norway by 5-2 to advance to a Winner’s Qualification match against Oliwia Zalewska (Poland) tomorrow.
A series of high finishes over the past year, including a semi-final and two quarter-finals, have seen Siranchuk progress as she looks ahead to the ultimate goal.
She said, “I’m really happy because I feel like I’ve been working hard and it’s just really nice to finally see some results coming into place so I’m happy it’s also showing in the rankings. I’ve worked a lot on my mental side and that’s the key for me so I’m just trying to improve and change my approach to pool in separate matches so that’s a big part for me.
“I try to practice five days a week. If it’s 10-ball, you try and concentrate on the specific discipline, practice the break and everything and also the safety game I’ve been trying to improve recently. Drills, cue action and whatever you’re preparing for.
“I think if I just keep my head straight and focus on the game and not the result, the win will obviously come at some point but it’s just the matter of me being able to do what I can do at the right time.”
The men’s tournament starts again at 11.00 on Saturday with the Winner’s Qualification round, whilst the Longoni Italian Women’s Open resumes with Round 2 on the one-loss side of the draw. As of 2026, WPA World Ranking points are now available on both men’s and women’s Predator Euro Tours.
Tables 1 and 2 at the Longoni Italian Open will be 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
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