THE 8-BALL ACTION concluded on Monday night in Assen as Finland won one, and Germany claimed two golds at the PREDATOR EUROPEAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIPS. Yvonne Ullmann-Hybler, Martin Steinlage and Valtteri Virtanen were the triumphant gold medallists, all adding to their tally this week.
Virtanen emerged a 7-4 victor over Italy’s Andrea Grosso in the 45-plus division, while Martin Steinlage relegated Manuel Pereira (POR) by 7-6 into the silver medal position in 55-plus. Ullmann-Hybler defeated countrywomen Veronika Kordian by 5-2 for her second medal of the championship.
Taking place at the De Bonte Weever Hotel in Assen, the Predator European Seniors Championship features 159 players from 24 countries contesting four disciplines of pocket billiards across three categories – men, 45-plus and 55-plus and 45-plus ladies.
Having come close in the previous event of 10-ball, winning a silver medal, Finland’s Valtteri Virtanen got his hands on a gold in the 45-plus division. He had to overcome a 3-1 deficit as Andrea Grosso came out quicker. He managed to square it up at 4-4, before running to the line for victory.
A delighted Virtanen said, “It feels amazing of course, very happy to win a really tough match. Of course, I was motivated (by 10-ball defeat) but also the experience of the final in 10-ball helped me to play better and play stronger in the 8-ball final.
“I feel that the arena is a little bit different, it’s warmer and the table affects a little bit differently. I feel very happy but also a bit lucky because these fields are so tough – there are so many good players and very tight matches and I won several hill-hill matches so I feel lucky to have won.”
The bronze medals went to Reda Belhaj of France and Poland’s Adam Kiernicki.
In the 55-plus division, it was Martin Steinlage who prevailed to add gold to the silver he won in straight pool. The match was a close-run thing but a turning point came at 5-4 to Pereira when the Portuguese missed an elementary 8-ball to reach the hill and let out a scream of anguish that echoed around the arena.
That levelled the score at 5-5, which then became 6-6 before Steinlage composed himself perfectly to run out from break to seal the championship.
He said ”I’m very, very happy. It was so close, I think at 5-4 for him he missed the 8 and that was a very important point of the match and after that I got some chances. One, I lost out but the next at 6-6, I made it and I’m very happy.
“I was feeling good the whole set. At the end, I was feeling I could win it. I want my chance and I was a little bit nervous, yes, but that was OK for me, not too much, so I made it. A not-so-easy 8 at the end but I made it!”
Mauro Vialetto (Italy) and Reiner Wirsbitzki of Germany collected the bronze medals.
The ladies also saw another player win gold after having previously won silver as Yvonne Ullmann-Hybler made no mistakes from a 4-1 advantage to win gold from Veronika Kordian. The German lady had held a 4-0 lead in the 10-ball final but saw that wither away but she had no such misfortune this evening as she grabbed the gold.
She said, “I so really happy, amazing! The loss in the 10-ball division, I was 4-0 in front and lost 5-4 so today I was 4-1 in front but I really didn’t think about that so I’m happy. Tomorrow at 9.00 is my next match in 9-ball. I cross my fingers again and I hope I’ll come again to the finals. Coming here, I was thinking about it (winning gold medals) and I hoped to get one and I did it!”
Completing the podium were semi-finalists Ulrika Andersson of Sweden and Germany’s Christine Steinlage.
There are just two medal categories left to complete here in Assen. The 9-ball continues tomorrow and plays down to the last 16 in all three tournaments. The team semi-finalists are already determined and they resume on.
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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