The 5th EEBC Championships, once again hosted at the Strefa Billiards and Darts in Łódź, concluded with complete success and dominance by Polish players. The two-day competition, with a prize pool exceeding 40,000 PLN, crowned individual and team champions.
Team Cup for Fortis Kielce
Excitement ran high in the EEBC TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 10 BALL. Fortis Bilard Kielce, led by Sebastian Batkowski and Mariusz Skoneczny, emerged victorious among the 28 teams. The Kielce players claimed gold, defeating Dominik Jastrząb and Szymon Kural in the final. Third place went to Strefa Łódź (Mateusz Śniegocki, Norbert Żelasko) and BS Sokółka (Konrad Piekarski, Hubert Łopotko). The top foreign teams finished in places 9-16: Slovakia 1 (Lang-Szabo), Slovakia 2 (Koniar-Furko), and Ukraine (Rudenko, Nikita, and Ivan).
Polish-Slovakian podium in 9-ball
The EEBC CHAMPIONSHIP 9-BALL tournament provided equally exciting results, with Szymon Kural (Kraków, UKS YMCA) winning the individual EEBC Champion title. After winning silver in the team competition, Kural gained revenge in the individual match, defeating Mariusz Skoneczny 9-6 in the final. Timothei Furko (BC OKO Senica – Slovakia) and his compatriot Jakub Koniar (Lavos Bratislava) completed the podium jointly.
"The competition between us was at a very high level," noted tournament winner Szymon Kural. "The last set was very strange, because after playing flawlessly throughout the match, we made
three simple mistakes at the very end. I lost focus, which fortunately my opponent didn't take
advantage of, and I was able to avenge my loss in the team competition. It was a fantastic
tournament, and I played very well. What's most pleasing is that I'm showing consistent form, I'm
consistent, and my bad matches are becoming less frequent. This is very encouraging, especially with
the World 8-Ball Championships in Bali approaching," adds Kural.
Finishing off the podium were Mateusz Śniegocki (Strefa Łódź – Poland), Petr Urban (Maple Pardubice – Czech Republic), Jakub Chrobot (Fortis Bilard Kielce – Poland), and Mark Szabo (BC Topolcany – Slovakia). It's worth noting that the top eight of such a strong men's tournament included three juniors (Furko, Szabo, and Chrobot). A total of 72 players competed.
"The EEBC Championships are a very demanding tournament. Over two days, players aspiring to the podium must play 10 to 12 matches. That's approximately 11 hours at the tables.
Thank you to everyone for participating. Congratulations to the medalists. I am very pleased with the work of the refereeing team, led by Andrzej Skupń. The team was effective while remaining in the shadow of the players. I would like to thank the hosts from the Strefa Billiards and Darts club, Krzysztof Gardjas and Maja Kowalik. The championships were an opportunity to summarize the EEBC international season. Together with our colleagues from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, present in Łódź, we have reason to be satisfied" says Marcin Krzemiński, President of the EEBC.
The live streaming was provided by TVsports.pl, and on this website you can still find rebroadcasts not only of matches taking place during the EEBC Championships, but also from previous EEBC tournaments. Media coverage was provided by CKsport.pl from Kielce.
SPONSORS:
Dynamic Billiard Organization, Iwan Simonis S.A., Aramith (Saluc S.A.), Cuetec, Kamui, Doorso, Mak Marketing.