THE DESTINATION OF the first gold medals at the PREDATOR EUROPEAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIPS was decided this evening at the spacious De Bonte Weever Hotel in Assen as Jorge Tinoco of Portugal took the honours in the 45-plus division, while Reiner Wirsbitzki (Germany) prevailed in the older category. Tinoco defeated Italy’s Andrea Grosso 75-17 and Wirsbitzki took care of countryman Martin Steinlage by 75-10.
For Tinoco it was a third individual gold medal to go alongside wins in 9-ball and straight pool in 2021. The Portuguese lost at the Winners’ Qualification round but secured his knock-out spot in the last chance of Loser’s Qualification and from there he didn’t look back.
He said after the match, “It’s my third gold and it was difficult, very difficult because in Portugal we don’t play straight pool so it’s difficult to adapt to the game. I started bad but I finished good! In preparation, it was one week or two at most. I can’t afford more as I’m an amateur so I don’t have the time for every game so I focus on 9-ball and 10-ball.
“So, it’s very good to win the straight pool against good players who have knowledge. It’s been difficult for the last two years; I had some issues. I had an operation on my wrist and I played injured which made it difficult so this is a real reward for me. I try to take it game by game and try to adapt to the tables which are very difficult this year, the pockets are smaller so there’s a small margin for error but I’ll try to do my best in every competition and let’s see,” he concluded.
The bronze medallists were Rene Sommeregger (AUT) and Janne Huttunen (FIN).
In the 55-plus tournament it was Wirsbitzki who prevailed to add to a gold medal tally that stretches back to 2018. From the quarter-finals onwards, the wily German conceded just 31 points in total as he asserted his dominance over the division.
He commented, “I’m very proud because I really wanted it in straight pool. The final is always difficult to play – a lot of lights, and in that moment, you either win or you lose so there’s a lot of pressure for all the players. But I’m happy because I played well in the final and at the end, the trophy, the highest achievement.
“I’ve started well and we have seven or eight days for 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball and the team event which is very important. We have a lot of players here from Germany so we’d really love to win the team competition,” he added.
Bronze medals in the 55-plus division went to Dirk Schwedes of Germany and Portugal’s Henrique Correia.
The 10-ball events in all three divisions got underway today and continue through Friday culminating in the title matches on Saturday night.
Streaming of Tables 1 and 2 for the duration of the Predator European Youth 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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