Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Merckx finally finds success in 2009 Porto World Cup

Eddy Merckx from Belgium could lift his first World Cup trophy after capturing the World Cup event in Porto, Portugal.

In the final Merckx edged Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece) 3-2. The frame scores were 15-6, 2-15, 15-6, 9-15 and 15-2.

Surprise men Jae Ho Cho (South Korea) and Jeremy Bury (France) lost out in the semifinals.

Merckx received €5,500 for the win and Polychronopoulos got €3,500 for second place.

Jung Han Heo from South Korea had the highest general average among the 55 competitors with 2.014. He also had the highest single match average of 2.812. Merckx had a perfect 15 for highest run of the tournament.

This was a tournament of upsets, with many of the top players being ousted in the early rounds. Among those failing to reach the last 16 were defending champion Dick Jaspers (Netherlands), Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden), Frédéric Caudron (Belgium) and Daniel Sanchez (Spain).

Although this was the first World Cup win for Merckx he has previously won the 2007 European Championship and the 2008 World Championship.

Merckx moves from 11th to third in the World Cup Ranking. Polychronopoulos improves 11 places to seventh. Caudron and Martin Horn (Germany) hang on to the top two positions.

The Belgian jumps to sixth in the World Players Ranking. Jaspers, Sanchez and Caudron are the top three.

The event took place 29 June - 5 July 2009 at the Centro de Congressis Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal. It was the third of five events in the 2009 World Cup. The next event is in Suwon, Korea, 16-21 November 2009.

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Immonen wins Qatar Open

2009 Qatar International Open 9-Ball ChampionshipFinland's "Iceman" Mika Immonen won the 2009 Qatar International Open 9-Ball Championship.

In the final Immonen defeated Taiwan's current junior world champion Pin-Yi Ko 13-9. The victory was worth €40,000 with Ko getting €20,000 for second place.

Immonen trounced Antonio Gabica (Philippines) 11-3 in the semi finals. Ko beat England's reigning world 10-ball champion Darren Appleton 11-8.

The Qatar Open is part of the WPA World Tour:
  • Philippine Open (Niels Feijen)
  • China Open (Thorsten Hohmann)
  • Qatar Open (Mika immonen)
  • Patricks Austria Open
  • 10-ball World Championship
  • US Open
  • 9-ball World Championship
The victory will improve Immonen's current fifth place in the World Tour rankings. Appleton will be the new No.1.

The tournament was played 27 June - 6 July 2009 at the Grand Regency Hotel, Doha, Qatar. It was the third event of seven on the 2009 World Tour. Next up is the Patricks Austria Open on (Euro Tour), which runs from 17-19 September 2009.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ouschan conquers all in 2009 Great Lakes Classic

Austria's Jasmin Ouscan captured her third career win on the WPBA Classic Tour by taking the 2009 WPBA Great Lakes Classic.

In the final she dominated England's Kelly Fisher 7-2.

Karen Corr (Ireland) and Xiaoting Pan (China), finished joint third.

Defending champion Allison Fisher (England) lost 9-4 to Kelly Fisher in the quarter finals.

This was Ouschan's third win on the Classic Tour. She also won the 2006 EnjoyPool.com 9-ball Championships and the 2008 Carolina Classic.

Monica Webb (USA), who was gunning for her third title in a row on the Classic Tour, was ousted in the last 24 by England's Kim Shaw.

Ouschan's triumph takes her from 17th to third in the rankings. Kelly Fisher moves to first place, tied with former No.2 Ga Young Kim (South Korea).

The event took place from 17-21 June 2009 at the Blue Chip Casino, Michigan City, Illinois, USA. It was the second of six events on the 2009 Classic Tour. Next up is the US Open, at the Riverwind Casino, Norman, Oklahoma, USA, 29 July - 2 August 2009.

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Hogan and Evans win European Snooker Championships

David Hogan (Ireland) and Wendy Jans (Belgium) won gold medals in the 2009 European Snooker Championships.

Hogan defeated fellow Irishman Mario Fernandez 7-4 in the final of the men's event while home favourite Jans whitewashed Anna Mazhirina (Russia) 5-0.

Hogan blanked Germany's Sascha Lippe in the semis while Fernandez beat yet another Irishman, Brendan O'Donoghue, 6-2.

In an all-Belgian semifinal Evans eased past Caty Dehaene 4-1. Mazhirina edged Latvia's Inese Lukashevska 4-3.

This was Hogan's first major title. Jans won the European title three years in a row from 2004-2006. She also captured the 2006 IBSF World Amateur Championship.

With this victory Hogan won a spot on the 96-man 2009/2010 Main Tour.

Defending champion David Grace (England) lost 5-2 to O'Donoghue in the quarterfinals. 2008 Ladies champion Reanne Evans (England) did not participate in this year's event.

Former top pro Darren Morgan (Wales) won the Masters division. In the final he beat 2000 winner Joe Delaney (Ireland) 6-3. Morgan also won in 2007. He opted for the Men's event last year though, where he made it to the semifinals.

Tony "Tornado" Drago from Malta had the highest break of the tournament with a 139.

The event was held 3-13 June at the Crowne Plaza, Duffel, Belgium.

The European Main Tour play-offs (International Open) was played just before the tournament. Drago won the event to reclaim a place on next season's Main Tour.

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

Rubilen Amit wins inaugural 10-ball World Championship

Rubilen Amit from Philippines won the 2009 Women's World 10-Ball Championship on home soil.

In the final she defeated two-time world 9-ball champion Shin-mei Liu (Taiwan) 10-4 to grab the $20,000 first prize and become the first world champion in women's 10-ball. Liu received $9,000 for second place.

Amit defeated Japan's Akimi Kajitani 9-6 in the semifinals. Liu beat Jasmin Ouschan (Austria) 9-6.

This was Amit's first world title from her second final. She finished second to Xiaoting Pan in the 2007 World 9-ball Championship. It was also the first win by a woman from the Philippines.

Unfortunately the event was surrounded by some controversy. Read Sarah Rousey's blog post for more.

The tournament ran from June 2-6, 2009, at the SM Mall North, Manila, Philippines.

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Sánchez wins European Three Cushion Championship for a third time


Daniel Sánchez from Spain won the 2009 European Three Cushion Championship.

In the final he edged Belgium's Frédéric Caudron 3-2. The set scores were 15-11, 2-15, 15-2, 9-15 and 15-13. Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden) and Tayfun Tasdemir (Turkey) shared third place.

The final was a relatively low-scoring affair with Sánchez averaging 1.435 and Caudron 1.473.

This was Sánchez' third European title from three finals. His previous wins came in 1997 and 2000. In addition he has four bronzes.

Defending champion Dick Jaspers from the Netherlands was beaten 3-1 by Caudron in the quarterfinals.

Jaspers had the highest tournament average with 1.933. Blomdahl had the best single match average with a 3.750 against Kostas Papakonstantinou (Greece) in the group stages. In that match he also made a perfect 15, to share the high-run honors with Dion Nelin (Denmark).

Sánchez moves up to No.2 in the World Players Ranking. The list is still topped by Jaspers, with Blomdahl in third.

The event took place May 21-24 2009, in Sportshallen, Odense, Denmark.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Souquet wins German Open - Euro Tour's first 10-ball event

Ralf Souquet from Germany won the 2009 German Open.

In the final Souquet defeated England's two-time ET winner Imran Majid 8-4 to claim the €5000 first prize. Majid received €3300 for second place.

Souquet defeated countryman and defending champion Thomas Engert 8-3 in the semifinals. Majid edged surprise man Michal Czarnecki (Poland) 8-6.

This was the first ever 10-ball event on the Euro Tour and what could be more fitting than the all-time leader taking the title. This was his 16th win from 26 finals. Fellow German Oliver Ortmann is second on the list with 13 wins.

The German legend is on an amazing run. His last six finishes on the Tour is 5th, 1st, 1st, 5th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st.

Souquet extends his already massive lead in the Euro Tour Ranking. Majid improves from seventh to fourth. The Dutch pair of Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg hold on to second and third place respectively.

The tournament was played 21-23 May at Billiard Cafe Die Drei, Sindelfingen, Germany. It was the third event of seven on the 2009 Euro Tour. Next up is the Patricks Austria Open which runs from August 20-22 2009. It will be the 100th event on the Euro Tour.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Martin Horn lifts first career World Cup trophy in Turkey

Martin Horn from Netherlands earned his first World Cup win by capturing the World Cup event in Antalya, Turkey.

In the final Horn defeated fellow Dutchman, and last season's Tour champion, Dick Jaspers 3-1. The frame scores were 15-13, 7-15, 15-11 and 15-14. Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden) and Frédéric Caudron from Belgium lost out in the semifinals.

Horn received € 5.500 for his first victory and Jaspers got € 3.500 for second place.

Caudron had the highest general average among the 54 competitors with 1.713. Savas Bulut (Turkey) had the highest single match average of 2.307. Frenchman Jeremy Bury' perfect 15 was the highest run of the tournament.

Horn moves from 17th to second in the World Cup Ranking. Jaspers improves seven places to fifth. Caudron stays on top and Jozef Philipoom (Belgium) drops from second to third.

The winner jumps to sixth in the World Players Ranking. Jaspers, Blomdahl and Caudron remains the top three.

The event took place 4-10 May 2009 at the Otium Hotels Sun Zeynep, Antalya, Turkey. It was the second of four events in the 2009 World Cup. The next event is in Suwon, Korea, 16-21 November.

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