Gray wins 2009 Costa del Sol Open, Souquet captures overall title

Mark Gray won the 2009 Costa del Sol Open in an all-English final.

Gray defeated Karl Boyes 8-6 in the final to earn the €5000 first prize. Boyes received €3000 for second place.

In the semi finals Gray beat home player Francisco Diaz-Pizarro 8-5. Boyes defeated Mateusz Sniegocki (Poland) by the same scoreline.

This was Gray's first Costa del Sol Open title and second win in total, from two finals. It puts him at No.16 on the all-time list.

Boyes' previous beat was third in the 2008 German Open. Sniegocki was looking for his first final in his third semi-final appearance. It was Diaz-Piarro's first ever Euro Tour start.

2007 overall winner Gray moves from ninth to fifth in the final Euro Tour Ranking. Boyes jumps from 24th to 12th.

Ralf Souquet (Gemany) "only" managed a ninth place finish this time but still held on to the lead to claim his second straight and record fifth Tour title. He also picked up the trophy in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2008. Imran Majid (England) and Niels Feijen (Netherlands) finished in second and third place respectively.

The tournament was played 3-5 December at Hotel Alay, Benalmadena, Spain. It was the last event of seven on the 2009 Euro Tour. First up on the 2010 Tour is the French Open which runs from 10-14 February 2010.

See also:

• Costa del Sol Open 2009 (Event page)
• Costa del Sol Open Photo Gallery (eurotouronline.eu)
• Official Website of the IBP Eurotour
• Gray beats Boyes in all British EPBF Euro Tour Ten Ball Final (Pro9.co.uk)
• Euro Tour: Costa del Sol Open (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• Mark Gray (Wikipedia)

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