Ortmann bags 2009 Dutch Open

Germany's Oliver Ortmann won the 2009 Dutch Open.

More to follow ...

Caudron takes World Cup season opener in Sluiskil

Frédéric Caudron from Belgium successfully defended the World Cup event in Sluiskil, Netherlands.

In the final Caudron defeated fellow Belgian Jozef Philipoom 3-0. The frame scores were 15-4, 15-13 and 15-11. Tying for third were Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden) and Tayfun Tasdemir from Turkey.

This was the Belgian's second consecutive win in Sluiskil and seventh World Cup win. He earned € 5.500 for the victory. Philipoom got € 3.500 for second place.

Last season's Tour champion Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) had the highest general average among the 150 competitors with 1.934. Kouji Funaki (Japan) had the highest single match average of 3.000. Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece) had the highest run with 13.

Jaspers went out 3-1 to tournament surprise package Philipoom in the last 16. It was a high-class match with Philipoom averaging 2.400 and Jaspers 2.315.

With this being the season opener Caudron tops the World Cup Ranking. He's followed by Philipoom, Tasdemir and Blomdahl.

Caudron drops from third to fourth in the World Players Ranking. Philipoom leaps fom 40th to 16th. Jaspers holds on to the lead and Daniel Sánchez (Spain) stays in second.

The event took place 19-25 January 2009 at the Congrescentrum 't Meulengat, Sluiskil, Netherlands. It was the first of four events in the 2009 World Cup. The next event is in Antalya, Turkey, 5-10 May.

See also:

• Official site
• Tournament Details (UMB)
• Caudron se adjudica la primera prueba del año de la Copa del Mundo (Billarnet - Spanish)
• Caudron mate la rébellion (Kozoom - French)
• Worldcup de Sluiskil 2009 (Entrada 51 - Spanish)
• Dick botst op superieure Philipoom in Worldcup Sluiskil (Dick Jaspers - Dutch)
• Frédéric Caudron (Official player site)
• Frédéric Caudron (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Jaspers wins World Cup in Sluiskil (2006 Sluiskil World Cup)
• Blomdahl wins World Cup in Sluiskil (2007 Sluiskil World Cup)
• Frédéric Caudron wins World Cup in Sluiskil (2008 Sluiskil World Cup)

The US team wins World Cup of Pool

Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris from USA won the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.

In the final they defeated England's Daryl Peach and Mark Gray 11-7 to claim the $60,000 first prize. England earnt $30,000 for their runner-up position.

Holders China (Li He-wen and Fu Jianbo) were beaten 9-5 by England in the semi-finals. 2006 winners Philippines (Francisco Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo) were defeated 9-6 by USA in the same round.

Once again England impresses at a major pool event. Peach is the current world 9-ball champion, Gray is the current European No.1 and Darren Appleton recently won the World Ten Ball Championship.

The event took place from 7-10 October in Outland, Rotterdam, Netherlands. 32 teams took part and all matches were scotch doubles, winner breaks.

See also:

• 2008 World Cup of Pool (Official site)
• Team USA wins World Cup of Pool (AzBilliards)
• Team USA Beats England to Win World Cup of Pool (Billiards Digest)
• EE.UU gana la World Cup of Pool, por primera vez en la historia (Billarnet - Spanish)
• An unnecessary defeat in the quarter-finals (Ralf Souquet)
• World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam/Netherlands (Jasmin Ouschan)
• Berichte zum World Cup of Pool 2008 (Martin Kempter - German)
• USA Claims Party Poker World Cup Title (Poolmag's 8-Ball Blog)
• USA Claim World Cup Title (Professor-Q-Ball)
• Boening, Morris win world tilt (Manila Standard Today)
• After WCup loss, RP cue artists' woes continue (GMANews.TV)
• Champs end run of Pinoy duo (Business Mirror)
• USA wint WCoP (Poolkrant - Dutch)
• World Cup of Pool (Matchroom Sport Forums)

Related posts:

• Philippines capture World Cup of Pool (2006)
• China surprise champs in World Cup of Pool (2007)

Souquet strikes again in Netherlands Open

Germany's Ralf Souquet won his 14th Euro Tour title in the Netherlands Open.

In the final the 20-time Euro champ dominated fresh face Mehmet Cankurt (Turkey) 9-5. The victory was worth €5000. Cankurt's second place was worth €3300.

In the semi-finals Souquet defeated the home country's newly-crowned straight pool world champ Niels Feijen 9-6. Cankurt beat Russia's Konstantin Stepanov 9-6.

Souquet and Cankurt each lost exactly one match in the event – to each other. Cankurt beat Souquet 9-6 in the opening rounds. After that loss Souquet didn't look back, with scores of 9-1, 9-1, 9-4, 9-4, 9-6, and finally 9-5 versus Cankurt.

This was Souquet's first win in the Netherlands Open and 14th Euro Tour win overall, from 23 finals. It was his first since Belgium in 2003 though. He now has more wins than anyone on the all-time list. His long-time rival Oliver Ortmann has 13 wins. Ortmann was ousted by Souquet in the round of 32 in this event.

Defending champion, Imrad Majid from England lost 9-2 to Russian youngster Ruslan Chinahov in the round of 16.

The win takes Souquet from 20th to 6th in the Euro Tour Ranking. Losing finalist Cankurt moves from 48th to 24th. Mark Gray (England) once again holds on to the top position. Bruno Muratore (Italy) improves from third to second and Feijen moves from sixth to third.

The tournament was played 11-13 September at House of Billiards, Weert, Netherlands. It was the fifth event of seven on the 2008 Euro Tour. The next stop is the Dynamic Swiss Open which runs from 16-18 October, 2008.

See also:

• Netherlands Open 2008 (Event page)
• Netherlands Open Photo Gallery (www.eurotour.nu)
• Official Website of the EPBF - IBP Eurotour
• Souquet Goes to Weert (AzBilliards)
• ET Netherlands Open 9-Ball - First victory in 5 years (Ralf Souquet)
• Another intense pool-week (Katrine Jensen)
• EPBF Dynamic Netherlands Open 2008 now underway! (Pro9.co.uk)
• Eurotour Weert (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• Termin: Dynamic Dutch Open - Martin Kempter 9. Platz (OPBV - German)
• Ein Finale - Zwei Gewinner (Billard-Aktuell - German)
• Ralf Souquet (Official player page)
• Ralf Souquet (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Alex Lely wins Euro Tour event on home turf(2006 Netherlands Open)
• Majid on top in Netherlands Open(2007 Netherlands Open)
• Tony Drago wins French Open (2008 Euro Tour)
• Darren Appleton captures Italy Open (2008 Euro Tour)
• Engert wins Germany Open for ninth Euro Tour title (2008 Euro Tour)
• Nick van den Berg takes Austria Open title (2008 Euro Tour)

Frédéric Caudron wins World Cup in Sluiskil

Belgium's Frèdèric Caudron won the three cushion World Cup event in Sluiskil, Netherlands.

In the final he outgunned Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece) 3-0 (15-5, 15-3, 15-9).

Tying for third were defending champion Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden) and Kyung-Roul Kim from South Korea. They both lost 3-2 in their semi-final matches.

Caudron dominated this tournament stats wise. He had the highest general average of 1.963 and the highest single match average of 3.105. Belgian Barry Van Beers' 15 was the highest run of the event.

Clearly Caudron has kept his form during the off-season. Last year Caudron won two World Cup events plus the Sang Lee International.

The win puts Caudron atop the initital World Cup Ranking, followed by Polychronopoulos, Blomdahl and Kim.

Caudron also takes the lead in the World Players Ranking. Runner-up Polychronopoulos stays in ninth. Blomdahl drops from first to second and Sánchez stays in second.

The event took place 21-27 January 2008, in the Congrescentrum 't Meulengat, Sluiskil, Netherlands. It was the first of five events in the 2008 World Cup. Next event is in Porto, Portugal, 30 June - 6 July.

See also:

• World Cup Driebanden Sluiskil NL (Official site)
• Tournament Details (UMB)
• World Cup de Sluiskil 2008 (Entrada 51 - Spanish)
• Caudron en trombe (Kozoom - French)
• World Cup 3 bandas Sluiskil (Holanda) (PortalBillar.com - Spanish)
• Frédéric Caudron (Official homepage)

Related posts:

• Blomdahl wins World Cup in Sluiskil (2007)

China surprise champs in World Cup of Pool

NB! This is the 2007 World Cup of Pool. Also see the 2008 World Cup of Pool.

China (Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo) won the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.

In the final they edged out the Finnish duo of Mika Immonen and Markus Juva 11-10 to claim the $60,000 first prize. Finland earnt $30,000 for their efforts and Canada and Japan in third place won $16,000.

Holders Philippines (Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante) were beaten 9-6 by China in the quarter-finals.

The event took place from September 25-30 in Outland, Rotterdam, Netherlands. 16 teams took part and all matches were scotch doubles, winner breaks.

See also:

• 2007 World Cup of Pool (Official site)
• China Take World Cup in Thriller (AzBilliards)
• China Wins 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup (Inside Pool Magazine)
• China Edges Finland in Thrilling World Cup Final (Billiards Digest)
• China Take World Cup in Thriller! (Professor-Q-Ball)
• 2007 World Cup of Pool (Global Cue Sports Centre)
• China es la nueva campeona de la World Pool Cup 2007 (Billarnet - Spanish)
• Les Chinois jusqu'au bout (Kozoom - French)
• China wint World Cup of Pool in thriller (Poolkrant - Dutch)
• World Cup of Pool - Rotterdam (Bahram Lotfy - Danish)
• World Cup of Pool (AzBilliards Forums)
• PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool matches and teams (Matchroom Sport Forums)

Related posts:

• Philippines capture World Cup of Pool (2006)

Majid on top in Netherlands Open

England's Imrad Majid won his second Euro Tour title by capturing the Dynamic Netherlands Open.

In the final he defeated Roman Hybler (Czech Republic) 10-7 to win €5000. Hybler took home €3300 for the runner-up position.

In the semi-finals Majid beat Ruslan Chinahov from Russia 10-8 and Hybler defeated England's Mark Gray 10-6.

This was Majid's second win on the Euro Tour. He also won the 2006 Dynamic Billiard Italian Open.

The win takes Majid from 25th to sixth in the Euro Tour Ranking. Losing finalist Hybler moves from 28th to 14th.

Konstantin Stepanov (Russia) and Jonni Fulcher (Switzerland) hold on to the top two places. Daryl Peach (England) improves two positions to No. 3.

The tournament was played 12-15 June at the House of Billiards, Weert, Netherlands. It was the fifth event of seven this season. Next stop is the Swiss Open (October 24-27).

See also:

• Dynamic Netherlands Open (Event info)
• Official Website of the EPBF - IBP Eurotour
• Magique Majid! (Kozoom.com - French)
• Majid gana el Euro Tour de Weert, pero el líder es Stepanov (Billarnet - Spanish)
• Netherlands Open – Majid defeats Hybler (souquet.de)
• IBP Euro Tour Weert/Holland (jasmin-ouschan.com)
• Dynamic Netherlands Open "EuroTour" (Bahram Lotfy - Danish)
• Eurotour (AzBilliards Forums)
• Imran Majid (Official player page)

Related posts:

• Alex Lely wins Euro Tour event on home turf (2006)
• Wojciech Trajdos is surprise winner in Czech Open
• Christian Reimering victorious in Italian Open
• Daryl Peach on top in German Open
• Vassalos is surprise winner of Austria Open

Orie Hida wins Ladies World Three Cushion Championship

NB! This is the article for the 2007 World Championship. You can also read about the 2008 event.

Orie Hida from Japan won the Ladies World Three Cushion Championship.

In the final against Therese Klompenhouwer from Netherlands she won 3-0, with the set scores 12-0, 12-3 and 12-7. Ayako Maehara (Japan) and Gülsen Degener from Turkey captured the bronze medals.

Hida's average of 1.161 in the final was the highest single match average in the tournament. Maehara had the highest over-all average, with 0.878. Maehara (twice) and Klompenhouwer had the highest runs in the event with 9.

This was the second instalment of the championship. Hida also won the first one, in Sevilla, Spain, 2004.

The championship was held at La Plaza, Hoensbroek, Netherlands between 20th and 23rd December, 2006.

See also:

• Ævitæ World Championships Ladies 2006 (Official homepage)
• World Championship Ladies 3-Cushion (UMB.org)
• Orie Hida repite como campeona del mundo de Tres Bandas (Billarnet - Spanish)
  
• Orie Hida revalida el entorchado mundial a Tres Bandas (RFEB - Spanish)
• I.lk kez düzenlenen Bayanlar 3-Bant Dünya S,ampiyonas? (Bìlardo Türk - Turkish)
• World Championship Ladies (KNBB - Dutch)
• Biljarten: wereldtitel driebanden voor Hida (Dagblad De Limburger - Dutch)
• Orie Hida verteidigt Titel (Billard Zentrum - German)
• WK Driebanden Groot Dames in Hoensbroek (www.nieuwsinfo.nl - Dutch)
• Women: World 3 Cushion Championship (Sports 123)

Blomdahl wins World Cup in Sluiskil

Torbjörn Blomdahl from Sweden captured his second title in a row by winning the 3 cushion World Cup event in Sluiskil, Netherlands.

In the final of the season opener he beat the defending champion, Dick Jaspers (Belgim), 3-2. Germany's Martin Horn and Belgium's Roland Forthomme shared third spot.

The win naturally put him atop the World Cup Ranking.

It also took him to No. 2 in the World Players Ranking. Frédéric Caudron (Belgium) leads that list. Jaspers is in third.

The event took place January 22-28 at Hotel Marine Princess, Sluiskil, Netherlands.

See also:

• World Cup in Sluiskil (official site)
• Tournament Details (UMB)
• Sluiskil World-cup 3-cushion (Billiard Fans)
• Impérial Torbjörn Blomdahl (Kozoom.com - French)
• Torbjörn Blomdahl est le grand gagnent .. (Kozoom.com - French)
• Blomdahl suma y sigue en Sluiskil (Billarnet - Spanish)

Related posts:

• Jaspers wins World Cup in Sluiskil (2006)

USA retains Mosconi Cup with tie

USA retained the Mosconi Cup after this year's battle with Europe ended all square 12-12.

The rules state that the defending champion keeps the title in case of a draw.

Europe looked to be cruising, leading 8-4, 9-6 and 12-10, but USA once again came through with a battling performance. Corey Deuel won the last match 5-2 against David Alcaide (Spain).

Finland's Mika Immonen had a golden chance to win the trophy for Europe when leading 4-1 in the penultimate match against Mike Davis. Davis managed to claw his way back to 4-4 only to see Immonen needing just two balls for victory. The Finn lost position on the nine though and Davis kept the USA alive by potting the match ball.

USA now leads the event with 11-2. Europe's last win came in 2002.

The event took place from December 7-10 in the Cruise Terminal Rotterdam, Netherlands. Matches were singles, scotch doubles, scotch triples and scotch sextuples(!) with alternate break.

See also:

• Official homepage
• Mosconi Cup ends in historic tie (AzBilliards)
• U.S., Europe Fit To Be Tied! (Billiards Digest)
• USA Billiards Team Retains the Mosconi Cup (Inside Pool Magazine)
• Mosconi 2006 (Poolfoto's van Gerard)
• Mosconi Cup Trophy goes to USA - again! (European billiards)
• Mosconi Cup XIII – Victory given away (souquet.de)
• L'égalité imparfaite (Kozoom.com - French)
• El empate le sirve a Estados Unidos para retener el título de la Copa Mosconi (Billarnet - Spanish)
• Team Europe gibt Sieg aus der Hand (billiard.info - German)
• Amerika se Vratila iz Ponora (Biljarski Savez - Hungarian)

Alex Lely wins Euro Tour event on home turf

Alex Lely from Netherlands won the PoolComps.com Netherlands Open and the top prize of €5,000. In the final he defeated German veteran Oliver Ortmann 10-8.

Thomas Engert (Germany) had his second successive third place finish. He was joined by David Alcoberro from Spain, the surprise package of the event.

The tournament was played 20-22 September at the House of Billiards in Weert. In total 234 players participated. It was the fifth event of the season. There are two more stops, in Switzerland (Oct 4-7) and in Spain (Dec 6-9).

With this victory Lely leaps from 30th to 7th in the Euro Tour Ranking. Engert retains his lead. He is followed by Nick van den Berg (Netherlands) and Imran Majid (England), both moving up one place.

Losing finalist Ortmann jumps from 7th to 4th, Christian Reimering (Germany) moves from 6th to 5th and Niels Feijen (Netherlands) drops from 2nd to 6th.

See also:

• Official Website of the EPBF - IBP Eurotour
• EuroTour (Kozoom.com - French)
• Alex Lely's official homepage
• IBP Euro Tour Weert/Holland (jasmin-ouschan.com)

Related posts:

• Stolka is surprise winner in Sindelfingen
• Marcus "Napoleon" Chamat rules in Austria

Jaspers wins World Cup in Sluiskil

Dick Jaspers from Netherlands won the 3 cushion World Cup event in Sluiskil, Netherlands. He beat Swedish legend Torbjörn Blomdahl in the final. Trick master Semih Sayginer (Turkey) and Daniel Sanchez of Spain shared third.

The UMB have all the results.

Andreas Herb took lots of pictures.