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Johal wins England's Main Tour Ticket
Kuldesh Johal beat Robbie Williams 6-4 in the final of the EASB Pro Ticket play offs to reclaim his Main Tour place
The leading 16 players on the EASB's English ranking list convened at the Northern Snooker Centre to vie for the 'dream ticket' on the WSA 2010-11 Main Tour.
The first shock came in the opening round when Stephen Craigie, former European Under 19 champion, who had dominated the English season, was beaten 5-1 by Hull's James McGouran.
McGouran went on to beat last year's finalist, David Craggs, 5-4 before losing 5-3 to Robbie Williams in the semi final.
Another hot tip, Leo Fernandez, brother of the 2008 European finalist Mario, safely negotiated his opening match against Callum Downing, helped by breaks of 88 and 52. Downing was docked a frame for returning late from the interval, and saw his 3-1 lead turn into a 5-3 defeat.
But it all went wrong for Fernandez in the quarter finals. He opened a three frame lead against Antony Parsons, but Parsons battled back to win 5-3.
Kuldesh Johal, who went out in the last 32 of the 2010 European Championship to Northern Ireland's Alastair Wilson, started in style with breaks of 112 and 91 against Jonathon Bagley.
Johal then beat Adam Duffy, the former Paul Hunter Scholar, 5-1, before edging out Parsons 5-4 in the semi final.
England's second Main Tour place went to Adam Wicheard, who was Number One on the English ranking list. It is a remarkable achievement by Wicheard, who was on the verge of professional qualification two years ago, when he was diagnosed with a tumour on his spine, and underwent life threatening operations, which include surgeons having to break vertebra in his neck. Wicheard spent several months in hospital and several more months learning to walk again, before he could even contemplate getting back to the snooker table.
The UK and Ireland's other Main Tour nominations are Andrew Pagett (Wales), Dermot McGlinchey (Northern Ireland), James McBain (Scotland).
Ireland's number One Rodney Goggins didn't want the place and no other nomination from Ireland was accepted.
English Pro Ticket Play Off Results
Last 16
Stephen Craigie 1-5 (67) James McGouran
Robbie Williams 5-0 Rob James
Danny Ward (86) 5-4 Stuart Carrington (128,108,63)
Leo Fernandez (88, 52) 5-3 Callum Downing
Anthony Parsons 5-3 (105) Matt Wilson
Adam Duffy (89, 88, 55) 5-2 Sean Bullock
Kuldesh Johal (112, 91) 5-0 Jonathon Bagley
Quarter Finals
Robbie Willams 5 Dan Ward 4
Anthony Parsons 5 Leo Fernandez 3
Kuldesh Johal 5 Adam Duffy 1
Semi Finals
Final
Luca lifts European Crown
Fifteen year old Luca Brecel became the youngest ever European Champion after beating Dutchman Roy Stolk in the final in Bucharest
The precocious Belgian talent that is Luca Brecel added yet another trophyto his already full cabinet when he lifted the European Championship title
at the Rin Grand Hotel in Bucharest.
Brecel was the European Under 19 Champion at just fourteen and two weeks ago became the youngest Belgian Champion when he beat Main Tour Professional Bjorn Haneveer in the final.
Today he was pitted against the vastly experienced Roy Stolk from Holland. Stolk was a previous winner of a European Play Off and had one season on the Main Pro Tour before losing his place.
Stolk opened a 3-1 lead in the final with runs of 39, 36 and 71. But after the interval the Belgian teenager took control.
Brecel ran in a superb 120 break to close the deficit and took the next on the black with a 34 clearance to level the scores.
The Belgian added the next two frames and when he compiled 64 in tenth frame he stood just one ball from victory. But a red rattled and Stolk clawed his way back into the frame with a mixture of brilliant potting and astute safety, eventually sinking the black to stay in the match.
Brecel created a chance in the eleventh frame from which he accumulated 35 and that proved to be enough to leave Stolk with too much to do, and when another red disappeared the Dutchman stepped forward to offer his hand in congratulations.
The presentations were made by officials of the EBSA, the Romanian Federation, Romania Olympic Stars and special guest Jimmy White
Finals of the Ladies & Masters
Results Semi-Finals Mens
Wendy Jans retained the Ladies title, but not before overcoming stiff opposition from Germany’s Diana Stateczny. Jans opened the match with a 58 break, but was pegged back to 2-2. She ran in a 33 clearance to regain the lead but Stateczny countered with 32 to level again at 3-3. Jans then found her form with runs of 55 and 68 to secure a 5-3 win.
It was remarkable performance by the German girl who only turned from pool to snooker ten months ago and in March partnered Anne-Katrin Hirsch to the European Ladies Team title in Malta.
Darren Morgan retained his Masters title with a 6-0 defeat of Ireland’s Joe Delaney, in a repeat of last year’s final. Morgan had a titanic struggle against fellow Welshman Philip Williams in the semi final. Williams ran in breaks of 78 and a brilliant 135 total clearance to force the decider. He got in first in the final frame but lost position on 33 and Morgan stepped in with a 101 clearance to seal victory.
Luca Brecel produced the performance of his life to recover from a 3-1 deficit against Kristjan Helgason to book his place in the 2010 European Championship final.
Former professional Kristjan Helgason from Iceland, made all the early running, opeing a 3-1 lead helped by a run of 54 in the fourth frame. Brecel hadn’t done much wrong at that stage but it appeared as if experience might be about to win over youth.
Brecel came back after the interval with a run of 49 to close the gap and controlled the next three frames to turn his deficit into a 4-3 lead.
An run of 42 in the ninth frame by Brecel left Helgason needing a snooker, which he couldn’t get and Brecel booked his place as the youngest ever European Championship finalist.
Earlier in the event Brecel came top of his group with 7 straight wins, before beating Austria’s Andrea Ploner, Rene Van Rijsbergen from Holland and Michal Zielinski of Poland, to book his place in the semi final.
Brecel will face another former professional, Dutchman Roy Stolk, in the final.
Stolk overturned a 4-1 lead held by Israel’s Roy Fernandez, running in breaks of 52, 79 and 66 before closing out a 6-4 win with a 47 break.
The Dutchman had performed similar heroics in his last 16 match to edge out Welshman Jamie Jones in the deciding frame. And he went on to beat Ireland’s John Torpey in the quarter finals.
The Men’s Final takes place at 10am local time at the Rin Grand Hotel, Bucharest.
Semi-Finals of Mens & Finals of the Ladies & Masters.
The last 16 of the mens saw Helgason win against Anthony Brabin 5-3, Andrew Pagett beat Alister Wilson 5-0, Luca Brecel beat Rijsbergen 5-1, Michal Zielinski won 5-4 against Sacha Lippe, Kurt Maflin beat Alex Borg 5-2, Roy Fernandez beat Patrick Einsle 5-2, John Torpey beat Mario Fernandez 5-2, and Roy Stolk beat Jamie Jones 5-4.
The Quarter finals of the mens saw Helgason against Pagett, Helgason was on fantastic form and beat Pagett by 5 frames to 2. Luca Brecal had a 3-0 lead in his match against Michal Zielinski. But Michael threatened a comeback by taken the next 2 frames, but Luca proved too strong and saw the match out at 5 frames to 3. Netherlands Roy Stolk was a winner against Ireland's John Torpey at 5 frames to 3. Israel's Roy Fernandez, who won his last 32 match against last years champion David Hogan, proved his composure and abilities again with a 5 frames to 3 victory over this years European Open Winner Kurt Maflin.
The Final will be tomorrow in two sessions with the first session starting at 10.00am.
The Final of the Masters will see Darren Morgan of Wales against Irland's Joe Delaney.(7.00pm Today)
The Final of the Ladies will see Wendy Jans from Belgium against Germany's Diana Stateczny (7.00pm Today)
Ice Cap In Europe
Seven of the eight men's group winners won all seven of their matches, with only Andrew Pagett of Wales dropping a match.
A record nineteen countries have got players through to the knock out stages, another sign of the upsurge in the standard of snooker right across Europe.
For the first time Czechoslovakia and Ukraine qualified for the Last 32, while the European strongholds such as Germany, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Malta, Cyprus, as well as the UK countries, are all well represented.
Defending champion David Hogan from Ireland will face the European play off finalist of 2007, Roy Fernandez of Israel, while last year's runner up, Mario Fernandez, also of Ireland, takes on another Israeli, David Vitzman.
In the Masters event there was a three way tie for Number One spot after the groups with the two Welshmen Darren Morgan and Philip Williams tied with Denmark's Allan Norvak. The names were drawn out of a hat and Norvak took the Number One spot, leaving the Welshmen seeded to meet in the semi finals.
Ireland's Brendan Thomas has posted the best break in the Masters Groups with 111, and Llanelli's Philip Williams has run in 106.
The Ladies also had three players tied at the top, for the first time ever. Defending champion Wendy Jans from Belgium had an identical record to Anna Mazhirina from Russia and newcomer Diana Stateczny of Germany. Stateczny recently partnered Ann-Katrin Hirsch to victory in the European Team Championship in Malta.
Wendy Jans currently holds the high break in the ladies event with 56
Metal Maflin is the Main Man
Norway's Kurt Maflin, the twenty-six year old 2006 IBSF World Champion, has regained his Main Tour professional status after a stunning display of snooker over two day's competition at the Rin Grand Hotel in Bucharest, Romania.
Maflin's performance was all the more amazing in view of the fact that in March, he skidded on ice in Norway and smashed his shoulder and broke his collar bone. After an operation he now has 7 screws and a 6 inch metal plate in his shoulder.
"It's great fun at the airport security", laughs Maflin!
The Norwegian domiciled Londoner, who now speaks fluent Norwegian, blasted in 74 to open the final against the vastly experienced Alex Borg, from Malta; also a former professional.
Borg needed two snookers, got one of them but left the brown on for Maflin. But the twice former European Champion bounced back to take the second with two scoring visits.
Borg dominated the fifth to pull back to within a frame, but he couldn't do anything but sit back and admire as Maflin slammed in a 123 clearance to go 4-2 ahead.
A cagey start to the seventh saw Borg open a 42 point lead, helped by two misses and a warning for his opponent. But Maflin spotted a red and set about a match winning 83 break to seal victory.
Maflin's first priority after the match was to phone home to girlfriend Anita Rizzuti, who was back in Norway looking after young Neon, their 2 year 4 month old son.
Rizzuti is still Norway's leading lady player despite motherhood and it was while they were competing in a European Championships in 2001, in Latvia, that the pair met.
Naturally Maflin was pretty pleased with both his win, and also his performance. "It you play like that it's hard to get beaten," he commented."Wow, I'm really, really happy about that win." "My first target on the Main Tour will be to stay on. And my main target will be to get into the Top 64."
Maflin will head home to Norway after the European Championships to have discussions with the Norwegian Federation. They sponsored him to compete in the last three PIOS events and to travel to Romania to play.
Maflin had been working part time in a restaurant prior to his escapades on the Norwegian ice. "It's all going to be about time and money next season. I'll be aiming to play in every event and it will be great to be playing across Europe too. "I want to concentrate solely on snooker and play full time. But I need to see if I can get the funding to be able to do that."
L-R: Maxime Cassis, Kurt Maflin, Alex Borg, Joe Caruana Curran
"I don't come over to practice with people. I get on a table and put the time in on my own." Both Maflin and Borg won their semi finals in double quick time. Borg beaten Holland's Rene Van Rijsbergen 4-0, while Maflin ratled in 67 and 94 during a 5-1 win over Malta's Duncan Bezzina. Maflin's 123 in the final earned him the 100 Euro high break prize and he also had 120 and 103 in a tally of fifteen breaks over 50.
Borg wasn't far behind him, contributing 112 and 102 to the high break board and another 8 fifty plus breaks.
In a sign of the continuing rising standards across Europe there were six countries represented in the quarter finals. Presentations of the 1000 Euro first prize were made by EBSA Secretary Maxime Cassis and Joe Caruana Curran, the EBSA Vice Chairman and also the President of the Malta Association. Borg pocketed 500 Euros as runner up.
