Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) Photo: EPBF/DK
Mario He and Artem Koshovyi in the men’s final
Tuesday, 27 March 2012: In an epic thriller, Marika Poikkijoki (FIN) ousted favourite Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) from the 8-ball competition with 6:5.
Poikkijoki had a good start and took a 1:0 lead over favoured Ouschan. She then had a good break shot and ran the next rack as well. The pace of the match however, was way too slow. Especially Poikkijoki took too much time for her shots. So it was no wonder that the tournament director Ed de Jonge decided to have a shot clock introduced into the match. At a score of 3:2 for Poikkijoki, the shot clock was started. The match lasted already over one hour. And it was definitely an advantage for Ouschan since she played much faster and is more used to be playing with a shot clock. Already in the 6th rack, Poikkijoki got a time foul call and lost the rack for that reason. Ouschan tied the score to 3:3. The match has improved after the shot clock was started. It was much nicer to watch and Poikkijoki seemed to arrange herself with it. She took a 4:3 lead over Ouschan. But Jasmin fought back. She won two straight racks in a row and went on the hill, leading 5:4. Then it was Poikkijoki’s break shot. She executed a good break shot and ran the rack, tying the match at 5:5. Then Ouschan broke and the cue ball jumped off the table. What a drama for Ouschan! Poikkijoki went to the table and ran again all balls, clearing the table and eliminating the most dominant player from the 8-ball competition with 6:5. The other semi-final in the women’s division was played between Russian youngsters Natalya Seroshtan and Darya Sirotina. Both played in last year’s junior EC and are talented new faces in the women’s division. The match was quite open with Seroshtan having the better break shot. In the end, she could benefit from her advantage and win the match with 6:4
In the men’s division, Mario He (AUT) defeated Francisco Diaz (ESP) in a heartbreaker with 8:7. At a score of 7:6 for He, the Austrian was at the table and had the chance to win the match. But he missed the last ball of his group. Diaz ran out and tied the match hill-hill. Then Diaz broke dry and He ran out. The other finalist in the men’s division will be Artem Koshovyi (UKR) who won against Andreas Gerwen (SWE) with 8:3.
In the wheelchair division, the final match will be played between Jouni Tahti (FIN) and Roy Kimberley (GBR). Tahti defeated Fred Dinsmore (IRE) with 5:4 after trailing 0:4. Kimberley ousted Tankred Volkmer (GER) from the 8-ball event.
The final matches will be played at 19:45 CET.
The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the federation website www.epconline.eu , follow us on twitter @EPBF_News or contact our press office