Press Release, 7 April 2025
EC Three Cushion National Teams and Individual | 8 - 13 April 2025
TORBJÖRN BLOMDAHL AND TEAM GERMANY SET TO DEFEND THEIR EUROPEAN TITLES
In the picturesque Billiards Complex of the Turkish Billiards Federation in Ankara, two high-profile championships of the Confédération Européenne de Billard are set to take place. On 8 and 9 April, National Teams will battle for the European Championship title. The Individual Competition will follow immediately, running until 13 April.
Germany's title defense with Horn & Lindemann
In the team event, the German duo of Martin Horn and Ronny Lindemann will enter the tournament as defending champions. A total of 24 teams have registered, divided into eight groups of three. Only the group winners will advance to the quarterfinals, meaning there is no room for mistakes. Germany will face Norway and Spain 2 in their group.
Favorites & strong challengers
One of the top favorites is the Dutch team, which recently claimed the World Championship title in Viersen, Germany. With Dick Jaspers and Jean-Paul de Bruijn, the same duo will compete in Ankara, aiming for a historic double victory. Their group-stage opponents will be the Czech Republic and Belgium 2. The host nation, Türkiye, is represented by 2 competent teams: Team 1 with Yilmaz Özcan and Ufuk Kapisuz, and Team 2 with Tayfun Tasdemir and Berkay Karakurt. Other teams will also be hunting for a spot on the podium like Spain 1 duo (Ruben Legazpi and Sergio Jimenez), Belgium 1 team (Eddy Merckx and Peter Ceulemans), the second Dutch team (Van Erp and Van Beers), Greece 1 (Nikos Polychronopoulos and Konstantinos Kokkoris), France 1 (Jérémy Bury and Mikaël Devogelaere) or Sweden 1 (Torbjörn Blomdahl and David Pennör), just to name a few.
Blomdahl as reigning champion in the individual event
In the individual event, Swedish veteran Torbjörn Blomdahl will start as the reigning European Champion. The top 16 of the 64 total participants are automatically seeded for the final round of the top 32. The remaining 48 players will compete in the group stage, where only the group winners will advance.
Qualification with top names & rising talents
Some of the most notable names in the qualification phase include Tolgahan Kiraz (Türkiye), Sergio Jimenez (Spain), Mickael Devogelaere (France), Jean van Erp (Netherlands), Ronny Lindemann (Germany), Arnim Kahofer (Austria).
A particularly exciting aspect will be the performances of young talents to whom the CEB has granted a wild card for their final standing in last season’s Longoni NextGen circuit: Amir Ibraimov (bronze medal in the recent EC U25) (Germany), Seymen Ozbas (current European and World Champion Juniors) and Denizcan Akkoca, former two time European Champion Juniors (both from Türkiye).
Other well-known young talents in the field are Maxime Panaia (France), Alessio D’Agata (Italy), Dimitrios Seleventas (silver medal in the recent EC U25). The only female participant in the field is the world bronze medalist Karina Jetten (The Netherlands) thanks to another wild card awarded by the CEB for her position in the CEB 3-Cushion Ladies ranking; she will also have to go through the qualification stage.
World-class players enter the main tournament
After the group stage, the crème de la crème of the three-cushion billiards scene will enter the competition. In addition to Blomdahl, notable names from the top 15 positions of the CEB 3-Cushion Ranking will show up: Dick Jaspers, Jean Paul De Bruijn, Jeffrey Jorissen and Glen Hofman (Netherlands), Tayfun Tasdemir and Berkay Karakurt (Türkiye), Martin Horn (Germany), Marco Zanetti (Italy), Eddy Merckx, Peter Ceulemans and Roland Forthomme (Belgium), Jeremy Bury (France), Ruben Legazpi (Spain), Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece), Rui Manuel Costa (Portugal).
The stage is set! Who will be victorious in the end?
Results & Further Information:
Pictures & Social Media:
During the event, new photos will be published several times daily on our social media channels. In the evening, they will be available in compact and organized galleries on the CEB website.
All games are played on Simonis cloth with Aramith billiard balls.
Follow the event live on Kozoom.
If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact us via email.
CEB Press Office
Organizer:
Confédération Européenne de Billard
Host:
Turkish Billiards Federation
Venue:
Gölbaşı International Billiards Complex, Ankara
Media Contact:
Email: media@eurobillard.org
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