On the third last day of the European Billiards Championships in Antalya/Turkey there were no medal decisions on the schedule. But the prestigious Men's 3-Cushion competition entered the decisive phase. With the Italian Marco Zanetti and Berkay Karakurt (Turkey), the two finalists have been determined. They will play for the new European Champion title on Saturday at 12:00 noon local time.
3-Cushion Men:
Today had a few surprises. For example, World Champion Tayfun Tasdemir (Turkey) and Spanish runner-up Ruben Legazpi were eliminated in the round of 16. The latter met his compatriot and defending champion Daniel Sanchez, against whom he lost 47:50.
The next prominent victims in the quarterfinals were Eddy Merckx (Belgium) and Dick Jaspers from the Netherlands. Against the Turkish qualifier Berkay Karakurt, the multiple World and European Champion was naturally considered the favorite, but Karakurt played very strongly and consistently in front of his home crowd and kept his opponent at bay with a deserved 50:38-win.
The first semifinal saw the match between Daniel Sanchez and Marco Zanetti from Italy. Until the 5-minute-break in the middle of the match, both players were tied before Zanetti broke away from his opponent with a run of 10 points. Later it took some time until the Italian reached the 50-point mark, but after 29 innings Zanetti scored the magic last point with his third match point.
In the second semifinal Berkay Karakurt continued his winning streak. Against the multiple World Champion Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sweden), the Turk took command from the first shot. He had already built up a sizeable lead at the break and extended it in the second part of the match.
In the 18th inning, Karakurt had the first match point with a 49:21-lead, but he missed it. Three innings later the time had come and the sensation was perfect. Berkay Karakurt entered tomorrow's final with a score of 50:23 to the frenetic cheers of his compatriots.
5-Pins Women’s Individual:
The first finalists of this new competition are Katja Titze from Germany and Daniela Romiti from Italy. Initially, eight sportswomen competed in two groups, with Titze victorious in a direct duel against Romiti with 2:0-sets.
Both then qualified for the semifinals, with Titze winning her match against Maria Cristina Pulcini (Italy) with 3:0-sets. It was more exciting in the second semifinal between Daniela Romiti and Charlotte Koefoed from Denmark, who won her group undefeated.
After two sets both opponents were equal, but then Romiti went one better. Especially in the fourth set she was the dominant player and qualified for tomorrow's final with a 60:33-win.
3-Cushion Women's National Teams:
The 3-Cushion competition of the Women's National Teams also started today. This event is also new on the programme of the Continental Confederation CEB, so the winning team will immortalise itself in the history books.
Nine duos are competing in three groups, with only the top of each group making it directly to the semifinals. The best group runner-up will be the fourth team to advance to the semifinals on Sunday.
3-Cushion Club Teams Small Table:
The group stage continues in this competition. A total of 17 teams are divided into four groups, with the top two in each reaching the quarterfinals. In Group A, Ankara Hemsin Spor (Turkey) marches ahead with three wins, while the Czechs from Kladno are still undefeated in Group B.
The same goes for Karadeniz Spor (Turkey) in Group C, while their compatriots from Göztepe Spor have set the tone in Group D so far.
The knockout stage then begins on Saturday evening with the quarterfinals, while the winning team will then be crowned on the final day of the European Championships on Sunday.
The entire event can be followed in the paid livestream on tv.kozoom.com. Each of the 20 tables will be shown.
All results, schedules, daily press releases, photos and further information about the event can be found on the official media page.
You are welcome to use this press release for republication with a source attribution to "CEB | Billard1.net".
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