David Alcaide 🇪🇸 is European Open champ but Anton Raga 🇵🇠makes splash
The final match was Raga's to lose at hill-hill.
There was a lot to be said about the European Open that’d just concluded in Fulda, Germany.
There’s the full 256-player field of competitors from all over the world, not just mainland Europe. (There was a good number of players from Asia, North America, and the Middle East.)
There’s expectation that the defending champion, Albin Ouschan, would repeat or at least go deep into the tournament as a 11/1 favorite. (He went out in the round of 32.)
There’s buzz of Stuart Bingham, 2015 World Snooker champion, playing his first Nineball event. (He won his first two matches then lost to Skyler Woodward and Mats Schjetne.)
There’s legends Oliver Ortmann and Ralf Souquet grinding their way through players much younger. (Ortmann didn’t make it to the last 64. Souquet was eliminated in the last 32 by #1-ranked Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.)
There’s high hopes for Filipinos James Aranas and Johann Chua to continue their World Cup of Pool momentum. (Aranas was lost two games in the double-elimination stage. Chua made it to the last 32, defeated by Aloysius Yapp.)
There’s Joshua Filler with the weight of the host country’s pride on his shoulders. (He lost to Raga, 9-11, in the semifinals.)
But it’s Anton Raga, an unknown in the WNT, that caught the attention of fans and commentators. Raga certainly isn’t a new pro player. He’s been playing pool for several years and well known in the Philippines. After being sent to the loss side by Konrad Juszczyszyn in a hill-hill thriller, Raga had to overcome Ingo Lamberti (8-0), Besar Spahiu (8-4), and Niels Feijen (9-3) to continue his run. In the round of 64, he went into a higher gear to defeat Mateusz Sniegocki (10-8), Ko Pin-Yi (10-0), John Morra (10-4), Wojciech Szewczyk (10-7), and Joshua Filler (11-9) to meet Alcaide in the final match. (Quite impressive to finish off two world champions — Ko and Filler — in spectacular fashion.)
Congratulations to winner David Alcaide and runner-up Anton Raga.
First Mosconi Cup updates are here
Team captains are Jeremy Jones for USA and Ralph Eckert for Europe.
After the European Open the first members of each team are Skyler Woodward for Team USA and FSR for Team Europe.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Dates are based on event location.
Oceania Tour (Event 1), August 18-20 | WNT ranking event held in Adelaide, Australia.
Turning Stone Classic, August 31 - September 4 | One of the longest running tours in the U.S., now included as a WNT ranking event.
China Open 9 Ball Championship, September 3-10 | After a four year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic and restrictions, this major WPA event will be held in Shanghai this year.
Raxx Pool Room Open, September 14-17 | WNT ranking event in Hempstead, NY.
Longoni Loznica Open, September 16-17 | Part of the WNT Balkan 9 Ball Tour in Serbia.
Japan Open, September 16-18 | This is the 36th incarnation of the WPA tournament: men’s 10 ball and women’s 9 ball. Venue is in Tokyo.
Michigan Open, September 20-24 | Part of the U.S. Pro Billiard Series promoted by CueSports International, men’s and women’s divisions in 10 Ball.
U.S. Open Pool Championship, September 25-30 | Can FSR repeat in Atlantic City?
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