Predator EPBF European Pool Championships
Miracle Resort Hotel, Antalya, Türkiye
10-BALL UNDERWAY IN TURKEY
2nd March 2026
THE 10-BALL TOURNAMENTS broke off today at the Miracle Resort Hotel in Antalya as the PREDATOR EPBF European Pool Championships continued into day three. After the medal-winning climax to the straight pool on Sunday night, it was back to the double-elimination grind on the road to 10-ball glory.
Always a medal favourite at the European Championships is Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk and he enjoyed two wins to qualify for the single elimination stages, despite arriving late last night after a lengthy journey from Las Vegas where he competed in the recent Predator Pro Billiard Series events.
Looking to add to his tally of a solitary gold medal in 9-ball in 2023, he defeated Hasan Aligullu 8-2 and then got past Joao Grilo 8-6 to cement his spot in the last 64. He said, “Not flawless but also quite solid. I came up with a few good shots but also a few unfortunate misses and I didn’t manage to close it out at 7-5 so it made it 7-6. It could have been hill-hill I would have been pretty mad at myself for not taking that opportunity if I’d lost but, in the end, I managed to close it out and that’s fine.
“It was definitely 20-plus hours so almost 24 hours on the plane but the trip was long but smooth and we got here on time which was yesterday evening. I managed to get some nice sleep but it’s an 11-hour time difference. I do expect that at some point (the jetlag) will kick in but we will see.
“Individually that 9-ball was my only gold medal although I did win in teams as well. Honestly, I haven’t played that many times in the European Championships; it could be my fifth appearance or something like that. Obviously, that’s the main goal, to win one discipline, but any medal is a success,” he concluded.
Another previous 9-ball champion here is Finland’s Casper Matikainen, who triumphed last year in Tallinn to kick-start a great year. He had the tough end of the draw today in the 10-ball as he first defeated Felix Vogel (GER) 8-4 before succumbing to Daniel Maciol of Poland by 8-5. He now faces Ruslan Amiraslanov tomorrow morning in the loser’s qualification round.
Commented Casper, “Felix is a really, really good player and it was a tough draw and we both started the match really bad and made so many mistakes. But at the end I got chances and I took them. 2025 was a good year, my best year so far, and this year can be even better.”
In the women’s event, Monika Zabek of Poland is chasing her maiden European Championship medal and she got off to a fine start with two straight wins to advance.
She said, “I mean, I think I played pretty good. It could have been better but overall, it was good. And there’s only good players here. I like 10-ball, there’s not much luck involved because it’s call shot. Maybe the break isn’t quite working yet but overall, I think it’s good. I’ve been working hard for the past few months, I think I’m playing good and have a chance here.”
Play in the 10-ball competitions continues on Tuesday morning as the men reconvene with loser’s qualification at 9.00 and 10.45, while the women are at the last 32 stage which commences at 14.15.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 at the Predator European Championships will be streamed throughout on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
In addition, competing players are permitted to stream their own matches on outside tables to their public social media accounts.
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/
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