Kamui European Youth Pool Championships
Terme Olimia, Podčetrtek, Slovenia
10-BALL PRIMED FOR FINAL DAY SHOWDOWNS
15th July 2026
THE 10-BALL TOURNAMENTS continued today at the KAMUI European Youth Pool Championships and all three events come back tomorrow and play to a conclusion, with the three championship matches set for 20.15 in the evening. With the opening team matches in the Under 19s and Under 17s, and a clutch of 8-ball matches filling up the remainder of the Wednesday night schedule, the 10-ball resumes with the Under 19s down to last 16, the Under 17s down to last 32 and the Girls down to four quarter-finalists and losers qualification.
After sitting out the opening straight pool discipline, the Girls’ competition opened with 10-ball and Rachelle Enfroy of France enjoyed two wins to take her place in the quarter-final line-up. After beating Jelizaveta Dzebisasvili (LIT) by 5-2, she then prevailed in a 5-4 thriller against Eliise Kaljurand (EST) to advance.
Enfroy took the 8-ball honours at last year’s event and the experience has given her some additional self-belief as she approaches the big tournaments.
She said, “I feel more confident now and my ego is very up and I hope for the best to take a title again. I just practiced a lot at home with a lot of rest and mental preparation which is very important. Of course, I wish for one title but if I could have more, then good.”
Another 2025 medallist is the Netherland’s Iris Eijmberts who took home two bronze medals in her debut appearance. Eijmberts suffered a setback in her opening game but powered through the losers’ bracket to give herself a chance in the losers’ qualification round on Thursday.
Commented Eijmberts, “Well, I’m feeling pretty confident and I’ve managed to pull off two wins so I hope I’ll continue with that. I was very happy last year, as I didn’t expect to win a medal at my first European Championships so I was feeling happy that I managed to win two and I hope I can do it again. I’m feeling good so I’ll see how far I can go.”
Another former medallist is Tina Gulic, who took a bronze in 10-ball on her debut in 2022. Since then, she’s made every quarter-final in that discipline, coming up one win short of a medal each time. Gulic found herself on the loser’s side early on, but battled through, winning a hill-hill game against Jelizaveta Dzebisasvili (LIT) to stay alive.
The closing racks all got bogged down as both players felt the pressure, and Gulic said, “It was a crazy match. I couldn’t find my way into the tournament; the table speed is very fast and it’s a bit difficult so I’m just happy that I did it. I felt quite comfortable at the beginning but I’m a bit nervous to be honest, but I will try to improve it and try my best.
“I’m just trying to not think about it and don’t put any pressure on myself and just try to play and be happy with my game and if it’s enough then it’s good and if not… I’m just trying to be satisfied.”
In the Under 17s boy’s, a newcomer to European Championships is Germany’s 15-year-old Haojing Zhang, who enjoyed three wins to advance to the round of 32 10-ball. Yesterday, Zhang took the silver medal in the straight pool and seems primed for big things this week.
Commented Zhang, “I’m still speechless now and I’m really happy with this result. Losing a final is very hard but all-in-all, I’m very happy with it and getting a silver medal is also amazing.
“I started with three years on a toy table and when I was 13, I just got in my mind to play pool once again and I went to my club and then fortunately I met my coach Christian Reimering and I saw the practice and I really enjoy it. Now I’ve been practicing with him for two-and-a-half years and I’m happy to be coached by him.
“I came here just wanting to have fun in this tournament, to get experience and meet more international friends and I never had it in my mind to get a silver medal and it’s so good.
“It’s the most important thing that somebody supports me in the background and my parents did it every tournament small or big and I’m very happy that I’ve got parents that support me every time,” he added.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 at the Kamui European Youth Pool Championships are streamed throughout on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel -https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/
EPBF Sponsors
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