Predator European Seniors Pool Championships
Organised by the European Pocket Billiard Federation
Gandia, Spain
23rd October
SILVA, CORREIA & KOKTEN TAKE 10-BALL GOLDS
THERE WAS DOUBLE gold medal joy for the Portuguese contingent at the PREDATOR European Seniors Pool Championships in Gandia, Spain as Miguel Silva and Henrique Correia took the 46-plus and 56-plus 10-ball titles. The ladies’ final was won by Türkiye’s Sinem Kokten, her fourth gold medal at the European Seniors.
Silva enjoyed a relatively comfortable 7-2 victory over countryman Jorge Tinoco, while Correia held off teammate Manuel Pereira by 7-5. Kokten had to come from behind to defeat Spain’s Silvia Lopez Fibla by 5-4.
For Silva, it was his third Seniors gold medal and there may be more to come with the 8-ball tournament underway and the 9-ball to come.
He said, “It feels good, amazing really! Everything was going very well for me; I was playing good and I felt good. I think now I’m playing a little bit better than I was two years ago. I know Tinoco and he’s a very good player so it’s very hard. We are both Portuguese and that’s difficult.
“In the beginning of the match, I wasn’t really focused and we were talking a lot – we are friends so it’s difficult to start the match and be concentrating in the first racks. I like to play 8-ball and it’s a little bit easier playing on these tables so we will see.”
The bronze medals went to Anthony Brabin of Cyprus and Finland’s Sami Karttunen.
Sinem Kokten’s victory gave her a fourth Seniors title but she had to work very hard to dislodge Lopez who had a chance to seal the deal before fate caught up with her. The Turkish lady had lead 2-1 but relinquished her lead and at 4-3 down with Lopez at the table, victory looked distant. However, a miss by the Spaniard followed by a bold table length shot on the 10-ball by Kokten, set the match up for a decider and it was Sinem who prevailed.
She said, “It’s wonderful! I was 4-3 down and thought ‘it’s finished’ but I had a chance and I never give up; I’m a fighter and I’m really happy. I know my friend from Spain is very sad and I’m sad for her of course, but it’s a really good night for me.
“I stayed in the moment and focused on the ball and didn’t think anything. I played two matches in the 8-ball tournament at 9.00 and then semi-finals and the final and it’s really hard for me, four matches today but now I’m holding the trophy and that’s really good!” she added.
Semi-finalists and bronze medal winners were Yvonne Ullmann-Hybler of Germany and Finland’s Tiina Nakari.
Henrique Correia, the Portuguese gold medal machine, made it two from two this week in Gandia as he added the 10-ball title to his earlier straight pool success. Trailing 2-0, then 3-2, Correia edged himself into the lead but countryman Pereira came back at him and at 5-5 it was anyone’s game.
Correia, though won two close racks to move forward for the gold medal.
“It’s starting to be super amazing! 10-ball is the game I really love to play; it’s my game. And somehow, I have this extra fortune within this game and it’s funny as it always comes to me. What can I do? I accept it! I think I played good all the tournament, the final was a little bit funny as it’s a teammate and a little bit awkward but, in the end, it’s smiles for me.
“He’s our captain and he’s a super-medallist – he has a lot of titles and we are friends so it’s not easy to separate the feelings but it’s what you have to do because you’re here to win. I did my job; he was a little bit unlucky so I took my chance.”
Filling out the podium with the bronze medals were Bjorn-Erik Bergh and Geir Holmqvist, both representing Norway.
Play continues tomorrow at 9.00 with the two Team competitions and then the 8-ball resumes later in the day.
Played over nine days, the Championships conclude on Tuesday 27th with the finals of the three 9-ball tournaments and the two team competitions. Following on from that is the final Predator Euro Tour event of the year – the Revora Spanish Open which starts on Thursday 29th and concludes on Sunday 1st November.
Streaming of Tables 1, 2 and 3 for the duration of the Predator European Seniors Championships can be found 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/
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