From the 22nd of march till the 2nd of april the 2006 European Championships took place in Brandenbourg/Germany. The best players from europe came to Germany to fight again for the titles in all three disciplines. First the European Championships should be in Rom, but only 5 months before the start of the tournament they had to change the place. In spite of this difficult situation the organisation team did a really great job (special THANKS to Gre Leenders and his team) and made this tournament to a Top – Event.
Last year I made two gold medals so my goal for this year was to defend the titles and maybe get a third one.
Straight Pool:
We started with straight pool. I was seeded number one and because of that I had a walk-over in the first round. In my first match I faced Katrine Jensen from Denmark. She had a good first match and had already the opportunity to play on these tables. I start well and was able to adjust to the conditions very quickly and won my first match with a score of 75:19. My next opponent was the german girl Sabrina Fritz which I know really good from the Youth European Championships, where we played a couple of times against each other. I took a rapid lead and didn´t give her any chances. I easily crushed her 75:6. On the next day I played Christine Wiechert from Germany and could continue with my strong game and so I entered the quarterfinal with a 75:27 victor. My next match was against the European Snooker Champion Wendy Jans from Belgium. She started playing tournaments at the pro tour in the US and is definitely one of the best players in Europe. Last year I lost against her in the pre-rounds (8-Ball) so it was time for revenge. I was very concentrated and focused and tried not give her too many chances. I was able to controll the whole match and so in the end I won with 75:36. In the semi final the draw made me play against Kynthia Orfanidis from Holland. It was a very hard match because I couldn´t find my rythme and made some stupid mistakes but was still in control of the match. After starting making better use of my opportunities I won 100:18.
In the final I was a bit worried about how the atmosphere will be in the hall because 3 of 4 players in the two finals were from Germany. I played Janine Schwan who I also know from the Youth European Championships. When the match started I totally forgot everything around me and just focused to win the title. After a short time I had gained a hefty 50:0 advantage. I controlled the table and brought her out of rythem. At the score of 97:6 Schwan managed to move a bit closer, but it was way too little, way too late. After a 100:37 victory over Schwan I could call me European straight pool Champion 2006. I successfully defended my title.
Photos Copyright by Frederique Rijsdijk
Results Straight Pool:
| Women | 1st | Jasmin Ouschan (Austria) |
|
Men | 1st | Oliver Ortmann (Germany) |
| 2nd | Janine Schwan (Germany) | 2nd | Ralf Souquet (Germany) | |||
| 3rd | Kynthia Orfanidis(Holland) | 3rd | Christian Reimering (Germany) | |||
| Benz Daniela (Germany) | Daryl Peach (Great Britain) |
8 Ball/9 Ball
After a very tough but successfull day I had my first two 8 Ball matches. Without any problems I managed to win both matches against Osnat Genislav from Israel and Annika Tata from Italy with s score of 6:0. After these matches I had the rest of the day off so I had time to relaxe and get some energy back. For that I went to the fitness gym to get rid of the stress and the strain, at least for a little while. Rested and full of energy I started my next match against Veronika Hubrtova from Czech Republik. The match was balanced till the score of 2:2. I could take a lead and kept her well under control. I played good pool and won 6:2. In the next round I played against one of the legends of the women pool scene in europe. It was Luise Furberg from Sweden. She is very experienced and you should never under estimate her. I was careful and really focused. I played flawless pool and simply crushed her 6:1. Right after I had to play the defending Champion from 2005 Christine Feldmann – Naeff from Switzerland. Without any problems I could go on with my game like in the match before and kicked her out of the tournament with 6:0. Before we played the semi final we started with the first round in 9 Ball. I faced the dutch woman Bernadette De Jonge and I had some troubles during the whole match. I gave her many chances and I just wasn't controlling my rock the way I had in her earlier matches. After a really nerve racking match I won 7:5.
On the next day I had my semi final against Estelle Bijnen from Holland. It was one of those matches where nothing went right. I couldn´t find the feeling for the balls and the table, but I was still able to enter the final with a 8:5 victory. In the final I played again against a german woman but this time it was Daniela Benz. She is a though opponent but also this time I had to ruin the hope of a gold medal for Germany. I won my second gold medal at this Championships with a score of 8:5.
It was a very exhausting day for me so I was happy not to play again on this day. Next day we went on with the 9-Ball division. This time my opponent was Aino Pehkonen from Finland. I didn´t know what to expect so I thought just don´t give her many chances. It worked out and I won 7:1. Tiziana Cacciamani from Italy was my next opponent. I started out really well and kept on going like that. 7:1 was the end result after a short time. In the quarter final I faced Karolina Stawarz from Polend. She played good in the rounds before but against me her journey came to an end. I won with a clear 7:2 score.
In the semi final I played Line Kjorsvik from Norway. She already played at the pro tour in the USA for a few years and is of course one of the best players in europe as well. She played not very good the whole tournament but in this match everything should be different. She made every ball and took a rapid lead. I managed to move closer and closer but I wasn´t very lucky at all. I got bad rolls all the time and couldn´t play my game. After a very match of my opponent I was defeated with 9:4. I was a little bit disappointed of course because the match went so wrong but I think that’s happens in sport.
All in all I could achieve my goals to increase the result from last year’s championships. Nevertheless I am a little bit sick not to win the title in my most loved discipline but for next years championships my targets are well - defined!
Photos Copyright by Frederique Rijsdijk