IBP Euro Tour Rankweil/Austria

The 4th Stop of the IBP Euro Tour was held again in Rankweil Austria. After the short performance at the World Pool Masters in the Netherlands, Jasmin Ouschan had only 2 days to prepare for the tournament. The field consisted of 256 players, whereas 32 players were seeded and didn´t play before day 3.

Ouschan had a very good start at the Euro Tour with a clear 10:3 against Martin Chapman (GBR) and a 10:2 against Mika Lapannen (FIN).

„I am very satisfied with my first day. I was focused in every minute of my matches and I was able to hold a consistent level. For the next day it is essential that I stay in my rhythm and keep up my level” Ouschan said after the first day.

On the second day Ouschan met Jakob Belka from Germany, an old friend of the youth class. Without hesitation Jasmin Ouschan started to run through her first racks and gained a fast 3:0 lead. Belka, who obviously had a little problem with that pressure, didn’t get many chances in the following racks either. With an almost perfect match, Ouschan crushed the German guy with 10:3 and sent him to the loosers round.

„That was a great match. I hardly made any mistakes and saw under what pressure I put him. I was only focused on the balls and the table and everything around disappeared,” Ouschan commented after the match.

In the next match Ouschans opponent was Trajdos Wojciech from Poland, who won the first Euro Tour in Liberec this year. After the match started it didn’t take long till he gained a 3:0 lead. The match was tough, but Ouschan didn’t peg away and kept making important games. But the guy from Poland held his nerves and won with a tight 10:7 score.

„It was a difficult match but when you look at the game, he deserved to win. At this level you get punished for mistakes right away and that is good. I am going to try to cut this match out of my mind and put my concentration on my next match,” Ouschan said after her defeat.

The second chance to qualify was an „Austrian – battle”. Jasmin Ouschan played the young Austrian He Mario, who she had never played before.

„Some people underestimate matches like that but there are really difficult. As favourite you can only lose where instead the young guy can only win. You need to respect that aspect but don't put your full concentration on it. Throughout my experiences, I do believe that I found my ways to deal with that”, Ouschan before her match.

Even though the balls weren't rolling for Ouschan, she managed to control the table any time and entered the final round with a 10:7 score.

On the 3rd day the 32 seeded players were casted to the other 32 players who qualified for the final round. Since Ouschan only played one Euro Tour so far, her place in the ranking was not as good as before and so the draw made her play against the number 2 seeded player Fabio Petroni from Italy. The prestigious match allured many spectators to the center court. The match was very balanced although Petroni had a little advantage in the first half of the match. But Ouschan turned the match around and impressed with a strong performance. She took perfect use of her opportunities and played good safeties. With her strong will Ouschan took over the table and won 10:7.

„It was on of these matches that didn’t run well, and that is exactly why it means so much to me. When everything runs it is easy but this match was a real challenge and that’s why I am proud of my performance”, commented a happy Ouschan.

Right after the match against Petroni Ouschans next opponent was waiting. It was Stephan Cohen from France. He is among the best players at this Tour and he has a lot of experience. His style is very inconsiderable which makes it so hard. But Ouschan seemed to not care about these things and played through the racks. She ran out one game after another and didn’t leave him more than an empty table. Cohen was able to make a few more points till Ouschan finished the match with a 10:5 score.

To qualify for the last 16, Ouschan had to play one more man and that was the fastest player in Europe. It was Tony Drago from Malta.

„Tony Dragos rhythm is amazing and even though it is his strength it is also a weakness. If he can’t play in this rhythm he is vulnerable and that’s what my strategy is built on”, analysed Ouschan her opponent.

Tony Drago started with a fast Run-out where people without an expert eye couldn’t follow. Unimpressed from this start, Ouschan played good pool and stayed close on his heels. Because of a few mistakes Drago was able to take a short lead. But Jasmin Ouschan turned the tables and found into her rhythm. Next to a few good safeties Ouschan gave Drago no chances and kicked him with a clear 10:4 score into the looser round.

On the next day Ouschan faced the new World Pool Masters Champion, Thomas Engert from Germany. Right at the beginning he showed that he was still in a very good shape and took the lead with flawless pool. Ouschan didn’t get good chances at her breaks and so she had to let Engert get back on the table. Engert kept on playing really good pool but Ouschan fought back into the match. Unfortunately it was too late and Engert won with 10:7.

„I think I couldn't do more in this match. He played awesome and used all his chances. But still this Euro Tour is a big success for me and I am totally satisfied with my performance. I saw that I have the chance to play and even win here and that gives me a lot of motivation”, said Ouschan after the match.

Jasmin Ouschan was the only women who could qualify for the final round and with that 9th place she showed one more time that she can keep up with the men.

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