The second Dutch team achieved an excellent position among the top 8 teams in the European Championship for National Teams in Ankara. Glenn Hoffman and Barry Van Beers were among the stars in #TeamNL's preliminary rounds and eliminated the favored Spanish team in their second match. Several favorites have already been eliminated, such as Netherlands 1 with Jean-Paul de Bruyne and Geoffrey Gorersen, Spain 1, Greece 1, defending champions and home country Turkey 1.
ANKARA – The Germans made a big impression with their first team in the preliminary rounds of the European Championship for national teams. Martin Horn and Ronnie Lindeman scored the most points of the match and beat the Italians 4-0 in the deciding match. Martin Horn excelled in his match against Marco Zanetti, whom he defeated 40-16 in 12 rounds (3333 average). His teammate Ronnie Lindemann also showed his best levels. vs. Emilio Sciacca: 40-13 on 15. The Germans finished top of the group of 8 qualified teams. The preliminary rounds inflicted more major casualties: also the Greek defending champion with Nikos Polychronopoulos, the two Belgian teams (including Eddy Merckx and Petter Solemans), the Turkish leader (with Tayfun Tasimir), and the Spaniards who won the World Cup silver medal with Ruben Legazpi and Sergio Jimenez eliminated. The first Dutch team (Jean-Paul de Bruyne and Geoffrey Goersen) was eliminated from the tournament early.
The biggest sensation is the elimination of the top five teams: Greece 1, Turkey 1, Belgium 1, Spain 1 and Netherlands 1.
The German team leads with 8 individual match points, ahead of the Netherlands 2 and Sweden 1, also with 8 match points. Followed by Türkiye 2, Spain 2, France 2, Portugal and France 1.
The Dutch No. 2 team will play Glenn Hoffman and Barry Van Beers, who are off to a hot start averaging 1,860 points through four games, on Wednesday morning. 9.30 against Portugal, the team that eliminated Netherlands 1.
The biggest surprises came from the Netherlands 2, Spain 2, Turkey 2, and France 2.
The defending Greek champion was forced to submit to France 2, because Polychronopoulos defeated Maxim Panaya 40-21 in 21 games, but Kostas Kokouris lost to Adrian Takoari 40-38 in 35. Polychronopoulos also defeated the Czech Republic in an excellent match (13). innings), but Kokoris drew against new Czech champion Radek Novak in 44 rounds.
The Swedish team, consisting of Blomdahl and Nelson, was able to eliminate Denmark with a score of 4-0 in the last evening session. Although Paul De Bruyne's neighbors defeated Rui Costa, Geoffrey Jurisen was defeated by Jose Miguel Soares, leading to the Dutchman's elimination.
The Spanish favorite with Legazpi and Jimenez faltered in front of the Netherlands 2 with Hoffman and Van Beers. The Belgians disappeared from the tournament due to their draw against Turkey 2, where Peter Ceulemans beat Torgay Orak, but Roland Vorthum lost to Burak Hašas 40-31 in 33.
Robinson Morales was one of the big winners in these preliminary rounds. The Spanish Colombian personally defeated the host Turkish team, defeating Tayfun Tsdemir 40-27 on the 19th. Tolcahan Kiraz defeated Adrian Legazpi 40-39 on the 37th. Tsdemir and Kiraz previously played in a draw against Belgium 2.
The quarter-final matches are (Wednesday morning at 9:30 Turkish time):
Germany 1-France 1 (Martin Horn-Jeremy Burry, Ronnie Lindemann-Cedric Melnichenko)
Netherlands 2 – Portugal 1 (Glenn Hoffman-Rui Costa, Barry van Pers-Jose Miguel Soares)
Sweden 1-France 2 (Torbjörn Blomdahl-Maxime Bagnaia, Michael Nilsson-Adrien Tacheur)
Türkiye 2 – Spain 2 Turgay Orak – Robinson Morales, Burak Hashas – Adrian Legazpi).
Ranking of the 8 ranked countries:
Germany 1 4-8-1,882-10
Netherlands 2 4-8-1,860-8
Türkiye 2 3-6-1,530-8
Spain 2 3-6-1,370-11
Portugal 1 3-6-1.231-7
France 2-4-1,666-9
Sweden 1 2-4-1,632-10
Austria 1 2-4-0.962-8
Belgium 1 3-6-1,480-11
The semi-finals will be held at 1:00 pm Turkish time, and the final will be held at 5:00 pm.
Related links
All information/teams/groups/results: https://www.eurobillard.org/events/ec3cnt-407.html
It can be watched live via Kozoom (€9.99 for the entire event): https://tv.kozoom.com/nl/event/39641
Preview: www.knbb.nl/nieuws/nederlanders-maken-zich-op-voor-double-ek-ankara
Text: Fritz Bakker
Photos of TeamNL and all participants: Turkish Billiards Federation
