The European Open Pool Championship takes place from March 11-16 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina as 256 players compete in the first World Nineball Tour major of the season.
Having successfully tipped Mickey Krause to win the European Open at a whopping 100/1 in August, pool writer Ben Hudd returns with his best bets and analysis ahead of the fourth staging of the tournament.
European Open Pool Championship 2025 betting tips
- Wojciech Szewczyk to win the European Open – 33/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Sanjin Pehlivanovic to win the European Open – 40/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Daniel Maciol to win the European Open – 66/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
- Edward Koyongian to win the European Open – 200/1 E/W Ladbrokes 1/2
If last year’s curtain-raising open championship of the season was anything to be guided by, the European Open could be anyone’s for the taking. Four ranked outsiders reached the UK Open semi-finals last May, in a tournament that was eventually won by 100/1 shot Robbie Capito.
Top seed Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Shane van Boening, Joshua Filler, Jayson Shaw and Johann Chua will be amongst the title favourites in world number one Fedor Gorst’s absence, although beneath the sport’s heavyweights are various capable players vying to taste success in the glittering Matchroom arena.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s own Sanjin Pehlivanovic, a former Hanoi Open and Premier League semi-finalist, falls into that category. The 23-year-old has been simmering beneath the surface for a number of years now and perhaps his moment in the spotlight finally arrives this week.
It would be a dream realised for the Bosnian in his own words if he was to reign victorious on home soil in fairytale fashion. Dealing with the pressure and expectation of being the local hero in his hometown of Sarajevo could prove to be a hinderance, but he could be of value at 40/1 each-way.
Both Wojciech Szewczyk (33/1) and Daniel Maciol (66/1) are players who have become embroiled in the whole WPA and Matchroom fiasco as Polish players who receive backing from their federation, but they still managed to attract attention on their limited outings on the World Nineball Tour last term.
Former world 10-ball champion Szewczyk defeated both Shane van Boening and Wiktor Zielinski on his way to the World Championship semi-finals, while Maciol was narrowly beaten in a hill-hill affair in the European Open quarter-finals by Skyler Woodward.
Something special will be needed to stop either Szewczyk or Maciol. Both are amongst a number of technically-gifted Polish players who continue to persistently knock on the door and eventually that door will move ajar – it’s only a matter of time until Poland have a major champion on the World Nineball Tour.
Players who didn’t travel to Hanoi last October and are therefore not banned by the sport’s governing body may be more in stroke heading to Bosnia, having been able to compete in Las Vegas. Both Maciol and Szewcyzk are amongst those names, the latter being a quarter-finalist at the recent Las Vegas 10-Ball Open.
These open championships proved to be a land of opportunity last time around, and there’s plenty of value to be had in Moritz Neuhausen (100/1), Aleksa Pecelj (100/1) and Mustafa Alnar (125/1), although 200/1 shot Edward Koyongian leaps off the page at an outrageous price.
Indonesia’s Koyongian is a raw talent and unproven at the top level but he’s had a couple of noteworthy results, beating Ko Pin-Yi at the Peri Open in Vietnam as well as reaching the Hanoi Open last 16 and the WPA-ranked Ho Chi Minh City Open quarter-finals.
Also set to become the first Indonesian to compete in Premier League Pool following his invitation, Koyongian will have been putting the hours in on the practice table in an attempt to truly grasp a great opportunity to showcase his capabilities.
European Open Pool Championship 2025 selected odds
Joshua Filler 8/1
Shane van Boening 8/1
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz 10/1
Jayson Shaw 10/1
Ko Pin-Yi 10/1
Albin Ouschan 14/1
Ko Ping-Chung 14/1
Eklent Kaci 16/1
Johann Chua 16/1
Robbie Capito 16/1
Aloysius Yapp 20/1
Carlo Biado 20/1
David Alcaide 20/1
Mickey Krause 20/1
Mario He 25/1
Wiktor Zielinski 25/1
Wojciech Szewczyk 33/1
Alex Kazakis 40/1
Max Lechner 40/1
Sanjin Pehlivanovic 40/1
Naoyuki Oi 40/1
Denis Grabe 50/1
Duong Quoc Hoang 50/1
Pijus Labutis 50/1
Tyler Styer 50/1
Daniel Maciol 66/1
Billy Thorpe 80/1
Aleksa Pecelj 100/1
Moritz Neuhausen 100/1
Andri Januarta 100/1
Alvin Anggito 100/1
Georgi Georgiev 100/1
Kledio Kaci 100/1
Mohammad Soufi 100/1
Mustafa Alnar 125/1
Jonas Souto Comino 150/1
Petri Makkonen 150/1
Riku Rompannen 150/1
Sam Henderson 150/1
Edward Koyongian 200/1
Dean Shields 200/1
All odds via Ladbrokes and correct at time of publishing
