The fourth staging of the European Open Pool Championship takes place from March 11-16 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina as Mickey Krause defends his crown.
With a prize fund of $200,000 up for grabs and 256 players involved, professionals and amateurs alike will be competing in the curtain-raising open championship of the World Nineball Tour season.
We’ve selected five household names and five dark horses to keep a close eye on throughout the week in the Bosnian capital.
JOSHUA FILLER
Returning to the Matchroom arena for the first time since controversially being removed from the European teams and then missing the Hanoi Open Championship, Joshua Filler will be the name on everybody’s lips heading into the European Open.
Filler will commence his campaign as the tournament favourite and the former world champion will undoubtedly have a point to prove, having won numerous events last year that the world’s elite had boycotted.
MICKEY KRAUSE
Denmark’s Mickey Krause returns to the tournament that transformed his career, earning him a maiden major accolade and Mosconi and Reyes Cup bows.
Krause could create history this week and become the first player to successfully defend a major crown in the World Nineball Tour era.
WOJCIECH SZEWCZYK
Former world 10-ball champion Wojciech Szewczyk is one of those players who has become embroiled in the whole Matchroom and WPA fiasco as someone who benefits from funding from the Polish federation.
Szewczyk defeated Shane van Boening on his way to the World Pool Championship semi-finals in one of only two outings in WNT majors last year. He’s evolved into one of the tour’s most consistent players and will impress this week.
SANJIN PEHLIVANOVIC
There haven’t been many better sights on the PGA Tour than golfer Nick Taylor winning the Canadian Open in his home country in recent years, and Bosnia’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic landing his maiden major accolade in his hometown would be on par with that.
Pehlivanovic has made considerable progress in recent years, reaching Hanoi Open and Premier League semi-finals and last year’s Las Vegas Open final, but the 23-year-old will be in the main attraction and will need to overcome the pressure and expectation of the occasion.
DENIS GRABE
Denis Grabe heads to Bosnia and Herzegovina after scooping the biggest payday of his career at the Las Vegas Open, beating Joshua Filler in the final of the prestigious 10-ball event.
The Estonian has accomplished some of his greatest achievements in the last year or so, and that could continue into the European Open.
EDWARD KOYONGIAN
Indonesia have been crossing their fingers for a star to emerge for some time now but their dreams may be coming true in the shape of Edward Koyongian – who’s already ranked in the world’s top 16 based on FargoRate.
Koyongian beat Ko Pin-Yi at the Peri Open, reached the Hanoi Open last 16 and the WPA-ranked Ho Chi Minh City Open quarter-finals last October, and those Vietnam exploits earned him a Premier League bow.
Koyongian will be upping the ante this season, having already signed up for events such as the UK Open Championship, Scottish Open and Morocco Open, and the rising star will be wanting to get his season off to an ideal start in Sarajevo.
MUSTAFA ALNAR
Having already turned heads by beating Fedor Gorst at the World Championship in Saudi Arabia, Mustafa Alnar made a name for himself at last year’s European Open, beating Joshua Filler on two occasions on his way to the quarter-finals.
Turkey’s Alnar didn’t just beat two of the world’s best players either, he absolutely dismantled them, proving that he can put together racks. It could be only a matter of time before the Turk finds himself contending for titles.
KLEDIO KACI
His prodigious ability was evident the second that Kledio Kaci stepped into the Matchroom arena at the Spanish Open almost two years ago, but the Albanian teenager has continued to evolve since then and picked up some notable wins along the way.
Kaci impressed at the Hanoi Open in October, becoming the youngest major quarter-finalist in the WNT era. He’s arguably the most exciting teenage talent in the game and it’s certainly a case of when, not if he lands a major accolade.
LABINOT MARKAJ
Kosovo’s Labinot Markaj will not be a recognisable name to even the avid pool watcher, but he’s a ranking event semi-finalist in Italy and reached the last 32 last year in Fulda.
Markaj beat the likes of Jonas Souto Comino and Wiktor Zielinski during that Marina Open run, and faces Ko Ping-Chung in his European Open opener, so gets an opportunity to gain another big scalp.
DEAN SHIELDS
Aside from their World Cup of Pool team of Jayson Shaw and Elliott Sanderson, Manchester’s Dean Shields is quite possibly the most promising British player on the World Nineball Tour at the moment.
Shields achieved his most impressive victory to date on his last outing, beating Duong Quoc Hoang in front of a Vietnamese crowd in Hanoi, and hopefully he can now use that experience to his advantage and push on further.
