Pia Filler won her third consecutive Women’s European 9-Ball Championship title on Tuesday in Estonia, despite admitting it was far from her best tournament and a real struggle at times.
Filler, who won her maiden title in 2023 and successfully defended her crown last year, became only the third woman to win the prestigious title three years in a row, following in the footsteps of Jasmin Ouschan and Fransizka Stark.
Five-time winner Stark won the title in 1988, 1989 and 1990, while nine-time champion Ouschan has achieved the treble on two occasions, winning six titles in seven attempts between 2009 and 2015.
Filler defeated her German compatriot Ina Kaplan 7-3 in the final to complete her hat-trick of titles, having beaten Norway’s Nina Torvund and Germany’s Romina Lenk in the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively.
Filler told the EPBF: “I came in [to this European Championship] being the three-time defending champion and I defended two – straight pool and 9-ball, and 9-ball I won for the third year in a row now.
“I wasn’t playing my best European Championship; I was struggling at times but it’s about winning ugly. I was fighting through every match because I wanted it so bad and I’m happy I’ve got the job done.”
Meanwhile, Finland’s Casper Matikainen achieved the finest hour of his career, winning the final three racks to beat Poland’s Daniel Maciol and become the men’s European 9-ball champion for the first time.
Matikainen defeated two former champions in Mieszko Fortunski and Konrad Juszczyszyn on his way to the title, creating history as the first-ever Finnish winner of the event.
“I can’t believe it – it’s a dream come true so let’s just put it like that,” a delighted Matikainen told the EPBF. “I played pretty good today and I got more lucky, and that’s just what you need.
“European 9-ball champion is probably the biggest achievement of my career. It’s always hard to play two weeks of pool with all these champions and you learn a lot. It feels really good.”
