Fedor Gorst revealed that he has ‘gained a lot of respect’ for Polish professional Konrad Juszczyszyn following a timeout incident on day one of the World 10-Ball Championship in Las Vegas.
Gorst, a semi-finalist twelve months ago, opened his 2024 campaign with a tricky first round draw against Puerto Rico Open champion Juszczyszyn, but it was a match that will be remembered for the wrong reasons.
Moscow-born Gorst was denied permission to take a bathroom break between the second and third sets, later detailing the situation on social media and commending his Polish counterpart for the way he handled the situation.
“Incredible match. I took a timeout after the first set, tried to regroup after a bad play in the first set,” Gorst posted to his 88,000 followers on Facebook. “I came back, continued playing bad, went down 3-0 and then things started turning around. Konrad made a few mistake which allowed me to come back and win the set.
“At 3-3 I was trying to take an emergency timeout – I thought there was such a thing – and was denied by a ref. So I thought never mind, if I win this game then I can take a timeout before the next set, so nobody would think I’m trying to gain any advantage by taking a timeout then.
“I ended up winning that final rack in the second set and asked a ref and a head ref if I was able to go now and was denied again. I was told I can either take a break and lose a game and a break or I can pee myself and that would be a unsportsmanlike behavior and that would be a loss of a game as well.
“So I thought to myself there is no way I’m giving up 25 percent of the set and a break in the World Championship because I need to go to the restroom so I started playing.
“When it was 2-2, Konrad made a mistake and sold out. I went to Konrad and asked him if he would like to take a break with me, so we both lose a rack and will be going to a shoutout, he agreed.
“I ended up winning in the shootout and want to say that I gained a lot of respect towards Konrad Juszczyszyn. I would’ve done the same thing if that happened to my opponent. I didn’t want the match to finish that way.
“Another nonsense moment this week. Hopefully organizers learn from it and figure out ways to improve.”
Gorst and Juszczyszyn being docked a rack was the latest punishment that referees have issued during the Predator Pro Billiard Series stop in Las Vegas, with Skyler Woodward and Robbie Capito both being penalised during last week’s Las Vegas Open.
Capito experienced severe stomachache during a match and was granted permission to take a timeout by the match official, only for a senior referee to hand him a yellow card, while Woodward received similar for a break that lasted longer than seven minutes.
Woodward was also disciplined alongside fellow countryman Shane van Boening for not displaying the American flag on his playing shirt, despite that rule being made clear to players just two days before the event.
