HAMILTON, NIEUW-ZEELAND – Gisteren hadden we al dit mooie verslag van Mika’s goud door coach/spelersbegeleider Rienus Gennissen. Vandaag genieten we nog een beetje extra na met de video van de finale, een uitgebreid persbericht door de EPBF, en een aantal fraaie foto’s door Predator Pro Billiard Series.
Persbericht EPBF
VAN BERKEL & MAIMRE LEAD EUROPEAN MEDAL HAUL
MIKA VAN BERKEL (NED) and Revo Maimre (EST) led the way for the European representation at the 2024 Predator WPA World Junior Championships in Hamilton, New Zealand as they took gold medals in the Under 19 and Under 17 divisions respectively on Sunday. In total, the European contingent won six medals - two golds, one silver and three bronze from the total of 12 available.
In the Under 19’s, it was Van Berkel who came through a strong field to lift the trophy. Following on from his stellar performance at the European Championships in July where he won a gold and two silvers, Van Berkel went undefeated through the field. Staying on the winners’ side, he recorded wins over Jeronimo Izetta (ARG), Nabil Alshamrol (KSA), and Henry Nguyen (NZL) to take him through to the quarter-finals where he disposed of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Bo Cheng to guarantee a medal.
There he faced old rival, Felix Vogel (GER) in a 50/50 match which saw Van Berkel prevail 7-3. That set up the final against up-and-coming American Adrian Prasad which saw the Dutchman seal the deal with a 7-3 win.
Van Berkel, who lost out at the same stage at last year’s World Championship, was naturally thrilled with his win, “It feels great, I feel very proud for my country. It feels great to bring a trophy back home. Yes, the match was quite close in the beginning because we both underperformed. The weird thing was that I felt less pressure than last year and that’s I think why I don’t play my best. My next goal to get far in a major tournament.”
Further event details including scores can be found at the tournament’s Official Site: https://probilliardseries.com/
Tekst: KNBB
Persbericht: EPBF
Foto’s & video: Pro Billiard Series