CERVERA – The Austrian allround player Arnim Kahofer, a billiards player in the prime of his career, won the last gold medal at the European Championships for classic games in Cervera this Sunday. After winning the silver medal in one cushion in the Spanish city, Kahofer now won the balkline title in 71/2. He defeated Czech Marek Faus 200-61 in four innings with a winning run of 122. The podium was completed by Dutchman Gert-Jan Veldhuizen and Spaniard Esteve Mata. ’’I am extremely happy with this title,’ said Arnim Kahofer after the tournament, which he dominated from the start. Arnim: "My year has been fantastic thanks to this championship, after I also won gold last year. This gold in the balkline and silver in one cushion make this year even better. It was tough at the start in 71/2 to find the right speed in my game, because in my training I was mainly focused on one cushion and 47/2, but I quickly felt myself improving and finally I achieved the best scores of all players. So yes, it's a wonderful feeling, three European championships in three different game types now, I'm super happy with it.’’
The Austrian jumped for joy after the winning carom and was then embraced by many players and fans. The well-deserved title at this European championship makes Kahofer one of the star players in this tournament. The two other gold winners were Spaniard Raul Cuenca in one cushion and Frenchman Willy Gérimont in the 47/2 game. The modest role of the Dutch and Belgians, usually specialists in the classic disciplines, was remarkable. Raymund Swertz had to relinquish two European titles in the two balkline disciplines.
The third tournament, which concluded the European Federation's trilogy, started with the first victories of favorites such as Esteve Mata, Raymund Swertz, Willy Gérimont, Patrick Niessen and Marek Faus. Raul Cuenca opened with a loss against Dutchman Gert-Jan Veldhuizen, Arnim Kahofer with a win over Christian Pöther.
The best matches in those first sessions of the preliminary rounds came from Gérimont (150 in 2), Mata and Kahofer (150 in 3) and then with Esteve Mata's victory over Raymund Schwertz with 150-77 in 3.
Raul Cuenca, Patrick Niessen and Nikolas Gerassimopulos failed to qualify for the top 8. Marek Faus was the best in that preliminary round with 6 match points and 40.90. The other players with three wins were Esteve Mata, Arnim Kahofer and Willy Gérimont.
In the end, Arnim Kahofer was the player with the only maximum run of 200. He achieved this in the semi-final against Esteve Mata, when Kahofer, after a miss in his first inning, went out with 200. In the quarter-final, Kahofer beat Xavier Gretillat 200-86 in 4. The other winners were Marek Faus against Michel van Silfhout (200-174 in 4, run 178 by Faus), Gert-Jan Veldhuizen against Willy Gérimont with 200-102 in 11 and Esteve Mata against Raymund Swertz 200-77 in 3. That was Mata's second victory over Swertz in 3 turns.
Marek Faus also won his second match in the semi-finals against Gert-Jan Veldhuizen (200-176 in 6) and Kahofer shone against Mata with 200 in 2. The crowning glory for Arnim Kahofer came in the final against Marek Faus, another standout player in the tournament: 200-61 in 5.
The final ranking (best 8):
- Arnim Kahofer 12-45.65-200
- Marek Faus 10-35.03-178
- Gert-Jan Veldhuizen 6-22.62-121
- Esteve Mata 8-40.70-146
- Michel van Silfhout 4-18.00-76
- Raymund Swertz 4-22.70-74
- Xavier Gretillat 4-22.33-82
- Willy Gérimont 6-23.00-143.