LOS ALCÁZARES - The European billiards federation CEB is guaranteeing the organization of four championships this week to be held in Los Alcázares, Spain. The tournaments in three-cushion, 5-pins) and in the combination of the two disciplines, biathlon, are for players under 17 and under 21. The organizations come under the name ‘Euroyouth 2025 Longoni Next Gen’ and run over four days: from Friday 18 to Monday 21 April 2025! The tournament formats are: European Under-17 and Under-21 Three-cushion Championships, European Under-21 5-pins Championships and the European Under-21 Biathlon Championships for nation teams.
In the under 21 three-cushion event, 24 players are competing in eight groups, including Turkish defending champion Seymen Özbas. In the under-17 three cushion, 16 players are divided into four groups.
In under 21 5-pins, Italian title holder Emanuel Cucchiara is the top favorite. Ten teams are competing for the biathlon title.
The tournament, for the second consecutive year at the Sports Technification Centre in Los Alcázares, has been taken over from Germany by the Spanish organizers. The centre will also host the Women's and Under 22 World Cup in September later this year.
The players in the various disciplines, 52 in total, are accommodated in hotels.
Kozoom spoke in preparation with Swedish Eva Viding Bussell, 51, born in Stockholm and active in billiards for 30 years. She is the CEB delegate in the four European tournaments and as the final representative, assists the organizers during the matches and the tournament director.
Kozoom/Frits Bakker: How do you look at the Spanish federation RFEB, which is so active in organizing major tournaments?
Eva Viding Bussell: The RFEB has proven to be a reliable and very competent partner for tournaments. We are very grateful for their continued support and cooperation with the CEB. Here at these four European tournaments are two sporting directors who coordinate the events sportingly: Mario Mercader and Jose Carrasco. There are also many volunteers in the venue construction, logistics and administration.
Kozoom/Frits Bakker: The CEB is hugely active in all areas, where does the initiative come from to organize so many tournaments and work hard for the future of youth and ladies? And what do you think the future of youth and ladies billiards looks like?
Eva Viding Bussell: The CEB sees it as one of their main objectives to help billiards grow and develop, and youth and ladies are of course an important part. It’s discussed in every board meeting and very much an active part of the board's work. Considering the future for both youth and ladies, the board's ambition is to continue our existing partnerships and also find new collaborations to help with our strategy. A more detailed vision of the way forward will be presented at the General Assembly in Lausanne in May, so I can't say more about it here, but it’s clear that we need to collaborate with the national federations more than ever to succeed in our mission. No matter how many competitions or initiatives we promote on European level, if there is nothing at national level for youth, for both boys and girls, we cannot expect our sport to grow in the future. Therese Klompenhouwer and Charlotte Sörensen are excellent role models for girls and women, and I hope their federations will use their excellent achievements in different ways to attract new players.
The scedule at the Europeans in Spain:
European under 21: Friday 18-Sunday 21 April.
Group A: Seymen Ozbas (Tur), Luis Pinto (Prt), Aleix Arnau (Sp)
Group B: Marcos Morales (Sp), Luca Philipoom (Ned), Goncalo Santos (Prt)
Group C: Ataberk Cerkez (Tur), Amir Ibraimov (Ger), Nicolas Cermak (Ch)
Group D: Mustafa Oguz Ceylan (Tur), Daniel Kristiansen (Den), Jakob Ide (Ger)
Group E: Selahattin Ozkul (Tur), Arturo Zotov (Sp), Quentin Watbled (Fra)
Group F: Samed Aygun (Tur), Joris van ‘t Zelfden (Ned), Christos Kisniarov (Ger)
Group G: Daniel Sainz-Pardo (Sp), Toon Bollansee (Bel), Mirko Russino (Ita)
Group H: Tangui Duriez (Fra), Toni Garcia (Sp), Paolo Turla (Ita).
European under 17, Friday 18-Sunday 21 April:
Group A: Bruno Martinez (Sp), Noah David (Fr), Joeri Wilkowski (Ned), Thomas Verhulst (Bel)
Group B: Remzi Akca (Tur), Charles Legendre (Fra), Lucas Molpeceres (Sp), Lorenzo Fiore (Ita)
Group C: Gokalp Cebeoglu (Tur), Mio Svensson (Zwe), Alba Wallerup (Sp), Jayden van Buren (Ned)
Group D: Muhammet Deniz Baldir (Tur), Noa Thiaudiere (Fra), Mateo Wallerup (Sp), Sebastian Tomas (Sp).
European biathlon country teams under 21:
Spain 1: Marcos Morales, Joan Orbea, Daniel Sainz-Pardo
Italy 1: Emanuel Cucchiara, Mirko Russino, Flavio Piccolomini
Denmark 1: Daniel Kristiansen, Magnus Petersen, Andreas Kjaerbo
France 1: Tangui Duriez, Julian Astic, Quentin Watbled
Czech Republic 1: Nicolas Cermak, Vitek Halamik, Anna Pechmanova
Portugal 1: Goncalo Santos, Luis Pinto, Rodrigo Rocha
Spain 2: Arturo Zotov, Joel Sanchez, Toni Garcia
Italy 2: Flavio Piccolomini, Paolo Turla, Emanuel Cucchiara
Denmark 2: Andreas Kjaerbo, Sebastian Duchwalder, Daniel Kristiansen
France 2: Quentin Wabbled, Ronan Delorme, Tangui Duriez.
European 5-pins under 21:
Emanuel Cucchiara (title holder), Joan Orbea, Flavio Piccolomini, Magnus Petersen, Julian Astic, Joel Sanchez, Vitek Halamik, Massimo Junior Montechiesa, Andreas Kjaerbo, Ronan Delorme, Anna Pechmanova, Sebastian Duchwalder.
Two contenders in three cushion: from the world stage, Seymen Ozbas and Amir Ibraimov