Ouschan beats Van Boening to win inaugural European Open Pool title

FULDA: Austrian star Albin Ouschan avenged his World Pool Championship final defeat to American Shan Van Boening as he defeated the latter 13-11 in an enthralling final to lift the inaugural European Open Pool Championship.

In a rollercoaster final, Ouschan held his nerves calm to edge past van Boening 13-11 in the Best of 25 racks.

A dry break from world No. 1 Van Boening after 10-10 allowed Ouschan to clear the table and move two racks within to victory and history.

Van Boening, on the other hand, did not hold back and seized the opportunity to cut Ouschan’s lead at 11-11 as the latter left the two close to the pocket in a deep safety battle.

The top-ranked pool player then made a costly error in the 23rd rack as his safety left him gutted and leaving the ball in hand to Ouschan, who did well to put himself on the hill at 12-11.

The thrilling final seemed to have taken a sharp turn and it appeared to be heading for a hill-hill situation when Van Boening made an excellent bank to make the three. A costly error on the five, however, bolstered Ouschan a chance to seal a thrilling 13-11 victory.

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