MEZZ CUES BALTIC POOL LEAGUE 2024 STAGE ON

The inaugural stage of Mezz Cues Baltic Pool League 2024 was held in Tallinn, Estonia. The host of the event was the beloved Hill-Hill Billiard Club. There were three days of exiting events in mini, women, open and seniors’ divisions. Petri Makkonen (FIN) won the men division, women’s division was won by Daria Siranchuk (UKR) and senior event was won by Sasu Raudas (FIN). The mini warm-up event was won by Aleksandrs Horsuns (LAT).

Flawless Makkonen

In the final of this year’s Tallinn stage open division met Petri Makkonen and Karl Gnadeberg (EST). Both of the players truly earned the place in the final as both of them reached the final with no losses. The final had tension with ups and downs as Makkonen was leading 2:0, but Gnadeberg managed to show some class and after few minutes take the lead 3:2. Nevertheless, Makkonen managed to be superior in the middle of the encounter which turned up to be crucial as he won 9:6. In his semi-final Makkonen won Raimo Teesaar (EST) by score 9:5 and Gnadeberg had a real hill-hill thriller against Mihkel Rehepapp (EST).

 

Siranchuk for gold

Daria Siranchuk was the hot favourite to win the women division. She met the expectations but had to struggle in the opening rounds as Simona Milisauskaite (LIT) showed high class playing and won 4:0. However, Siranchuk got another chance as both players had another go in the final of the event. This time Siranchuk left no chances for Milisauskaite as she won 9:3. By the same score she was better of Anna Grintśuk (EST) in the semi-final. Milisauskaite had a tougher way to the final as she won 9:7 against Aleksandra Sinilnikova (EST).

 

Sasu Raudas made it two for Finland

The weekends success for Finnish pool did not end with Makkonen’s gold as another gold medal was won, and this time it was Sasu Raudas in the senior division to lift the cup. In the final he was against Tarvo Piip (EST). Again, in the final met two players who had not lost any matches during the event. However, it turned out the most one-sided final of the weekend as Raudas managed to win 9:1. Nevertheless, it was a good effort from Piip as he won 9:4 against Petteri Karapuu (FIN). The second bronze medal went to Maciej Trudnowski as he lost to Raudas 9:5 in the semi-final.

 

Horsuns, the king of the mini

The warm-up mini event on Friday evening is always needed to break the ice for the weekend. This time the best icebreaker was Aleksandrs Horsuns (LAT) as he won the final 4:2 against Roman Kuzemko (EST). Third place went to another Finnish player Jiri Marsalo and it turned out to be another bronze of the weekend for Maciej Trudnowski.

 

Good start for the season

Another great weekend has come to an end with more than 90 players taking part in the events. Big gratitude goes out to all the athletes, volunteers, fans and all other people and companies that were part of another enjoyable event. Additional gratitude to Estonian Billiard Federation, Finnish Billiard Federation, Latvian Billiard Federation and Lithuanian Pool Federation for their constant support and cooperation. Last but not least a big gratitude goes out to all the sponsors – Mezz Cues, Holly Case, Mirai, Aramith, Iwan Simonis, Kamui, Aveiras, Turtle Rack Sheet, Uptown Billiards Club, Black Ball pool club, Kings club "147", Bams Pool House, and Hill-Hill Pool Club.

The next event is scheduled to be held on 10^th till 12^th of May in a new venue which is Black Ball club in beautiful Klaipeda, Lithuania. For further information please visit our Facebook www.facebook.com/balticpoolleague.