BARIS CIN TAKES FIRST PLACE IN BLOIS
The Artistic Grand Prix in Blois, France, concluded today, showcasing some extraordinary performances from the semifinalists.
In the first semifinal, Hector Cuadrado won against Anthony Marin (186-154 with averages of 77.178 and 63.900); right in this match the Spaniard achieved the best high run of the tournament: 124 points. The second semifinal, Baris Cin against Jop de Jong, was a neck-to-neck match played at a stratospheric level by both contenders. The final score, in favor of the Turk, speaks for itself: 230-228 (86.792 and 86.037). Perhaps one of the greatest matches ever.
In the end, there was little tension in the final, and Baris Cin won again to take first place.
1st place: Baris Cin (Turkiye)
2nd place: Hector Cuadrado (Spain)
3rds: Jop de Jong (Netherlands) and Anthony Marin (France)
Full results here.
Photos: Ton Smilde
GRAND PRIX SEMIFINALISTS DECIDED
After two days dedicated to the qualifying round, the 16 best players who scored the highest number of points over the 56 figures provided had access to the final knock-out phase which took place today for the round of 16 and quarter finals. At the end of today there are therefore only 4 athletes left in the race who will compete for the first four positions on the podium tomorrow.
Yaman was the best in qualifying with 295 points and 113 attempts (70.405%), followed closely by de Jong and Tran.
The round of 16 included 6 Frenchmen (Anthony Marin, Olivier Lacroix, Kevin Tran, Emmanuel Nirige, Michael Hammen and Madou Toure), 3 Belgians (Erik Vervliet, Steve Wilms and Erik Van den Zegel), 2 Turks (Haci Arap Yaman and Baris Cin), 2 Germans (Thomas Ahrens and Marvin Heinrich), 1 Spaniard (Hector Cuadrado), 1 Hungarian (Laszlo Toth) and 1 Dutch (Jop de Jong).
The first to access the quarter-finals where they will face each other were Yaman at the expense of Ahrens and Cuadrado who eliminated Vervliet.
Marin and Lacroix will also face each other in the quarterfinals, after winning against Toth and Heinrich respectively.
After a forced break due to a power outage in the district, the next 4 matches of the round of 16 were able to take place. The next quarterfinalists were Tran, Cin, Hammen and De Jong, who eliminated Wilms, Nirige, Toure and Van den Zegel.
In the quarterfinals, at the end of the day, Cuadrado got the better of Yaman to confirm himself as the first semifinalist while Marin eliminated his compatriot Lacroix to secure a place in the semifinals. In the last round it was De Jong and Cin's turn to win a place in the second semi-final by winning Hammen and Tran.
Tomorrow's semi-finals:
Hector Cuadrado vs Anthony Marin
Jop de Jong vs Baris Cin
Photos: Ton Smilde
BLOIS TO HOST THE 2nd ARTISTIC GRAND PRIX OF 2025-2026 SPORT SEASON
The second Artistic Billiard Grand Prix of this season will take place this week, from Thursday to Sunday in Blois, France.
The competition is organized for the CEB by the Académie Blèsoise de Billard, under the auspices of the French Billiards Federation, and counts toward the CEB Artistic Billiards ranking.
41 participants from nine CEB member countries will compete, including virtually all of the top players in this spectacular discipline.
Players are divided into 12 qualifying groups; at the end of the first phase, the 16 best-scoring players will advance to the second phase of the knockout stage starting on Saturday; the knockout stage will include the round of 16 and the quarterfinals on Saturday, semifinals and final on Sunday.
The event will be livestreamed on the club's YouTube channel.
The event is played on Simonis cloths with Aramith billiard balls.
Check out the CEB info page for schedules, results and more.
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