MARCOS MORALES WINS THE LONGONI NEXTGEN GP IN ATHENS
The Spanish armada dominated the Longoni NextGen GP in Athens securing 3 out of 4 spots on the podium. Marcos Morales got the first place at the expenses of Toni Garcia who finishes second. Like in Bergisch Gladbach the only non-Spaniard on the podium is Amir Ibraimov on the third step together with Arturo Zotov.
In the U21 category, we're used to seeing Spanish athletes on the podium, and this time there was no shortage. Amir Ibraimov is also an accomplished athlete, and his stats are the best in this tournament.
The final was an all-Spanish business, between Marcos Morales and Toni Garcia; the first was able to win only after overcoming the resistance of his compatriot until about halfway through the match.
The semifinal between Morales and Ibraimov, the former U25 European Champion against the reigning one, was an exciting match played at an excellent level, a neck-to-neck race; the final result speaks for itself: 35-31 in 23-22.
In the other semifinal, Garcia had less trouble defeating his compatriot Zotov (35-16 in 26-25).
Ibraimov keeps the first position in the Longoni ranking with 59 points but he is now closely chased by Garcia and Morales with 54 and 53 points respectively. The outcome of the European Champinship U21 will be decisive to assign the 3 wild cards. Click here to see the updated ranking.
Watch replays of all matches on the CEB YouTube channel and all tournament's statistic on the LIVE tab on CEB info page.
Congratulations to the organizing team for this perfect tournament!
UPDATES FROM DAY 2: LAST 8 DECIDED IN ATHENS
The last group games played in the morning session today decided the 16 talents qualified to the knock-out stage. All those who were leading the groups yesterday evening, as already mentioned, confirmed their position and won their respective groups: Ibraimov, Garcia, Zotov, Morales, Duriez, Bollansee and Martinez. Furthermore Demir Kaan (TR), Mio Svensson (SE), Joeri Wilkowski and Luca Philipoom (NL), Gokalp Cebeoglu (TR), Gilano Vloedmans and Jayden Van Buren (NL) advanced as runners up. The two best thirds to complete the last 16 field were two Turkish: Engin Ali Kozluca and Cinar Korkmaz.
Later the round of 16 was played over two sessions. In the upper side Morales and Ibraimov played amazing games: 35 points in 23 and 24 innings respectively, with runs of 8 and 11, sending home Vloedmans and Korkmaz; Mio Svensson won Kaan in a tight match and Duriez defeated Cebeoglu.
In the lower side there was a double match Spain vs Netherlands, the two Dutch being the youngest: Van Buren (13) and Wilkowski (15); they faced the older and more experienced Zotov and Martinez and finally the Spaniards advanced. Garcia made it through to quarters final at the expenses of Kozluca. The last one to clinch a spot in last 8 was Belgian Bollansee who eliminated Philipoom.
The quarters final field was defined as follows:
Ibraimov vs Svensson
Duriez vs Morales
Zotov vs Bollansee
Martinez vs Garcia
Live Tomorrow Morning at 10:30 local time on CEB YouTube channel.
All details are available on the CEB info page, LIVE TAB.
LONGONI NEXTGEN: UPDATES OF DAY 1
On Thursday evening, the best young European talents in the three-cushion discipline gathered at the Koralli Billiard Club in Athens for the training session. Matches then began regularly this morning.
After the first round of matches, the opening ceremony took place with the presentation of the athletes, collaborators, organizers, and sponsors.
At the end of the first day, 28 of the 42 qualifying matches had been played, and the provisional ranking began to suggest those with a good chance of advancing to the next knockout stage.
Seven players have a full score with two wins and are leading their respective groups; their position in the provisional ranking is therefore determined by their overall average: Amir Ibraimov (Germany) is in the lead, closely followed by all the Spanish participants (in order: Toni Garcia, Arturo Zotov, Marcos Morales, and Bruno Martinez). Close behind are Toon Bollansee (Belgium) and Tangui Duriez (France).
The best overall average (1.562) and the best match average (2.272) were also achieved by Ibraimov, while the author of the highest run so far was Marcos Morales (8).
Qualifying matches continue tomorrow, with the last round scheduled for 2:00 PM. The top 16 will then play the round of 16 in two sessions, at 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM.
Full Tournament details and statistics are available clicking on the LIVE tab on the CEB info page.
Check out the CEB YouTube channel for matches replay and follow it for tomorrow's live streaming.
THE LONGONI NEXTGEN CIRCUIT MOVES TO ATHENS
Everything is ready down to the smallest details for the second Longoni circuit event of the 2025/2026 season. This time, Athens will be the host city, with the Koralli Billiard Club organizing the event under the auspices of the Hellenic Federation of Precision Sports. The CEB initiative, supported by the renowned Italian cue manufacturer Longoni, continues to enjoy great success.
28 players from 9 countries will compete to dominate the annual rankings, which guarantee three wild cards for participation in the next European 3-cushion Championship in 2027. Currently, following the first tournament, Germany's Amir Ibraimov leads the rankings, followed by three Spaniards in the following positions: Toni Garcia, Bruno Martinez, and Arturo Zotov, all of whom are expected in Athens. The results of the U21 European 3-cushion Championship, which will take place in August, also in Greece, will also be considered in the final rankings for the assignment of the three wild cards.
The competition format features seven groups of four, with 16 players qualifying for the knockout stages.
The groups will be played on Friday and Saturday, May 1st and 2nd; the round of 16 will be played on Saturday, May 2nd; and the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final on Sunday, May 3rd.
The tournament is played on Simonis cloths and Aramith billiard balls.
The entire event will be available live on the CEB YouTube channel, do not hesitate to register to the channel.
Live scores, time tables, and all other information will be available on the CEB info page.
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