Press Release | 8 March 2026 (web version)
XAVIER LE ROY CROWNED EUROPEAN CHAMPION IN 1-CUSHION
On the second day of the All-in-One Carom European Championships in Antalya, Turkiye, the first new titleholder was determined. In the final of the 1-cushion tournament, France’s Xavier Le Roy defeated Dutchman Raymund Swertz 120–91 after thirteen innings. Le Roy got off to a great start in the final and quickly took a 93–10 lead with runs of 16, 36, and 29 points. Afterwards, the Frenchman struggled a bit, allowing Swertz the opportunity to close the gap. Le Roy managed only smaller runs, so that at 117–91 Swertz was even within reach. However, Xavier Le Roy then scored the decisive three points to secure the European Championship title.
The two bronze medals go to Nikolaos Gerassimopoulos of Greece and Arnim Kahofer of Austria. In the semifinals they both put up a good fight against their opponents, but Gerassimopoulos lost 99–120 to Swertz, while Kahofer was defeated 90–120 by Le Roy.
The highest run of the day was achieved by Gerassimopoulos with 98 points, while Le Roy also achieved the best match average of 20, Willy Gerimont scored the best overall average (8,38).
5-Pins
One player from San Marino, one from Germany, and two from Denmark will compete in tomorrow’s 5-Pins individual event semifinals. Alfredo Jose Torre Rossini of San Marino won his quarterfinal against Tejs Tafdrup (Denmark) 3–1 in sets. His compatriot Kim Henriksen also reached the last four with a clear 3–0 victory over fellow Dane Jonas Søndergaard.
The other two quarterfinals turned into real thrillers. Erling Sjørup (Denmark) went the full distance of five sets against Germany’s Michel Peters and eventually won the match. Henrik Ryholt (Denmark), however, was less fortunate against Toni Rosenberg. The German won the fourth set with a ten-point shot that was absolutely not intended in that way. Rosenberg apologized several times and suddenly had momentum on his side in the fifth set. Ryholt, on the other hand, appeared visibly shaken and was unable to respond to the strong play of Rosenberg.
Semifinals on Monday at 9:00:
Alfredo Jose Torre Rossini – Toni Rosenberg
Kim Henriksen – Erling Sjørup
Results
3-Cushions U25
The semifinalists in the U25 3-cushion event have also now been determined. Austria’s Nikolaus Kogelbauer defeated Toni Garcia (Spain) 40–32 in 37 innings in the quarterfinal and will now face Daniel Sainz-Pardo on Monday. The Spaniard, for his part, beat Georgios Tsokantas of Greece convincingly 40–17 in 26 innings.
Amir Ibraimov also played a strong quarterfinal stage. The German first recovered from a 30–38 deficit in the round of 16 and then gave Portugal’s Luis Pinto no chance, winning 40–12 in twenty innings. With an average of 2.0, Ibraimov also recorded the highest average of the day. In the semifinal, Ibraimov will now face Abdullah Kaya (Turkiye), who defeated Aygün Cin (Germany) 40–7 in 25 innings.
The highest run of the day, with eight points, was achieved by four different players. However, only Amir Ibraimov remains in the competition among them.
Semifinals on Monday at 11:30:
Nikolaus Kogelbauer – Daniel Sainz-Pardo
Amir Ibraimov – Abdullah Kaya
Artistic Billiards
The spectacular artistic billiards competition also began this Sunday, in which a total of 24 players seemingly defy the laws of physics. The group stage will continue until Monday noon, after which the tournament will enter its decisive phase with the round of 16. The defending champion is Germany’s Thomas Ahrens, who started his group with a victory.
During the award ceremony for the new one-cushion European champion, the opening ceremony of the All-in-One CEB European Championships also took place.
All European Championship results can be found here
Of course, there is also a livestream available for fans covering all 24 tables. A paid service is available at www.tv.kozoom.com. The entire European Championship and all the tables can be watched for €18.99. Additionally the table number 3 is live free on Kozoom Youtube channel.
You are welcome to use this press release for republication with a source attribution to "CEB".
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail.
CEB Media Office
E-mail: media@eurobillard.org
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