JOLIEN SCHUURMAN, PLAYING in only her second ladies Euro Tour event was victorious in Podčetrtek, Slovenia as she took down the EPBF Terme Olimia Open, defeating Slovenia’s Ana Gradisnik 7-5 in the final. The Dutch girl had initially come to Slovenia to compete in the European Youth Championships last week but didn’t have the best of times, trying to build on 2022’s multiple gold medal success.
However, she found her form on the Euro Tour despite being relegated to the one-loss side as she went onto beat a host of big names en route to the title. Having just turned 17, there was a gulf in experience between the two players with Gradisnik a veteran of seven Euro Tour finals including two victories and Schuurman just commencing her journey.
There were 29 starters representing 15 countries starting out on Saturday but that was reduced to the final pair and it was Gradisnik who got the match underway. Both players had visits before Schuurman scratched to give her opponent the opportunity, but a positional error from Gradisnik allowed Schuurman back with four balls on the table. She made no mistakes to take the opener.
However, Gradisnik took the next against the break and a nice safety on the blue 2 left Schuurman with a ‘hit and hope’ shot which left the 2 in a makeable position. A stunning long pot on the 3 ball set Gradisnik up for the runout and the score became 2-1.
Schuurman fell foul of the three-point rule in the fourth game and an attempt at a 1/9 combo from Gradisnik narrowly failed. They both had visits before Schuurman despatched the 1 ball which allowed her to complete a tricky clearance to level the match at 2-2.
The first illegal break from Gradisnik returned her opponent to the table but it was a scratch from the Slovenian which gave ball-in- hand to Schuurman but she failed to pot an almost unmissable 4 ball into the middle pocket. Gradisnik couldn’t capitalise on it, and Schuurman more than made up for her error with some fine potting before she missed on the 8 ball to leave it on for Gradisnik who grabbed the opportunity to move into a 3-2 lead.
A solid opener from Schuurman gave her a chance but she once again missed into the centre pocket.
She missed again, this time on the 3 ball which gave Gradisnik a great chance but she missed the 9 to present the rack to Schuurman as the scores levelled at 3-3
Another illegal break from Gradisnik got Schuurman back to the table but she couldn’t do anything with it. Gradisnik looked set to restore her lead but she left herself a difficult 9 into the centre pocket which went awry. Schuurman stepped in and made a nice cut down the rail to move into a 4-3 lead.
A weak safety from Schuurman gave Gradisnik a chance but her positional shot from 3 to 4 wasn’t quite enough and her safety left the 4 on for Schuurman but she too found herself blocked by the 9 ball. They went back and forth before a miss on the 7 ball from Gradisnik left it available to Schuurman, who composed herself to take the rack and get to 5-3.
A third illegal break from Gradisnik saw Schuurman pot a long 3 ball and then play safe on the 4.
The pair had multiple visits on the 4 ball before Schuurman put it away and was unable to capitalise on it as she missed the 7 ball. Gradisnik had no such qualms as she completed the rack to reduce the deficit to one rack.
A solid break from Schuurman was derailed by a weak positional shot before Gradisnik missed a 5/8 combination. An excellent slow roll on the
5 ball from Schuurman set her up for the run out and she reached the hill, leading 6-4.
Yet another illegal break from Gradisnik gave Schuurman the first look at the table but she once again missed an easy pot, this time on the 3 ball. Gradisnik kept herself in the match as she ran out for 6-5.
A dry break from Schuurman left nothing on but when she got back to the table, a couple of excellent pots followed by a 3/9 combination sealed what was a marvellous victory for the young Dutch girl.
Post-match, Schuurman was stunned by her amazing success; “Well, this year’s European Championships was quite a disappointment. I had some trouble knowing that I was a two-time European Champion and your goals change and that’s weird. During the European Championships I decided to play the Euro Tour – it was very last minute and winning was something I never expected and it’s great!
“I tried to ignore nerves and maybe that sometimes leads to thinking too easy and not giving enough attention to a shot. I don’t know what I’m going to do next time but it’s amazing to have this title to my name and I’m very happy with the achievement!”
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