Portuguese Miguel Ruivo did not resist on the first day of the U18 European Snooker Championship, which began this Saturday and will last until the 17th in Albufeira, when he recorded two decisive defeats (0-3) in his three games. in group J competition against German Fabian Haken, Welshman Riley Powell and Pole Witold Bystrzycki.

The 16-year-old had a bad start, but against the 13-year-old Welshman, he unsuccessfully discussed the first two parts of the match in order to close his participation – already with no chance of reaching the final. The match against Pole Witold Bystrzycki for 11 (!) Years with a victory and already a real idea of ​​his merits, marking the long-awaited victory – his first in two consecutive years of Europeans – with a score of 3: 0 and paying tribute to Portugal.

“You will never get lost, you are always learning. Another thing is that the movement of the tablecloth and table is very fast, and any slip is expensive. They are Europeans. I will come back stronger in the future. There is a certain bitterness in this, because after three defeats at Euro 2020, I was hoping to win my first victory, ”Miguel Ruivo told A BOLA.

32 people advanced to 16th place in the final to be held on Sunday 3rd in a competition organized by the European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) and the Portuguese Billiards Federation (FPB), the first of nine championships and titles will be awarded at Vidamar Resort Hotel until 17th of the current month, arrives on Monday 4th, with semi-finals and final for players under 18.

The 16th and 16th finals of the U18 European Championship will be played on Sunday, even the best of the five partial (whoever wins three wins, from 3-0 to a possible 3-2). The quarters, semi-finals and under-18 finals will be played in the best of seven frames: whoever wins four wins (4-0 to a possible 4-3).

Youth U21: Start with Guilherme Lemos

On Sunday, the 3rd, takes effect, with the start – simultaneously with the youth under 18 – of the under 21 competition, a young man (19 years old) Guilherme Lemos, the second Portuguese player, challenged Salgados, which has 77 more candidates in the race for this European title.

In 2020, Guilherme Lemos, an athlete from Académica de Coimbra, became the best in Portugal, registering four victories in the European Championship, also contested in Salgados: two in the U-18 competition, two more in the U-21 competition, not enough. the ratio of won and lost “frames” with rivals tara has reached a phase that needs to be eliminated.

The group stage matches of the U21 tournament, which will feature 16 groups – four and five players – will be played in the best of five sections (3-0 to a possible 3-2), with the first three of each. grouping to go to the next stage. But they only start on Monday 3rd (10am), so no one is playing on Sunday.

At the start in a group of four elements, Guilherme Lemos will win to qualify; if, in the not yet drawn toss, he falls into a group of five players, less than two wins will mean a premature elimination.

Exit Joao Grilo; Alexander Almeida enters.

There is also news in the national team. Like Tiago Silva and Tiago Teixeira, João Grilo also refused to participate in the European Championship, as did the referee Miguel Sancho. For this reason, Ricardo Salgado, President of the Portuguese Billiards Federation and Deputy Director of the Competition, confirmed to A BOLA Alexander Almeida’s call for Seleção to represent Portugal.

Alexandre Almeida will play in the senior teams tournament (players over 40) with Pedro France, while João Roque and Paulo Pereira will form another national team in this category.

At the main European competition, which will last until the 17th at the Vidamar Resort Hotel, in Salgados (Albufeira, Algarve), Portugal will have the largest representation with seven athletes: Diogo Badalo, João Esteves da Silva, Miguel Silva, Pedro France, Enrique. Correia, Luis Miguel Alves and … Guilherme Lemos, who, in addition to youth under 21, will participate in the most popular tournament.

In the senior singles (over 40) competition, Portugal will play Enrique Correia, João Roque, Pedro France, Miguel Silva and Paulo Pereira. The men’s team competition will feature two national teams: João Esteves da Silva / Miguel Silva and Enrique Correia / Diogo Badalo. There will be no athletes in the Seis Vermelhas women’s and women’s team competition in Portugal, but until the 17th, Salgados has plenty of good snooker to see beautifully.