| Abbreviation | EPBF |
|---|---|
| Formation | November 1978 |
| Headquarters | Brunssum, Netherlands |
Region | Europe |
Official language | English [1] |
President |  Gre Leenders [2] |
| Affiliations | World Pool-Billiard Association |
| Website | www |
The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) is the European governing body for pocket billiards. EPBF is the European regional affiliate member of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA). [3]
The federation holds the European Championships since 1980. [4] and Euro Tour events since 1992. [5] [6]
Federata Shqiptare e Bilardos dhe Snookerit
Österreichischer Pool-Billard Verband
(provisional) Azərbaycan Bilyard Federasiyası
Pool-Billiard Belgium
(suspended) Bielaruskaja Asacyjacyja Biĺjardnaha Sportu
Biljar & Snooker Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine
Bŭlgarska Natsionalna Federatsiya po Bilyard
Hrvatski Biljarski Savez
Kypriakí Omospondía Biliárdou Tsépis
Ceskomoravsky Billiardovy Svaz
Den Danske Billard Union
Eesti Piljardiliit
(provisional) Landspuljafelag Føroya
Suomen Biljardiliitto
Federacion Francaise de Billard
Sakartvelos Biliardis Erovnuli Pederatsia
Deutsche Billard Union
British Pool Federation
Magyar Biliárd Szövetség
(provisional) Billiardsamband Islands
Federazione Italiana Sport Billiardo & Bowling
(provisional) Bilijarski Savez Kosova
Latvijas Republikas Biljarda Federācija
Billardverband Fürstentum Liechtenstein
Lietuvos Pulo Federacija
Fed. Luxembourgeoise des Amateurs de Billard Koninklijke Nederlandse Biljart Bond
(provisional) Bilijard Federacija na Severna Makedonija
Norges Biljardforbund
Polski Związek Bilardowy
Federacao Portuguesa de Bilhar
(suspended) Federatsiya Bil'yardnogo Sporta Rossiya
Bilijarski Savez Srbije
Slovenská Biliardová Federácia
Zveza za Žepni Biljard in Snooker Slovenije
Real Federación Española de Billar
Svenska Biljardförbundet
Schweizer Billardverbandes
Türkiye Bilardo Federasyonu
Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Bilardo Federasyonu
Federatsiya Sportyvnoho Bilʹyardu Ukrayiny
Nine-ball is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick, players must strike the white cue ball to pocket nine colored billiard balls, hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game is won by the player pocketing the 9-ball. Matches are usually played as a race to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match.
The World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is the international governing body for pool. It was formed in 1987, and was initially headed by a provisional board of directors consisting of representatives from Australia, Americas, Africa, and Europe. As of 2023, the WPA president is Ishaun Singh of South Africa. It is an associate of the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS), the international umbrella organization that encompasses the major cue sports. WPA is headquartered in Gauteng, South Africa.
Artistic billiards is a cue sport played on a billiard table. A discipline of carom billiards, players aim to recreate a portion of 76 pre-set shots of varying difficulty against an opponent. Each of the 76 shots has a maximum point value assigned for perfect execution, ranging from a four-point maximum for lowest level difficulty shots, and climbing to an eleven-point maximum. There are a total of 500 points available to a player, representing the combined value of a perfect score on all 76 shots, although not all games are played with the full shot catalogue. The governing body of the sport is the Confédération International de Billard Artistique.
There are 29 sports federations in Northern Cyprus and 13,838 people registered in them as of 2008. Taekwondo-karate-aikido-kurash is the most popular sport with 6054 athletes. It is followed by association football, shooting and hunting.
The Confédération Européene de Billard (CEB) is the European governing body of carom billiards and is affiliated to the world federation UMB.
Turkish Billiards Federation is the governing body of the cue sports in Turkey. Founded on December 2, 2006, it is based in Ankara. The Turkish organization is member of the Confédération Européenne de Billard (CEB) and the Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB). Since May 2014, the TBF is chaired by Ersan Ercan.
European Pool Championship is a pool competition organized by the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF). The tournament is held annually since 1980. It should not be confused with the series of smaller events known as the Euro Tour, also run by the EPBF.
Joshua Filler is a German professional pool player from Bönen, Germany. In 2018 Filler defeated Carlo Biado 13–10 to win the 2018 WPA World Nine-ball Championship. In 2017 he was the youngest player to win the China Open, and in 2018 he also won the 10-ball European Pool Championships. Filler became WPA and Euro Tour world number 1 in 2019, and later he reached the final of the 2019 WPA World Ten-ball Championship before losing 10–7 to Ko Ping-chung.
Ruslan Yuryevich Chinakhov is a Russian professional primarily nine-ball pool player. Ruslan was the world nine-ball Juniors champion in 2009. Chinakhov has won several events, including the Euro Tour Dutch Open 2017, defeating Christoph Reintjes in the final.
Francisco Sánchez Ruíz is a Spanish professional pool player, nicknamed "The Ferrari" and by his initials "FSR". He won both the 2022 WPA World Eight-ball Championship and the 2023 WPA World Nine-ball Championship.
The Dynamic Billard Leende Open 2019 was a nine-ball pool tournament, and the first Euro Tour event of 2019. The event was held between 7–10 February 2019, at the Golden Tulip Jagershorst hotel in Leende, Netherlands. The event was won by Germany's Joshua Filler, who defeated Ruslan Chinakhov 9–7 in the final. This was Filler's first Euro Tour win, having previously been a runner-up at three previous events.
Sanjin Pehlivanović is a Bosnian professional pool player. He is an eight-time junior European Pool Championships champion, winning events 8-Ball, 9-Ball, and 10-Ball. In 2021, he also received a runners-up medal in the European championship 9-Ball event, losing in the final to Germany's Joshua Filler.
Kristina Olegovna Tkach is a Russian professional pool player. She became the 2017 WPA World Nine-ball Junior Championship winner, defeating Lee Woo-jin in the final 9–6. Tkach is a four time European champion having won the eight-ball event in 2016 and 2019, as well as Straight pool in 2017 and 2019. In addition, she is a nine-time Junior European Champion.
Nikolaos "Nick" Malai is an Albanian professional pool player. Malai is a former winner of an event on the Euro Tour, winning the 2012 North Cyprus Open.
The year of 2019 included professional tournaments surrounding table-top cue sports. These events include snooker, pool disciplines and billiards. Whilst these are traditionally singles sports, some matches and tournaments are held as doubles, or team events. The snooker season runs between May and April, whilst the pool and billiards seasons run in the calendar year.
Oliwia Zalewska née Czuprynska is a Polish professional pool player. Zalewska is a former WPA World Nine-ball junior champion, winning the ladies event in 2011. She also reached the final the following year, losing in the final to Diana Khodjaeva. She is also a three-time winner of Euro Tour events, winning the 2015 Treviso Open, 2019 Antalya Open and 2019 Klagenfurt Open. In addition, she has reached four finals, and won a total of seven medals at events on the tour.
In 2018, championships were held across three continents to determine the best players in major cue sports, including snooker, pool, and English billiards. While these are mostly single player sports, some matches and tournaments are held as either doubles or as team events. The snooker season runs between May and April; the pool and billiards seasons run through the calendar year.
Professional tournaments in table-top cue sports took place in 2020. These events include snooker, pool disciplines and billiards. Whilst these are traditionally singles sports, some matches and tournaments are held as doubles or as teams. The snooker season runs between May and April, whilst the pool and billiards seasons is listed over the calendar year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was disrupted with many events being cancelled or postponed. Cue sports events were played in January and February, before tournaments were discontinued for all disciplines due to the pandemic, returning in June without an audience.
The 2020 Treviso Open was a professional nine-ball pool event, the only Euro Tour tournament held in 2020. The event was played from 20 to 22 February 2020 at the BHR Treviso Hotel in Treviso, Italy. The event had a total prize pool of €38,000, with the winner of each event receiving €4,500.
The 2021 Dynamic Billard St. Johann im Pongau Open was a professional nine-ball pool tournament, the first Euro Tour event of 2021. It took place from the 17th to the 20th June 2021 in the Alpina, Wellness & Sporthotel in St Johann im Pongau, Austria. The event had a total prize pool of €38,000, with the winner of each event receiving €4,500. Since the 2020 Treviso Open there had not been any Euro Tour events, having been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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| Carom billiards | ||
| Snooker | ||
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| Major international tournaments |
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 Cue sportsportal The rules of games in italics are standardized by international sanctioning bodies. | ||