DREAM TICKET FOR DRAGO?
Tony Drago stands just one match away from a return to the Main Professional Tour.
Malta's Tony Drago, formerly a top 16 player on the Professional Circuit, has played superb snooker for two days to earn his place in the final of the 2009 European Play Off Event.
He awaits the winner of the second semi final, currently in play, between Belgium's Yvan Van Velthoven and Holland's Roy Stolk.
Stolk, making a welcome return to international snooker, won this event in 2006 to earn his crack at the professional circuit, but he lost his place after only one season.
Other big names have fallen by the wayside, as lesser known players, from the fast improving European countries, cut them down to size.
The first major casualty was former professional player, Kristjan Helgason from Iceland. He lost out to Poland's Marisuz Sirko at the Last 32 stage.
The crucial moment in the match came at the end of frame three, when after a thrilling ten minute safety battle, Sirko forced a safety error from Helgason, and slotted home a re-spotted black to gain the lead.
Helgason did force a decider but the Polish player held his nerve. He went on to beat Maurice Le Duc before being blitzed out by Drago in the quarter finals, who blasted in 61, 67 and 82 to open a 3-0 lead.
German's leading contenders, Lasse Munstermann and Patrick Einsle also crashed out at the same stage and it was left to two ex-pat Brasilians to carry the German flag on.
Itaro Santos perished 3-0 at the hands of Dutchman Reind Duut in the last 16, but the fairytale lasted until the quarter finals for his countryman Igor Figueiredo.
Amazingly, before yesterday Figueiredo had never played a tournament on a full size snooker table!
Hailing from Brasil, they play ten reds events on 10 foot tables. But despite this lack of big table experience, he smashed his way through the round robin stage, emerging top of his group and then set about disposing of some of Europe's best players.
He beat Belgium's Kris Van Landeghem 3-0 in the Last 32 and then caused a major upset by knocking out Belgium's Peter Bullen, a professional in the 1990s, 3-1.
Igor battled all the way against another Belgian, Yvan Van Velthoven, in the quarter final, but was eventually ousted 4-3.
Many eyes were on Norway's Kurt Maflin. The former World Amateur Champion and Main Tour Professional.
Despite suffering from a severe bout of tonsilitis, Maflin cruised through his groups, with a barrage of big breaks, including a couple of centuries.
He smashed in 123 to beat Costas Konnaris and then won the battle of the big guns against Malta's Alex Borg, 3-0 and Malta's hope of an all-Malta final disappeared with Borg's exit.
However Maflin was beaten by a very solid performance from Stolk in their quarter final.
The winner on Wednesday evening will take away 1000 Euro prize money, but the real prize in this event is the nomination to the World Snooker Main Tour in 2009-10.
