Johann Chua and Mickey Krause will face each other in the final of the 2024 European Open Championship in Fulda, Germany.
For the third year in a row, the European Open Championship returns to the Hotel Esperanto in partnership with the city of Fulda, the local sports authority Fulda “Die Sportstadt” and the renowned broadcaster Sky Sports.
LIVE RESULTS/BRACKETS
Johann Chua started his semifinal match on a strong note, winning the lag and quickly building a two-rack lead over Shane Van Boening. However, a foul on the third rack after a failed attempt to hit the 2 gave Van Boening a chance to win the match. The American was ready to capitalize, but a mistake on the 9 allowed Chua to regain control and extend his lead.
In the fifth game, Chua’s missed safety on 4-ball finally opened the door for Van Boening, who seized the opportunity to win two consecutive games. Although he failed to break in the next game, Van Boening managed to recover after Chua struggled with a difficult 9-ball shot.
A scratch from Van Boening on the eighth rack gave “Bad Koi” Chua the momentum he needed to charge forward and reach the mound. Chua then delivered a flawless run across the table to book his place in the final of the European Open Championship.
In the other semifinal match, Mickey Krause built a commanding 6-0 lead over Skyler Woodward. The two traded racks to bring the score to 7-2, with Krause still in control. However, when Krause missed the 8 in the tenth rack, Woodward was able to close the gap, and when Krause missed the 7, Woodward was able to capitalize again.
The American fought back determinedly, helped by a lucky hit on the 5 that forced Krause to make a difficult jump shot. Krause managed to sink the 5, but his attempt to secure the 6 was unsuccessful, allowing Woodward to win another game and reduce the score to 7-5. Krause caught up after a thrilling battle for safety in the 13th game, but lost his rhythm after a dry break and brought the score to 8-6.
Krause’s bad luck continued when he made an error in the next game, allowing Woodward to tie the score at 8-8. Woodward, attempting his third comeback of the tournament, looked close to taking the lead, but Krause capitalized on a crucial 4-ball miss from the American and converted a cushion shot to regain a 9-8 lead.
The two players traded racks once again, with Woodward approaching the mound and looking to tie the match. However, a missed three-pointer sealed his fate and Krause cleared the table and secured his place in the final.
Johann Chua and Mickey Krause will battle for the championship in a race to 13 today at 18:30 CEST (17:30 BST). The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Final – Saturday 11 August – 18:30 CEST / 17:30 BST
Johann Chua (PHI) against Mickey Krause (DEN)
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Live scoring of each rack will be available throughout the event at www.wntlivescores.com.
Wherever you are in the world, you can follow the action with broadcasters worldwide and live on the Matchroom Pool and Multi Sport YouTube channels in selected territories and on Matchroom.Live. Fans in the UK can watch the final two days on Sky Sports, the first four on Matchroom.Live and Matchroom YouTube. Fans in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland, the Netherlands and Iceland can watch live on Viaplay.
Find out where you can watch here.
