The opening day of the Under 19 Boys event at the Europe Youth Top 10 in Antibes produced several surprises, as Aleksei SAMOKHIN of Russia and Portugal’s Tiago ABIODUN completed the first three rounds unbeaten, while Bulgaria’s Yoan VELICHKOV also made a major impact.
See the pictures by Anthoine BERTHELEMY here.
The results significantly disrupted the order suggested by the starting list. Poland’s Marcel BLASZCZYK entered the competition as the No. 1 player, ahead of Slovakia’s Samuel ARPAS, with France’s Antoine NOIRAULT and Nathan PILARD at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. SAMOKHIN was No. 8, VELICHKOV No. 9, while ABIODUN started at No. 7.
SAMOKHIN opened his campaign with a 4-2 victory over Romania’s Robert ISTRATE before beating second-listed ARPAS by the same score. His biggest test came against BLASZCZYK in the final round of the day.
The Polish player raced into a 3-0 lead, but SAMOKHIN produced a remarkable recovery. He won four consecutive games to complete a 4-3 victory and close the day with a perfect record.
ABIODUN was equally impressive. The Portuguese player started with a 4-2 win over France’s Flavio MOURIER before surviving a seven-game battle against ISTRATE. In Round 3, ABIODUN added another notable victory, beating ARPAS 4-2 to make it three wins from three.
VELICHKOV also made a flying start. The Bulgarian opened with a straight-games victory over ARPAS and followed it by beating BLASZCZYK 4-2. His third scheduled match against Patryk ZYWORONEK was recorded as a 4-0 result, with no games played.
For BLASZCZYK, the opening day proved difficult after his first scheduled match against ZYWORONEK was recorded as a 4-0 result without games played. He then suffered back-to-back defeats, first against VELICHKOV and then against SAMOKHIN despite holding a 3-0 advantage.
Among the French contingent, NOIRAULT recovered strongly from a 4-1 opening defeat to compatriot PILARD. He beat MOURIER 4-1 and ISTRATE 4-2 to finish the day with two wins.
PILARD started with victory over NOIRAULT and also had a 4-0 recorded result against ZYWORONEK, before MOURIER stopped him 4-2 in the final round. That victory gave MOURIER his first success after defeats to ABIODUN and NOIRAULT.
After an eventful opening day, SAMOKHIN and ABIODUN have perfect records from three played matches, while VELICHKOV has also made an unbeaten start. With six rounds still ahead, the early results have already shown how unpredictable the battle for the U19 Boys title could be in Antibes.
U19 Boys – Results
Round 1
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) 4-0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Samuel ARPAS (SVK) 4-0 (9, 8, 7, 3)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) – Robert ISTRATE (ROU) 4-2 (-7, 9, 6, -10, 9, 5)
- Tiago ABIODUN (POR) – Flavio MOURIER (FRA) 4-2 (3, 7, -9, -7, 9, 9)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) – Nathan PILARD (FRA) 1-4 (-9, -11, -9, 8, -10)
Round 2
- Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) – Nathan PILARD (FRA) 0-4 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Flavio MOURIER (FRA) – Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) 1-4 (-5, -9, -7, 6, -4)
- Robert ISTRATE (ROU) – Tiago ABIODUN (POR) 3-4 (-6, -8, 5, -8, 8, 9, -10)
- Samuel ARPAS (SVK) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) 2-4 (-9, -4, 8, -5, 9, -6)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) – Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) 2-4 (6, -7, -11, 9, -4, -7)
Round 3
- Yoan VELICHKOV (BUL) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (POL) 4-0 (0, 0, 0, 0)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (RUS) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (POL) 4-3 (-5, -8, -8, 9, 11, 7, 4)
- Tiago ABIODUN (POR) – Samuel ARPAS (SVK) 4-2 (3, -9, 9, 10, -9, 5)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (FRA) – Robert ISTRATE (ROU) 4-2 (4, 7, 10, -9, -8, 9)
- Nathan PILARD (FRA) – Flavio MOURIER (FRA) 2-4 (10, -3, 9, -7, -4, -7)
Round 4 – 12:30
- Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland) – Flavio MOURIER (France)
- Robert ISTRATE (Romania) – Nathan PILARD (France)
- Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia) – Antoine NOIRAULT (France)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland) – Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia)
Round 5 – 16:30
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland)
- Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal) – Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (France) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland)
- Nathan PILARD (France) – Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia)
- Flavio MOURIER (France) – Robert ISTRATE (Romania)
Round 6 – 19:50
- Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland) – Robert ISTRATE (Romania)
- Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia) – Flavio MOURIER (France)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland) – Nathan PILARD (France)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria) – Antoine NOIRAULT (France)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia) – Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal)
Round 7 – 12:30
- Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland)
- Antoine NOIRAULT (France) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia)
- Nathan PILARD (France) – Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria)
- Flavio MOURIER (France) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland)
- Robert ISTRATE (Romania) – Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia)
Round 8 – 16:30
- Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland) – Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia)
- Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland) – Robert ISTRATE (Romania)
- Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria) – Flavio MOURIER (France)
- Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia) – Nathan PILARD (France)
- Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal) – Antoine NOIRAULT (France)
Round 9 – 19:50
- Antoine NOIRAULT (France) – Patryk ZYWORONEK (Poland)
- Nathan PILARD (France) – Tiago ABIODUN (Portugal)
- Flavio MOURIER (France) – Aleksei SAMOKHIN (Russia)
- Robert ISTRATE (Romania) – Yoan VELICHKOV (Bulgaria)
- Samuel ARPAS (Slovakia) – Marcel BLASZCZYK (Poland)
