Feature:

He Was Down 7-2. Then He Won Eleven Straight.

The 2026 Roobet European Open drew 256 players to Hotel Hills in Sarajevo for six days of nine-ball on the World Nineball Tour. $225,000 prize fund. Diamond 9-foot tables. The field included the defending champion, the World No. 1, and players from over a dozen countries.

Moritz Neuhausen trailed Mario He 7-2 in the final. The 22-year-old German was chasing his first Major Open title on the WNT. Mario He had been the best player in the building all week.

Then Mario He played a deliberate foul in the tenth rack. It backfired. Neuhausen stepped up and never lost another rack. Eleven consecutive racks, to be exact; including five break-and-runs and a four-pack. Final score: Neuhausen 13, Mario He 7.

Neuhausen's path to the title was not clean. He survived a scare against Menillo Guglielmo in round one (10-7), edged Phuong Nam Pham 10-9 on day three, then beat Robbie Capito 10-7 in the Last 16. His quarter-final against Duong Quoc Hoang, the reigning Premier League Pool champion, went hill-hill. He beat Eklent Kaci 11-5 in the semis. Then found another gear in the final when it counted.

The bracket was stacked all the way down. Syria's Mohammad Soufi made the quarter-finals. Hungary's Oliver Szolnoki reached the quarters through upsets. Albanian brothers Eklent and Kledio Kaci met each other in a quarter-final, with Eklent winning 10-8. Defending champion Joshua Filler made the semis before Mario He ended his title defense. David Alcaide, the 2022 European Open champion, was knocked out in the Last 16.

"This win feels different because it definitely wasn't a gift.” Neuhausen is 22. He's now ranked WNT No. 5 in the world.

WPBA: 50th Anniversary Season Update

Margaret Fefilova-Styer went undefeated to win the Raxx Mezz Olhausen CPBA Invitational at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY. This was the WPBA’s 3rd event of the historical 50th season.

In a $35,000 added, 64-player field, Margaret edged out a double-hill thriller final against the Philippines' Rubilen Amit, who was competing in her first WPBA event. Fefilova-Styer dropped her opponent 8-1 in the hot seat match, then Amit fought back from the loss side to force a deciding set. Styer won the last rack to take the title and moved to No. 2 in the WPBA rankings behind Kristina Tkach.

Viking Sponsored Pro Margaret Fefilova-Styer

Sofia Mast continues to turn heads. The 16-year-old from Tampa, nicknamed "The Pink Dagger," finished 4th at Raxx, the highest WPBA finish of her career. She beat No. 4 ranked Kristina Zlateva 8-5 on the winners' side to get there. Through three events this season she's already earned over $6,200 and climbed to No. 7 in the tour rankings. She's the youngest player in the top ten.

Earlier this season, Chieh-Yu Chou won the Classic Players Championship at Classic Billiards in Lauderhill, FL, which carried $50,000 in added money, the largest single added money event in a pool hall in WPBA history.

Next up for the WPBA is the Island Casino US Open, April 15-19 in Harris, MI.

Buy Box

🎱 Predator True Splice 16 — Blue

$1,650 | Limited Edition | w/ Revo 11.8mm Shaft

One of Predator's newest releases is the True Splice (Gen3) 16 in the Blue/Teal. Ebony forearm and butt sleeve with sixteen spliced points in dark blue, black, light blue, and teal veneers. Ebony and ivory inlay details throughout. Black lizard-grain leather wrap. Radial joint. Adjustable weight cartridge system.

This is full-splice construction. Every point is structurally built into the cue, not cosmetic overlay. Phenolic inserts around the joint pin for stability and zero buzz through the hit. Old-school craftsmanship backed by Predator engineering.

Paired with a Revo 11.8mm carbon fiber shaft. The 11.8 is the tightest diameter Predator makes. Lowest deflection, maximum precision.

Break Room Billiards has this beauty cheaper than anywhere online. 🔗 Predator True Splice Blue.

Player Spotlight

John Morra

John Morra “Mr. Smooth” played right-handed for most of his life. Pool runs in his family. Both his parents played professional pool and snooker. He grew up in Toronto, started competing at ten years old, and built a career grinding the North American circuit as one of Canada's best players.

Then, in 2018, a shoulder injury forced him to permanently switch to playing left-handed. He retrained his entire game from the opposite side of the cue. The one exception: he still breaks right-handed because he can't generate enough power from the left side.

Morra's 2026 started in January at the Turning Stone Classic XLI in Verona, New York. The field was 128 players deep, including nine-time winner Jayson Shaw and Moritz Neuhausen. Morra beat Shaw 9-1 in 46 minutes on the way to the hot seat, then beat Jesus Atencio in the final for his first Turning Stone title. After the win, he dedicated it to his friend Mika Immonen, the Finnish legend who won the very first Turning Stone Classic and passed away recently.

Two weeks later at Derby City, he made the Bigfoot Challenge final on the 10-foot Diamond table, one of the most demanding formats in pool. Lost 10-8 to Fedor Gorst, the World No. 1.

Then he went to Vegas for the Griff's US Open Championship Series and put together the best stretch of his career. He won the US Open 10-Ball Championship. Then he won the US Open Bank Pool Championship. Two titles in the same series. He also placed tied for 9th in 8-Ball and tied for 5th in One Pocket. He was one of only 15 players who competed in all four events. Most guys are cooked after two weeks of tournament pool in Vegas. Morra entered everything and won twice.

Morra is sponsored by Lucasi, Brunswick, and TAOM. He's been a fixture at every major North American event for over a decade, and the results are finally matching the reputation.

Quick Hits

🇫🇮 Sevastyanov drops Gorst at the European Open. Finland's Arseni Sevastyanov jumped out 6-0 on World No. 1 Fedor Gorst in the Last 32 and held on to win 10-6. Biggest upset of the tournament. His post-match quote: "For me, Fedor is just another player." 🔗 Full read

🐼 Mario He controlled the European Open final for nine racks. The Austrian held a 7-2 lead over Neuhausen before the wheels came off. Mario He is a two-time World Cup of Pool champion, three-time European Championship gold medalist, and six-time Euro Tour winner. He beat defending champion Joshua Filler in the semis to get there. This wasn't a Cinderella run, he's one of the best players in the world and had the final in hand. 🔗 Mario He back in the spotlight

🌽 Dennis Hatch won the Ultimate Pool USA Iowa Open at The Rack Billiard Club in Clive, Iowa with a $52,700 total prize pool. There were six events across the weekend. Chris Melling took the Shootout 9-0 over Justin Bergman. Rodney Morris beat Melling to win the inaugural 10-Ball Showdown. Jordan Helfery won the Women's Open. Mary Talbot and Joe Prince took Mixed Pairs.

Ultimate Pool USA is a newer format gaining popularity in the US. It runs timed events on 7-foot tables. Matches are 30 minutes with a 30-second shot clock that drops to 15 in the final ten. No match races, no golden breaks, no ducks. Ties go to a 6-ball shootout. It's a different pace than most American tournament pool, and the fields are growing. Their next event is the Florida Open, May 8-10 at Classic Billiards in Lauderhill, FL. They also have local teams/leagues forming across the country with a team grand prize of $100,000. 🔗 Iowa Open recap.

🏢 BCA Expo wrapped in Vegas. The billiards industry's annual trade show ran March 17-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. New product announcements tend to come out of this event. Well know pro Oscar Dominguez is at the event with his wife and said in a recent FB post, “I enjoy going to these shows to see what’s new and keep my finger on the pulse of the pool world Important as a poolroom owner/businessman.”

🇲🇰 NXT GEN crowned its first champion. Andrej Gjurchinovski from North Macedonia won the inaugural WNT junior event, held alongside the European Open in Sarajevo. 32 players, ages 16 and under. 🔗 Future pool sharks.

Watch This

Neuhausen, Right After the Big Win. Matchroom got Neuhausen on camera seconds after the final. Still processing. Posted March 16. Under two minutes.

What's Coming

📍 Cuetec Belgium Open — March 19-23 | Ostend, Belgium | $32,000 🔗 Link

📍 Inthebx Open — March 26-29 | New York City | $32,400 🔗 Link

📍 McDermott Open — April 1-4 | Connecticut | $29,300 🔗 Link

📍 Players Championship by Diamond at Super Billiards Expo — April 9-12 | Philadelphia | $80,000 🔗 Link

📍 WPBA Island Casino US Open — April 15-19 | Harris, MI 🔗 Link

If you got something out of this issue, forward it to someone you shoot pool with. That's how this grows. Not subscribed yet? Sign up at onthehill.news so you don't miss the next one.

The Cuetec Belgium Open begins today. Be sure to follow along with all our socials to stay in the know.

Keep Reading