Billiards|Finnish talent Riku Romppanen continues to go strong in billiards.
in Helsinki a hard-level billiards tournament was played at the beginning of August. It was about the competition of Matchroom’s 9-ball world tour, where many of the world’s top players arrived. Several world champions of the sport and four players from the top ten of the current ranking were seen in Metsälä’s billiard hall.
The host’s delight was the 16-year-old Riku Romppanenwho once again showed himself to be one of the world’s most talented pool players. Romppanen finished third in a great company.
“This is the best achievement of my career,” Romppanen says.
On the way to the top four, among others, a meritorious Spaniard fell Jonas Souto.
“In that game, Riku was able to make a great comeback,” the teenager’s father Eero Romppanen says.
Eero Romppanen and Riku Romppanen are dedicated to billiards.
In the semi-final, Romppanen lost to the Japanese Naoyuki Oille.
“It was a bad match when everything went wrong,” says Riku.
Romppanen did not lose to the bad guy, because in the final Oi beat Spain, which is second in the ranking Francisco Sanchez Ruizin erin 11–8.
On a romp have been busy the past few weeks. At the end of July, he took part in the under-19 European Championships organized in Slovenia, where he won the championships in straight pool and 8-ball.
After the domestic Matchroom competition, the youngster would visit Germany with his father, and this weekend the duo will go to the United States, where the US Open awaits.
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No 15-year-old has been able to do that and will not be able to in the future, because the organizers raised the minimum age limit for participants.
Rompaset have been touring the world for several years, and Riku has attracted attention with his talents. In March 2022, the Finnish sensation beat the second player from the USA Skyler Woodwardin in Las Vegas.
Last year, Romppanen advanced to the top 16 at the UK Open.
“No 15-year-old has been able to do that and will not be able to in the future, because the organizers raised the minimum age limit for participants,” says father Romppanen.
Taxi 128 of the world’s top players were entered into the Matchroom competition series launched for one year. Among the Finns, Romppanen and Jani Usci. Experienced Mika Immonen had to give up his position due to cancer treatments.
“I don’t think about the performance, just something”, Riku Romppanen has said about the nervous pressure of the competition situation.
Romppanen is currently ranked 81st in Matchroom’s ranking.
The series includes a few big major competitions and smaller ranking competitions, which included the Helsinki event. Prize money of 50,000 euros was distributed in Finland, and third place brought Romppanen 3,500 euros. Matchroom fees for the whole year are 10,775 euros.
“Riku’s playing with a plus still doesn’t work”, Eero Romppanen comments on the financial side.
Thanks to a few partners, Riku has been able to travel around the world.
The Vantaan’s plans for the rest of the year are still open. Romppanen is studying logistics at a vocational school, so school work must be taken into account when thinking about travel to competitions.