Dec 9, 2018 Crossminton Centrum Pardubice
ICO Crossminton Masters powered by Speedminton was the first masters in the history of crossminton. The tournament for the best 12 players in Open Division and in Women took place in Crossminton Centrum Pardubice, the Czech Republic. Altogether there were 24 players from 9 nations and they showed the precise and extraleague game quality. After the opening ceremony the matches in each group were played and after that the short lunch break were given for all players and referees. In the afternoon the quarterfinals, semi-finals, finals and doubles were played.
Open Division: World Number 1 Dominated at the Historically First Masters
In Open Division the main favourite to gain the title was world number 1 Petr Makrlík. His biggest rivals were M. Mandryk, D. Knoflíček a C. Peltier. Makrlík played against Mandryk in groups and after the Saturday’s defeat in Winter Czech Open Petr wanted to take the privilege back. Makrlík stayed focused during the whole match and Mandryk was defeated in 2 sets.
In semi-finals Petr Makrlík won against French Cyril Peltier 16:13, 16:10 and the second semi-final belong to Daniel Knoflíček who was fighting against Myhailo Mandryk and finally won in 3 sets 16:9, 8:16, 16:11. Czech final ended up better for world’s number 1 Makrlík and gained the Masters title in 2 sets 16:9, 16:11.
Women: Wildcard Barbora Syc-Krivanova suprised favorites!
While in Open Division had its biggest favorite, in Women it was not so obvious- Women’s number 1 Marta Urbanik (POL), Lori Škerl (SLO), Danaja Knez (SLO), Zuzana Kubáňová (CZE). All those women players got through the groups, except the highest ranked Urbanik, who was defeated by the latest winner and the biggest surprise of the masters Syc Krivanova (SVK) and the finalist Santa Paegle (LAT)
The semi-finals were played by Barbora Syc-Krivanova (SVK) – Lori Škerl and Santa Paegle (LAT) – Zuzana Kubáňová (CZE). In the first semi-final Syc Krivanova won in 2 sets 16:5, 22:20, when the favourite Škerl started fighting just before the end of the match. In the second semi-final Czech Kubáňová was surprisingly defeated by Paegle. The final showed great crossminton quality and dramatic ending which ended up better for Syc-Krivanova 18:16, 9:16, 16:8.
Open doubles: European Champions Show Its Power
Petr Makrlík – Daniel Knoflíček (CZE) are confirmed their invincibility and after gaining the European crossminton title 2018 they won another valuable trophy. In the final they won against Severin Wirth (SUI) – Cyril Peltier (FRA) 16:12, 17:15. Bronze came to double pairs Adam Kakula (SVK) – Myhailo Mandryk (UKR) and Jaša Jovan (SLO) – Nikola Kucina (CRO).