🏆Kelly Fisher is the WPA-EPBF Heyball European Open Champion 2025!🎱
On August 28th, the 2025 WPA-EPBF Heyball European Open concluded successfully in Bad Wildungen, Germany, the "hometown of Snow White." This top-tier intercontinental tournament, co-hosted by the WPA and JOY Group, featured an innovative model integrating competition, culture, and tourism. It attracted 128 top players from around the world (64 men and 64 women), bringing the world's premier Heyball competition to the traditional heartland of German billiards for the first time.
What a performance! Kelly Fisher has claimed the title in a thrilling final. She triumphed over Tianqi Shi with a score of 6:4.
In the men's division, it was a hard-fought match between Stephen Ellis and Clint I'Anson, with Stephen Ellis winning with a final score of 7:4😍😎 So Stephen Ellis is now the WPA-EPBF Heyball European Open Champion 2025!🥇
A huge congratulations to all the players on their incredible matches!
👩🦰 Women's WPA-EPBF Heyball European Open:
🥇Kelly FISHER
🥈Tianqi SHI
🥉Narantuya BAYARSAIKHAN
🥉Linnea HJALMARSTRÖM
🧒 Men's WPA-EPBF Heyball European Open:
🥇Stephen ELLIS
🥈Clint I'ANSON
🥉Maks BENKO
🥉Joao GRILO
WPA Tournament Director Jørgen Sandmann, JOY Group Founder, Chairman, and CEO Mr. Qiao Yuanxu, leaders from the German Billiards Association, and the Hesse State Sports Office attended the closing ceremony.
At the closing ceremony, Sandman spoke highly of Heyball, saying, "Heyball has broken through regional boundaries, and its competitive rules and cultural connotations have injected new vitality into global billiards." Furthermore, partner Liber Win Table Cloth, leveraging the ultimate performance of its 8848 series table cloth, provided technical support for the tournament, helping players achieve outstanding results.
The Heyball Continental Open is a continental tournament jointly organized by the World Professional Association (WPA) and Joy. Starting in 2024, the Continental Open will become an annual celebration of Heyball. As a key component of Heyball's Olympic inclusion, JOY has partnered closely with the WPA, investing a total of $6 million in tournament funds to accelerate Heyball's Olympic inclusion. Following this, continental tournaments in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and Africa will also be held.
Taking forward Heyball's inclusion in the Olympic Games, let's go for joy! This grand event, combining sports and culture, not only revitalizes Germany's fairytale city but also allows Heyball, with its "harmony in diversity" approach, to write a new chapter in the mutual learning of global sports civilizations. Let us all look forward to this original Chinese sport and see how Eastern wisdom will shine brightly in the Olympic sky!