The Kremlin Pyramid

Фото: RIA Novosti

137 best “pyramid” players from 11 countries took place in the traditional Kremlin Billiard Tournament.

This year was the first time the event included female participants – also, the competition followed a new model. The preliminary qualifying rounds were open for everyone. As for the finals, which took place in Kremlin Palace, the participants were narrowed down to eight men and four women. After four days of arduous battling, the victors were Anastasia Luppova (Moscow Confederation of Billiard Sports) and Dmitrii Petropavlovskii (Moscow Regional Federation of Billiard Sports).

According to the organisers, this year's tournaments have demonstrated the inferiority of recognised "pyramid stars" to younger players. This isn't just a result of motivations issues - the playing technique keeps evolving, younger players keep getting better and the stars find it increasingly hard to compete against them.