Marcinkevičs wins every match on day one of the World Masters showdown tournament
Latvia's Deniss Marcinkevičs won all six of his matches on the first day of the IBSA showdown tournament "World Masters" in Italy and leads the standings. The competition ends on Saturday.
Latvian showdown player Deniss Marcinkevičs won all six of his matches on Friday, the opening day of the "World Masters" tournament in Italy, organised by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA). Showdown is a table game for people with visual impairments, and after day one the Latvian sits in first place.
Marcinkevičs won four matches 3-1 and one 3-0. He also beat Bulgaria's Hakan Osman 3-2. Belgium's Christoph Eilers and Osman each have five wins.
Only the 12 best showdown players in the world take part in "World Masters 2025", which is played as a single round-robin. The competition in Italy ends on Saturday.
In July, Marcinkevičs took second place at the European Championships in the Polish city of Kraków.
What is showdown
Showdown is played by people with visual impairments and is similar to table hockey. Two players face each other at a table with a goal at each end. The aim is to hit the ball into the opponent's goal with a bat, striking it along the table surface without hitting the side walls.
Players compete wearing special glasses that block their view of the table. A special rubber ball containing two sound-producing elements helps them follow the play.
