Interview with Serbian Prodigy Aleksa Pecelj

Interview with Serbian Prodigy Aleksa Pecelj

By Boris Vidaković

Aleksa was born in Smederevo, a city on the Dunabe river near Belgrade, Serbia’s capital city on 21st December 1999. He started seriously practicing pool when he was only ten years old with his father, Djordje Pecelj, a famous Serbian player and coach. I noticed his talent during the pool camp in Kladovo in 2011. The Billiard Federation of Serbia organized the camp for the most talented Serbian junior players.

Aleksa proved that he was one of the best in 2014 when he won his first junior national titles by winning both disciplines (9ball and 8ball) in which juniors compete. At 18 years old, he became the junior champion of Serbia.

In 2017 he won his first national championship title among seniors, and the same year he proved his talent in the European Championship in the category under 19 by winning a silver medal in 10ball and bronze in 9ball. He continued his success at the European Championships and won another silver medal in 2018.

In 2019 he showed that he is the best Serbian player by winning all four titles (8ball, 9ball, 10ball & 14.1), being only 19 years old!

His best result in the junior category in European Championships was achieved at 23 yr. & under. He became the European Champion in 2021.

Among many national and international achievements, these are the most important:

His best result in the junior category in European Championships was achieved at 23 yr. & under. He became the European Champion in 2021.

Among many national and international achievements, these are the most important:

- 2019 Kremlin Cup, 3rd place

- 2021 Antalya Euro Tour, 2nd place

- 2022 UK Open, 5th place

- 2023 World Pool Championship 9-ball, 9th place

After this last achievement, I conducted an interview for SPM and spoke with Aleksa in Belgrade.

What are your impressions regarding the 9-ball World Championship in which you made a great result – 9th place?

I had a great preparation. Three days before the World Championship I won the International Mezz Belgrade Open, beating the Romanian Champion Loan Ladanyi with a result of 11:2, and in the finals, I won a match against Bulgarian champion Georgi Georgiev with a result of 11:3.

I played well in my qualifications. My first test was in the knockout phase (best 64 players). I won a match against Roman Hybler (11:7) to get into the last 32, where ex-world champion Alex Pagulayan awaited me. Alex was in great form. He won 3 matches in a row against Filler, the last 2 here at The World Championship, so I felt a little pressured before this match. I gave my best and stayed focused, and by doing so, won this match 11:6. This led me to be in the top 16 players, where another ex-World Champion, Niels Feijen, waited for me. The lack of luck on my side and the great performance of Feijen stopped me in my attempt to win the World Champion Title.

At this World Championship, a new rack was introduced, and I can say that it was very interesting. That was the first time that I broke from the box.

How was it to break from the box?

My break was great during the whole tournament. In every match, I had 5-6 breaks & runs. until the match with Feijen…

What is the difference between the new and classic break?

It’s much harder to pocket the ball and control the cue ball. I was trying to pocket 1 in the side pocket and keep the cue ball in the center of the table. The risk was losing the cue ball in the side pocket and the unknown position of the 2 ball, because the judge was racking randomly every time.

Were there some surprisingly interesting new players?

Two players stood out: Duong Quoc Hoang from Vietnam and Mohammad Soufi.

What were the reactions when SVB lost to Duong, how did the other players react to that at that moment?

We were all in shock and could not believe what had happened, especially because the last game at hill-hill was so intense. With that win, he draws attention to himself and got a chance to win the world championship.

How do you comment on Mohammad Soufi’s road to the finals, his style, and speed as well?

Soufi’s style is very attractive. An attacker that shows no fear. He is the only one that has no problem with the shot clock rule. He can tie shoelaces between shots without fear that time will pass.

In the finals, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz won against Soufi 13:10. What is it expected that Ruiz will continue winning the major tournaments, and that he can win the world championship as well?

With such strong competition, it is hard to guarantee that anyone will win the world championship but definitely, he got a lot of self-confidence from previous victories and he played this world championship very well. He deserved to win it!

I believe that the 9th place at the world championship gave you a great motivation to push forward. What are your plans for the near future?

My next stops are 22nd February: Vegas, Predator Las Vegas open and 27th February Predator world 10 ball championship also in Vegas.

Who are your supporters and sponsors?

My main sponsor is Predator and I play with Predator cues and I practice on Predator tables. I play for billiard club Radjevina, Krupanj, Serbia and they are great supporters of mine. Also, Barracuda gloves from Serbia are always with me.

You are an idol to many young players in Serbia and the whole Balkan region. Can you tell us how is to live the billiard life, and what would be your advice to young players?

Billiards requires a lot of renunciation, constant training, and maximum dedication. I am grateful to the sport of billiards for giving me the opportunity to travel the world, meet many good people, compete and secure a sports career.

I would advise young and unestablished players, if they have realized that they want to play billiards professionally, they should find a coach from the very beginning and learn to play billiards correctly, because it is very difficult to correct bad habits later on. Everything else depends on their personal effort and sporting luck. But, in the end, luck is earned through dedicated work and faith in what you do!

This is beautifully said. I wish you all the luck in the future and hope we’ll soon have another interview regarding your new achievements. Let’s repeat your last saying at the conclusion of our interview:

“Everything depends on personal effort and sporting luck, but in the end, luck is earned through dedicated work and faith in what you do!”

Aleksa Pecelj