  Dynamical captures of black holes may take place in dense stellar media due
to the emission of gravitational radiation during a close passage. Detection of
such events requires detailed modelling, since their phenomenology
qualitatively differs from that of quasi-circular binaries. Very few models can
deliver such waveforms, and none includes information from Numerical Relativity
(NR) simulations of non quasi-circular coalescences. In this study we present a
first step towards a fully NR-informed Effective One Body (EOB) model of
dynamical captures. We perform 14 new simulations of single and double
encounter mergers, and use this data to inform the merger-ringdown model of the
TEOBResumS-Dali approximant. We keep the initial energy approximately fixed to
the binary mass, and vary the mass-rescaled, dimensionless angular momentum in
the range $(0.6, 1.1)$, the mass ratio in $(1, 2.15)$ and aligned dimensionless
spins in $(-0.5, 0.5)$. We find that the model is able to match NR to $97%$,
improving previous performances, without the need of modifying the base-line
template. Upon NR informing the model, this improves to $99%$ with the
exception of one outlier corresponding to a direct plunge. The maximum EOBNR
phase difference at merger for the uninformed model is of $0.15$ radians, which
is reduced to $0.1$ radians after the NR information is introduced. We outline
the steps towards a fully informed EOB model of dynamical captures, and discuss
future improvements.
