3-Cushion
SLUISKIL - He brushed a few times the gatherin tears out of his eyes on the night after winning the world title. ,,I'm back, I'm back, what a wonderful feeling'', he whispered. And later he said, with a beatific grin:,,I have shut a lot of mouths in Spain.'' Daniel Sánchez, the new best player in the world three cushion, just wanted to say was that many people in Spain no longer had any faith in his return to the top.
Danny Sanchez, twice before the world champion, twice the champion of Europe and twice winner of the World Games, was the ultimate best in Sluiskil after a sensational attrition on the way to the finals. The last match, against Eddy Leppens, just like so many matches with the favorites, had a remarkable score. Leppens took first sets, was ahead 2-0, Sánchez then found his rhythm and his high class and rushed to the finish with three winning sets to be the glorious winner.
For the Belgian Eddy Leppens, who had played three times a semi-final at the World championship and now one times was the finalist, despite his defeat, it was a tournament to look back with satisfaction. ,,I have done everything to win, I could not do more'', he said after the final.
The World championship 2010 in Sluiskil especially will be remembered as a tournament with a great atmosphere. The pavilion in the backyard of the Meulengat, where the five previous World Cups were played, looked like a modern stadium with an arena, tribunes and skyboxes. The tribunes often were nearly full, the visitors saw the most dazzling matches.
The most remarkable moments were the maximum run of fifteen Eddy Merckx made, the top match of Dick Jaspers against Sameh Sidhom in the qualifications (4.363 average, for Sidhom 2.600), after that glorious match the fall of the same Jaspers against Danny Sánchez, the narrow escape of Sánchez against Dion Nelin (the Dane got two match points) and finally the return of the Spaniard at the top of the world after being two years rather anonymous.
Daniel Sánchez played a tournament average of 1.715, Eddy Leppens 1.678. The highest averages were for Torbjörn Blomdahl 2.122 and for Dick Jaspers with 2.073.
Dick Jaspers is after the World championship the new leader on the world ranking, before Frédéric Caudron, Kyung Roul Kim, Eddy Merckx and Martin Horn. Daniel Sánchez climbed up to seventh place. The Korean Sung Won Choi entered the top twelve, Marco Zanetti dropped out to thirteenth place. Javier Palazón now is the number fourteen, fifteen is Eddy Leppens.