3-Cushion
PARIS - It was the evening of Eddy Leppens, the Belgian who defeated his compatriot Eddy Merckx in a world class match and lifted the duel between Courbevoie and Clichy Montmartre to 4-4. But also the night of the young Frenchman Thierry Amar, who made a marvellous run of sixteen in his match for Laxou.
Two matches were played this evening for the French league in Poule 1. The leader, Clichy Montmartre, lost an important point to Courbevoie and must share his position now with Laxou, the winner in the match with Kozoom.
Eddy Leppens was the star of the evening. The Belgian, who had lost a bit of his shape after his second place in the World championship, excelled in his collision with Eddy Merckx. The difference at the finish was remarkable: Leppens won 50-27 in fourteen innings with an average of 3.571 and a highest run of twelve.
Courbevoie looked at a 4-0 deficit when the top matches of the evening had to start. Jean Reverchon played a very strong match against Jean Jacques Boudin (50-28 in 29 innings) and Richard Bitalis surprised Jerôme Barbeillon with a score of 50-33 in 30 innings.
And then, on the table besides Eddy Leppens, there was another great match. Daniel Sánchez, the world champion, defeated Dick Jaspers, the number one in the world in a close finish: 50-45 in 31 innings.
The Laxou team now shares the lead by a victory to Kozoom. Torbjörn Blomdah won the most appealing match of the evening. The Suede beat Filippos Kasidokostas in a wonderful match with 50-37 in twenty innings. Two of his team mates had already gained four points before the break. Pierre Soumagne left Pierre Bernard Baudoin far behind (50-26 in 38). Thierry Amar defeated Jean-Pierre Lacaze 50-35 in 38. The young French player sparkled with a run of sixteen. Martin Horn shared the points with Frédéric Mottet (50-50 in 47) en lifted the score to 7-1 for Laxou.
There were some problems with the livestream due to a bad internet connection in Laxou. The Kozoom team says sorry for that.