3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - When Eddy meets Eddy on the billiard table, most of the time the winner is unpredictable. The 42-year old Eddy Merckx is already for some years higher on the ranking (top five), but Eddy Leppens (one year younger) was a few weeks ago the number two at the World championship in Sluiskil and now is knocking on the door of the top twelve.
The Flemish lion, a traditional symbol for the working class under the Flemish people, this time howled for Merckx in their mutual match for the Agipi qualificatons in group six. The smallest of the two Eddy's reached the finish in 32 innings and won the brothertwist with 50-40.
The group with the two Belgians, the Frenchman JeanCristophe Roux and Jung Han Heo from Korea is composed by four players of almost the same potency. Eddy Merckx, who is known as a cold blooded killer, in fact took his revenge for the defeat at the World championship, where he led 2-0 and saw Leppens finish as the winner (3-2). ,,But after that we met again three times in the Netherlands and in Belgium'', Merckx said after the match this evening.
The match in Agipi had a better start than it finished. Merckx made a run of nine in the second inning, Leppens had from the 8th to the 13th inning five misses on a row, but than made a run of twelve in the sixteenth inning. The score pointed 32-32 after 21 innings, but Merckx was a stronger finisher. ,,I got the most unbelievable balls, although Merckx was not defending'', Leppens declared.
Jean-Christophe Roux and Jung Han Heo played another exciting match in this session. The French player was far behind after thirteen innings (31-12), but fought himself back in the match with a run of ten in the fourteenth inning. The deciding moment in the match was the 23th inning on a score of 40-37 for Heo. ,,I should have made a point over five cushions, but I missed by a hair'', Roux said afterwards. Heo came to the table and ended with ten 50-37 in 23 innings).