3-Cushion
MEDELLIN – The winning point was accompanied by a little victory dance, cue up in the air, a salute to the crowd and genuine congratulations from Torbjörn Blomdahl. The Swede was out of reserves, and could not turn the mediocre final into a fight: 40-27 in 26 innings (1.538/1.038). The world title, won two weeks ago in front of his home audience, lifted the Belgian world nr. 1 up even further. His victory in the World Cup of Medellin was additional proof to that fact.
The Belgian himself said after the WC that he has changed his tactic and style, from dazzling attack to a more balanced and often defensive approach. It must be said though, that Caudron is blessed with limitless class and proves to be able to produce on critical moments in any match.
He did it in Antwerp, where no opponent could even threaten him, and he did it again in Medellin. Against Dick Jaspers in the quarterfinal, against Eddy Leppens in the semi, and again in the final against Torbjörn Blomdahl he came up with these fierce little runs that helped him on the way to victory.
Caudron knew how important this World Cup was for him, as it could keep him on top of the world ranking. Colombia would mean for him: the loss of 80 points he won in Vienna 2011. Winning Medellin keeps him in the nr. 1 position, with 434 points to Blomdahl’s 406.
Having won the World Cups in Antalya and Peloponnesos, Blomdahl remains in the lead for the overall World Cup, with 230 points to Caudron’s 122. That overall World Cup will certainly go to the Swede, because the only tournament left is Hurghada. It will end a season in which he has confirmed that he is back at the very summit of the game.
The 51-year old, most seasoned player on the international tour, showed his incomparable fighting spirit in the matches leading up to the final. Filippos Kasidokostas, like Leppens one of the big shots in this World Cup, found out the hard way in the semifinal.
Frédéric Caudron, who had just robbed his disappointed countryman of his title dreams in the other semi, watched from the chair and saw a demonstration of grit and determination. The Belgians had ended their match with a 40-33 score (20 innings) as Leppens could not keep up with his feared opponent at the end. On the other table, Blomdahl was in a fierce contest with Kasidokostas, who had a 34-20 lead and still had to watch the Swede overtake him on the line.
What a final: Frédéric Caudron against Torbjörn Blomdah, the numbers 1 and 2 of the world. The Belgian as the newly crowned world champion, the Swede as this year’s winner of two World Cups. He was happy as a child, Torbjörn Blomdahl, when he came from far behind and managed to slam the door in Kasidokostas’ face. The spectators in the arena knew they were in for a treat, next.
Two of the very best players in the world, to meet in the final: a certified classic in contemporary 3-cushion.
That final, it must be said, was a disappointing one, not on the quality level of the past days at all. Caudron has a 13-6 lead after five innings, Blomdahl ran seven and three to make it 17-16, and at the break the Belgian was leading 22-18. He made it 28-23 (18th inning) and 39-26 (25th inning, run of 6) and ended it 40-27 in 26 innings.
The top fifteen in the Medellin World Cup:
(Eddy Leppens took the best average with 2.283 and the highest run with fifteen):
1 Frédéric Caudron, 1.941
2 Torbjörn Blomdahl, 1.532
3 Eddy Leppens, 2.283
4 Filippos Kasidokostas, 1.892
5 Dick Jaspers, 2.052
6 Kyung-Roul Kim, 1.591
7 Sung-Won Choi, 1.537
8 Jérémy Bury, 1.413
9 Eddy Merckx, 2.000
10 Jae Ho Cho, 1.852
11 Marco Zanetti, 1.458
12 Carloman Ortiz, 1.316
13 Andres Lizaraz, 1.295
14 Hyung Bum Hwang, 1.212
15 Lütfi Cenet, 1.172.
The new top twelve world ranking:
1 Frédéric Caudron, 434 punten
2 Torbjörn Blomdahl 406
3 Jérémy Bury 328
4 Filippos Kasidokostas 321
5 Marco Zanetti 317
6 Dick Jaspers 296
7 Kyung-Roul Kim 382
8 Sung-Won Choi 274
9 Dani Sánchez 236
10 Tayfun Tasdemir 222
11 Dong Koong Kang 209
12 Eddy Merckx 202.