3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - The Agipi arena, where he feels himself at home, is the place where he's looking for another great success in his career. Marco Zanetti is more or less looking for sportive revenge this week after a very annoying year. He tries to forget troubles, doesn't worry about his punishment, he says and he just wants to play billiard in the house where people love his game.
The Italian is one of the ten players who are starting the last qualification round to reach the final of the Agipi Masters. He's playing his first matches in the 2011 edition, because he, like Filipos Kasidokostas, Martin Horn and Roland Forthomme has been seeded based on the results of the 2010 Masters.
The other six players, in two groups of five, have qualified in the previous round at the end of last year.
Two groups, with double winner Dick Jaspers, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Frédéric Caudron and seven others will play on 25, 26 and 27 February for four places in the final round.
Two other groups of five battle from Friday this week to Sunday for the first four places in the Masters finals.
Marco Zanetti leads the B-group with Martin Horn, Michael Nilsson, Tayfun Tasdemir and Javier Palazón.
How did they play in the last months of last year, in which shape they are at the start of this years Masters?
The five players of group B on a row:
MARCO ZANETTI:
He is the player who's not playing very much matches in the leagues. Zanetti occasionally can be admired in the Dutch competition, not in Belgium, but he still is the very strong number two of the Agipi team in France. And nonetheless he's one of the most consistent players in the top of the world ranking, with few outliers up and down, but always with an average of almost 2.000. His last game in the Netherlands he played against Eddy Leppens, whom he defeated with an average of 1.562. And in France he beat Peter de Backer in the match with Agipi against Andernos. Zanetti feels like no other at home in the Agipi arena and is one of the major contenders for the final round.
MARTIN HORN:
About the German player there is no doubt. The beautiful stylist is in a fantastic shape: he shows it in all competitions in which he plays: in Germany, he took his last game with 2.272 average, in The Netherlands with 2.173 and in Belgium he beat Martin Spoormans 50-28 in 24 innings. He only had one bad moment, this weekend. Horn lost for the Dutch Cup his match with the young world champion Haeng Jik Kim 2-1. The Korean took the first and third set, both times with 15-5 in six innings.
MICHAEL NILSSON:
The Swedish giant became a father last year and beamed his happiness in the previous round on the billiard. Michael Nilsson was one of the most remarkable players with three wins. He played on his highest level, signed for a few high runs and played himself sovereign in the top twenty of the Masters. Nilsson successively beat Tasdemir (23 innings), Jef Philipoom (33) and Anh Vu Duong (31). In the Dutch league, a few weeks, Nilsson also defeated Frédéric Caudron. On Sunday this weekend Nilsson lost his Swedish title to Torbjörn Blomdahl.
TAYFUN TASDEMIR:
In the previous round the Turk needed a tough comeback to qualify, because Michael Nilsson beat him in the first match. But thanks to victories over Jef Philipoom and Anh Vu Duong he advanced for next round. Tasdemirs ranking is not really in danger, but he doesn't have many credits. The last part of the previous year was not so good. At the World championships in Sluiskil he lost from Mexican Luis Avila in the group (3-0) and in the World Cup in Hurghada he was, after a 3-0 victory over Javier Teran, eliminated by Eddy Leppens: 3-0.
JAVIER PALAZON:
The Spanish champion, by one point in the final against Raul Hernandez, played his best year so far. It was his breakthrough among the big boys of three cushion after an impressive period as a junior. At the World championships in Sluiskil he sparkled in an unforgetable thriller with Marco Zanetti. He played himself in the top four of the tournament, where he lost to Eddy Leppens, the Belgian who reached the final against Sánchez. Palazón this week won the Open Mislata tournament in Valencia with 1.515 average, before Salvador Verdu and Jorge Canto. In the previous round in Agipi Palazón lost its first game against Kim Haeng JIK, but after that he defeated Cédric Melnytschenko and Eric Tromas. Palazón ended up first in his group with 1.423 average.