Carom Series
ROSMALEN - The fivefold title holder, that seemed so invincible, was dethroned. The new European champion classic teams is Vitkov from Prague with Eddy Leppens, Marek Faus and Wolfgang Zenkner. The Etikon/AEJ team, playing for its home crowd, was trumped in the semi-finals by DBC Bochum. The Germans were beaten by Vitkov in the final. The success of the new European champion was the result of a strong collective. ,,We all played very strong in this championship'', Eddy Leppens stated after the tournament. ,,Wolfgang Zenkner won in one cushion very important matches, Marek Faus was incredibly strong in 71/2, I was on my best in the first match and in finished the final in one inning.''
The Sportfoyer De Hazelaar in Rosmalen was cheering for a new, huge success for Etikon with his champions Henri Tilleman, Patrick Niessen and Jean Paul de Bruijn, but the hegemony came to an end, particularly in its own venue.
Henry Tilleman didn't seem to be on his former level after his stop, Patrick Niessen ran into a sledgehammer by Thomas Nockemann in 71/2 (200-0 in 1 inning) and Jean Paul de Bruijn is more vulnerable in his specialty one cushion than he was in his best years as it was already seen at the European championships. The famous player in this discipline showed a wonderful run of 109, but lost 120-78 in ten innings on the most important moment, against Ludger Havlik.
Vitkov from Prague, sponsored by Mr. Vitek, a retired businessman who owned the printing company of Anag, played a flawless tournament with two maximum victories (6-0) in the group stage, a victory over Andernos in the semi-finals and finally the win against DBC Bochum in the match for gold.
The Germans had demonstrated their great qualities before in the semi-finals against Etikon when Thomas Nockemann defeated Patrick Niessen (in one innning) and Ludger Havlik surprisingly bested Jean Paul de Bruijn in one cushion. That meant for Henry Tilleman and Sam van Etten that they could stop their match in 47/2 (intermediate 200-199 in 3).
Vitkov Prague defeated Andernos in the other semi-final, in which Marek Faus knocked down Peter De Backer in 71/2: 200-48 in two innings. Wolfgang Zenkner was boss over Bernard Baudoin: 120-66 in 11. Nicolas Gerassimopolos led against Eddy Leppens in 47/2 (121-98 8), but the match was stopped when Vitkov led 4-0.
The final between Vitkov and DBC Bochum was very exciting until the end. Thomas Nockemann was the first at the finish of the three matches: the German defeated Marek Faus in 71/2: 200-17 in 3 innings. Eddy Leppens took the win five minutes later against the young Dutchman Sam van Etten in 47/2 in one inning (250-17). Therefor the one cushion match between Wolfgang Zenkner and Ludger Havlik was decisive for the gold medal.
When were the first two matches (with an intermediate score 2-2) were closed, Zenkner led in the match against Havlik already 103-25 in four innings. The German player from Vitkov was not in danger in the last part and won 120-36 in 7 innings.
Wolfgang Zenkner, Marek Faus, Eddy Leppens and the sponsor Mr Vitek of the winning team.
It was Vitkov Prague's first European title and the first fantastic success in the history of the team, that attracted Eddy Leppens this year to make the team strong enough to beat the European top teams.
Two French teams, Oissel and Chartres, were eliminated in the group stage. Andernos reached the semi-finals like Etikon.
