3-Cushion
CALI - The world champion against the European champion, the best in the world against the best of this year, two players with a lot of experience and an impressive honor role. Marco Zanetti and Eddy Merckx show up in the final of the World Games, tomorrow (Tuesday) in Cali. The tournament with athletes from the entire world could not wish a better showdown in three cushion.
Two great champions, who were never before in the final of the World Games, are chasing for gold. Two top artists in the sports discipline in which they belong to the world top. Marco Zanetti vs Eddy Merckx has all the ingredients to turn out into a dream final.
Dick Jaspers, who’s out himself, predicted before the start: it’s going to be a hard fight with so many world class players, but the best of them will show up in the final. 51-year old Italian and 44-year old Belgian are not only the best, they are two of the most experienced players in the final clash.
Marco Zanetti cracked the reputation of the Korean Kyung-Roul Kim (40-25 in 15 innings). Eddy Merckx defeated his youthful opponent Hofman, the conqueror of Dick Jaspers, 40-22 in 23.
Glenn Hoffman had a smooth start against Eddy Merckx, like he had the day before in the quarters against Dick Jaspers. The Belgian, however, was not impressed by the 9-4 in favor of Hofman after three innings. The world’s best scrambled back to 9-8, took his first lead at 12-10 and 16-14 and then ran out to 19-14 near the break.
Marco Zanetti treated his opponent to a knock-out in the first part. He had the upper hand from the start, the match against Kyung Roul Kim was a one-man-show, after Zanetti put 20-3 on the scoreboard. And with an eleven run, he extended the score to 31-3 in 9, a real catastrophe was coming up for the Korean.
Eddy Merckx opened his way to the final from the tenth to the fourteenth inning, in which Hofman could not score and the Belgian ran with a run of eleven to a comfortable 30-14.
In the final rush he was cold as ice: Merckx launched himself as candidate for gold in the last part of the match in which he was superior both offensively and defensively.
The Belgian finished in 23 innings, Hofman came back to an acceptable 40-22 after a breakdown between the 8th and 18th inning (1 carom in eleven innings).
Marco Zanetti could raise his cue, cheering up with the audience after fifteen innings, when Kim had made the final score a bit less painful thanks to a run of eleven in the equalizer: 40-25.
Kyung-Roul Kim and Glenn Hoffman are playing for the bronze medal tonight.
Eddy Merckx and Marco Zanetti meet tomorrow in the final.