3-Cushion
The supremacy of Eddy Merckx continued and after this afternoon it's almost certain that Frédéric Caudron will follow him to the finals of the Agipi Masters. The final day began with a Belgian triumphal march, which especially for Caudron was of paramount importance. The frontman of the Agipi team in France had to win his match against Torbjörn Blomdahl and did so with great conviction: 50-41 in 25 innings.
Yet Caudron analyzed after the match that he had a few lesser moments. ,,I started with one point in six innings, then I luckily made the run of fourteen. But I required three innings to make the last carom, so I gave Blomdahl some chances at the end.''
The Swede, howerver, did not approach his great form and wasted too many opportunities to duel with his competitor in the final stage of the match. The Agipi-finals, if no crazy things happen in the evening matches, will be played without the winner of the first edition in 2008. That is not such a huge surprise, considering the latest results of Blomdahl. He could seldom shine in the World Cups last year, in which he even twice (by Emilio Sciacca and Javier Teran) was eliminated in the first round.
Caudron of course felt the pressure to win now, after he had lost his first in the group against Merckx. ,,It was the crucial match in this group'', he said. He remembered the start: Caudron was on 20-5 behind when he made the run of fourteen, then the match was in balance for a long time, until the Belgian broke away around the twentieth inning. After missing two match balls, he finished in the 25th inning.
Eddy Merckx played in his match against Haeng Jik Kim apparently not with the concentration he's used to do. The leader of the group had a difficult start, was 10-4 behind in the first innings and still had not separated from his young opponent at the break.
When he came back to the table after the break, Merckx even took the wrong ball. ,,He does it more often, Eddy is a showman eh'',laughed Caudron afterwards in the corridors of the Agipi building.
Merckx found back his rhythm more than in time to win with a big lead: 50-34 in 27 innings.