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Caudron final winner after thrilling last day

05/13/2018

Published by frits bakker

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© © Thierry Brenders
The final stage for the match table and the small table

HERSTAL - The maximum effort Frédéric Caudron had to make on the last day was rewarded with the final victory. Twice, on his way to the finish in the battle for the Belgian cup, the world champion faced an opponent who forced him to fight until the last points. And first Caudron was the better of Eddy Merckx in the semi-finals and later, Eddy Leppens had to bow in the final match. Caudron beat both his two last rivals 3-2 in sets and conquered the Belgian Cup for the eighth time in his career.

The final was a reflection of the two matches in the semi-finals. Caudron started the debate 15-4 in 7, Leppens then scored 15-2 in 6. After that, Caudron ran to 2-1 by a generous 15-4 in 8, but Leppens didn't give up. He made 6-0 and 15-4 in four innings with a final run of seven. In the set for victory, Caudron showed his high class again. The new cup winner ran to 8-5 in five innings and finished with seven: 15-5.

Roland Forthomme came third on the podium after a simple win against Eddy Merckx: 15-3 and 15-5, both sets in five innings (3.000/0.888). Jef Philipoom defeated Bart Leys in two sets and finished fifth, Davy van Havere won the battle for the seventh place vs Ronny Brants 2-1.

On the final day, on Sunday morning, the four best Belgians in the world of three cushion came into the arena to battle it out for a place in the final. Frédéric Caudron defeated Eddy Merckx in a five-set match, Eddy Leppens was boss over Roland Forthomme in a match over five sets.

The classic between Caudron and Merckx went up and down in the first four sets, of which Caudron won the first and the third 15-14, Merckx took the second with 15-11 and the fourth with 15-6. In the fifth and last, Caudron attacked with a run of 8 to 12-6, Merckx missed a bank shot, then Caudron finished 15-8 in 6. Merckx scored more caroms than his opponent (66 against 62), had a higher average (1.941 against 1.771), but lost the match.

Roland Forthomme, the cup holder, met Eddy Leppens in a match that was in balance for a long time. Leppens started with a 15-8 in 10, Forthomme answered 15-8 in 5. In the third set, Leppens scored a nine at 14-4 behind (14-13), but was still trumped by Forthomme. The score was equal again by Leppens' 15-5 and he continued with a 15-7 finish in 12 for the win. Leppens had 1.650 of average and the highest run from the semi-finals (10), Forthomme recorded 1.282.

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