3-Cushion
LUXOR - What a year is this for Frédéric Caudron and what will be left for his rivals on top of the world? The World Cup winner in Luxor added a new crown to his impressive palmares after a stunning final against Torbjörn Blomdahl.
Two world titles (individually and with the Belgian team, together with Eddy Merckx) make him by far the best player in the world. And with his victory in the World Cup in Egypt, the first on the sacred ground of Luxor, the Belgian increased his advantage as the ranking leader.
The 'King of the Luxor valley' leads with 511 points ahead of Torbjörn Blomdahl 374, Filippos Kasidokostas 307, Eddy Merckx 292 and Dick Jaspers 281. The top twelve remained virtually the same: only Dani Sánchez, triple world champion, drops out of the top and have to fight back in the next World Cups.
These are, all things considered, the glorious years of Caudron, who won in recent two years also the World Cup in Hurghada (2012) and Medellin (last year). But winning the world title in his own country (Antwerp, 2013) is still one of the most wonderful achievements in his entire career.
The tournament on the banks of the Nile, which he launched against Sameh Sidhom, followed by Tayfun Tasdemir and Jean Paul de Bruijn, brought him to the last four. The first encounter on the final day, facing Greek Nikos Polychronopoulos turned out into a very tough and exciting fight.
The climax was announced as the contest between the two best players in the world, Frédéric Caudron and Torbjörn Blomdahl. But the superior and fascinating start of the Belgian star, with a run of nineteen, the highest of the tournament, was crushing for his opponent and took the tension out of the match.
,,It was perfect for me, I felt strong from the start and after the high run I could play defense to keep my opponent far behind'', said Caudron. Torbjörn Blomdahl: ,,Actually, it has never been a match, because of Caudron's run. I never had the feeling that I could come back, because he was too strong.''
The 46-year old Belgian said afterwards that he had played with his new Longoni Armona cue, which he only received on the Monday before the World Cup.
,,I could practice only one hour, so it's amazing that I played such a high average (2.272).''
The World Cup of Luxor returns on the calendar of the UMB in the upcoming years, as it seems. Luxor will be played in the early period of the year, the Hurghada World Cup in December. The governor assured that it's very important for the tourism industry, which is strongly disturbed by the political situation.
The final ranking of the World Cup (average and highest runs:
1 Frédéric Caudron, Belgium, 2.272, 19
2 Torbjörn Blomdahl, Sweden, 1.487, 11
3 Nikos Polychronopoulos, Greece, 1.709, 8
4 Choong-Bok Lee, South-Korea, 1.547, 15
5 Hyung Bum Hwang, South-Korea, 1.822, 14
6 Jean Paul de Bruijn, Netherlands, 1.732, 10
7 Murat Naci Coklu, Turkey, 1.633, 7
8 Dong Koong Kang, South-Korea, 1.455, 8
9 Dani Sánchez, Spain, 2.058, 8
10 Dick Jaspers, Netherlands, 2.000, 14
11 Tayfun Tasdemir, Turkey, 1.790, 12
12 Sung-Won Choi, South-Korea, 1.733, 8.
Tournament average: 1.521 (main event)
The new world ranking:
De nieuwe wereldranglijst:
1 Frédéric Caudron 511 points
2 Torbjörn Blomdahl 374
3 Filippos Kasidokostas 307
4 Eddy Merckx 292
5 Dick Jaspers 281
6 Marco Zanetti 279
7 Sung-Won Choi 255
8/9 Jérémy Bury 246
8/9 Kyung Roul Kim 246
10 Jae Ho Cho 231
11/12 Tayfun Tasdemir 222
11/12 Dong Koong Kang 222
13 Dani Sánchez 206
14 Lütfi Cenet 172
15 Nikos Polychronopoulos 165
16 Choong-Bok Lee 161
17 Murat Naci Coklu 155
18 Quyet Chien Tran 143
19 Jean Paul de Bruijn 141
20 Dinh Nai Nfo 127.