Triathlon
OLOMOUC - The Spaniard Raúl Cuenca and the Belgian Eddy Leppens meet each other in the final of the Anag Billiard Cup in the Czech Republic this afternoon. Both players survived their matches in the semifinals, where Leppens defeated his compatriot Patrick Niessen 5-1 and the match between Raúl Cuenca and Dave Christiani was decided on one carom. The Spaniard won the three cushion 15-14.
The two Belgians played a match in which Leppens took the initiative from the start with a marvellous 100 run in one inning in the balk line (100-30).
He also was the strongest in one cushion (50-8 in 6), so that Leppens had paved his way to the final in these two disciplines. The three cushion was a formality and ended up with a tie score: 15-15 in 12.
The other encounter was vibrant and exciting until the last seconds. Christiani and Cuenca entered the last game with equal chances, although Christiani could allow himself to play a draw.
The Dutchman won the balkline 100-76 in 5, Cuenca took the one cushion 50-36 (5).
The three cushion had to decide over who would enter the final. The Spaniard balanced with his opponent, who has a greater reputation in this discipline, until the final sprint.
Cuenca first missed an ideal opportunity to finish when Christiani was at 12. He made his last carom eventually at 15-13, so that Christiani needed two caroms for the draw and the qualification.
The Dutchman made the breakshot, but faced a less favorable position for his second. The cue ball was pretty far away from the second ball, which was close to the cushion. Christiani could choose between two solutions (left or right from the red ball). He chose the first, but hit the ball a little too thick. Cuenca therefor won 15-14 in 15 innings.
The final (14.45) between Eddy Leppens and Raúl Cuenca will be broadcasted on Kozoom like all the matches in this tournament.