Eddy Merckx wins World 3-C C'ships

[Bob Jewett]

(Also reported in the Main Forum.)

The World 3-Cushion Championships finished in St. Wendel, Germany on Sunday, September 24th. 48 players from around the world participated. Eddy Merckx from Belgium won and Nikos Polychronopoulos from Greece finished second.

Of the top five ranked players before the tournament, Dick Jaspers from The Netherlands did best finishing in 3rd place. Jaspers had the tournament high run with 15, which was the maximum possible since the competition was in 15-point sets. Surprising early exits were Torbjorn Blomdahl and Daniel Sanchez who both lost in the round-of-16.

A new name on the leader board was Ahn Vu Duong from Vietnam who finished in 8th place and had a 1.397 average, a 2.227 best game and a high run of 13.

For the two US entries, Mazin Shooni took 12th place, with a 1.352 average and a high run of 8, while Adrian Viguera finished in 30th with a 1.010 average.

For a summary of the results, see

http://www.umb.org/ausschreibung/upload/results/106/I. Final Ranking.pdf

and for detailed info, go to the UMB calendar and click on the St. Wendel event:

http://www.umb.org/ausschreibung/kalender_druck_umb_hw.php

 

[Black-Balled]

Eddy Merckx?!?! He is the most dominant cyclist EVER. Over 500 career victories, they called him "The Cannibal", for the intolerable suffering he imparted on the peloton! Uphill, flat, downhill...you name it and he won it.

Thanks for the info, Bob!!

 

[Double-Dave]

It's a nice result for Eddy, and I don't want to take anything away from him, but I am slightly disappointed about the length of the matches. First to 15 is like a race to 5 nine-ball (I know that's what they play in the earlier rounds), for a world championship too short imo.

 

[The Hamster]

Eddy Merckx?!?! He is the most dominant cyclist EVER. Over 500 career victories, they called him "The Cannibal", for the intolerable suffering he imparted on the peloton! Uphill, flat, downhill...you name it and he won it.

Not the same guy, of course... just a namesake with parents that were big fans of Eddy Merckx the cyclist.

 

[iralee]

Eddy Merckx?!?! He is the most dominant cyclist EVER. Over 500 career victories, they called him "The Cannibal", for the intolerable suffering he imparted on the peloton! Uphill, flat, downhill...you name it and he won it.

Thanks for the info, Bob!!

Unfortunately, its not the same guy. Eddy Merckx (3-cushion player) is much younger - not quite as fit.

From http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Eddy_Merckx:

"Eddy Merckx has a namesake who is a multiple Belgian Champion in three cushion billiards."

 

[Bob Jewett]

... but I am slightly disappointed about the length of the matches. First to 15 is like a race to 5 nine-ball (I know that's what they play in the earlier rounds), for a world championship too short imo.

But the matches are best 3 of 5 sets to 15 points. In the worst (or best) case, the total points scored might be 73-72. In the best (or worst) case it might be 45-0. On average, 3-of-5 is equivalent to a single game to 53 points.