BORDEAUX - The European team has taken a 29 point lead over Asia after the first day at the Ceulemans Continental Cup. The gap was mainly made due to the strong Belgian start by Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Merckx, who launched the 'blue train' with 25 point matches in 10 innings. and the moderate level of play by the Asian team, that consisted of four Koreans and four Vietnamese. The European eight won six of the eight matches, played one draw and closed the day with a loss of Jérémy Bury against HaengJik Kim: 35-25 in 27 innings.
The battle, played in an intimate room with stands for the spectators on two sides and two small stands in the arena for the Europeans (blue shirts) and Asians (yellow shirts), was marked by a rarely seen team spirit of billiard players. "I like to play for this team and fight for each other with players, who are normaly my opponents'', Dick Jaspers, the world champion and world's number one, summarized the first day. Eddy Merckx, "It's very special and it gives even more pressure to play for yourself.'' Marco Zanetti, "I had a poor start in my match, but I really wanted to keep the team lead. That gave me the motivation to fight back at the end.''
Torbjörn Blomdahl spoke about a special tension, different from the tournaments in which you play for yourself. "The gap in caroms is not very big at the moment, but every point is important and we all feel the team spirit.'' Eddy Merckx, "The prestige is also at stake. We always hear that the Asians are taking over the power. In this battle, we want to show that we are still the best.''
The players, at one match table in the arena, not only were cheered by the audience. In the last sessions even a spontaneous 'Allez les bleus' came from the stands. And the blue team rewarded winners with high-fives. Torbjörn Blomdahl, about another aspect of this format, "I was about to make my last point, but I thought about the position I would leave for Dani Sánchez, the next player.'' That was the advantage on this first day. The leading position allowed the Europeans to start each match with the position the other player of the team left on the table.
Frédéric Caudron started with a quick run of nine in the first match against Dong-Koong Kang and won 25-13 in 10 innings. Eddy Merckx increased the score to 50-32 after winning 25-19 in 10 innings. Dick Jaspers missed three times close to the finish, but left Quyet Chien Tran on a small margin: 25-23 in 18 innings. The margin for the Europeans was consolidated by Marco Zanetti in the last match before the stop. The Italian, who had to chase Jae-Ho Cho, came back with a run of 9 and won 25-24. The score at the break: Europe 100, Asia 79 (margin 21).
Torbjörn Blomdahl restarted after the stop with a victory over Jung-Han Heo (25-21 in 20), followed by the first draw in the battle. Dani Sánchez and Sung-Won Choi shared the points, 25-25 in 21, the European lead was 150-125 (margin 25). The gap was increased by Murat Naci Coklu, who knocked down Vietnamese Nguyen Quoc Nguyen: 25-11 in 21 for a score of 175-136 (difference 39 points). The Asian hope came from HaengJik Kim, the team captain, who closed the day with a match against Jérémy Bury. The Frenchman had a bad start, was ten points down all the way in the second part and lost 35-25 in 27 innings. The margin at the end: Europe leading by 29 points.
HaengJik Kim, the only Asian winner on day one.
The European team, waiting for battle to begin
The Asian players in the stands
Raymond Ceulemans, enjoying the games