3-Cushion
LUXOR - Who would bet on a player who is behind 34-5 in a 3-cushion match to 40? Tayfun Tasdemir had come out of the blocks like lightning against Eddy Leppens, what could happen? His opponent was struggling with an affliction in his left eye, and constantly teared up.
Frédéric Caudron, quick as ever, had eliminated local hero Sameh Sidhom after a balanced opening phase (20-19), with a dash like the world champion produces with regularity: 40-25 in 19. Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn were in winning positions against Javier Teran and Mehmet Gören, and nobody in the audience paid much attention to the brutal Tasdemir-Leppens match.
The Belgian looked around the room in despair, troubled by his eye and upset over the painful numbers on the scoreboard. What a beating, 34-5, Tayfun six points from the finish, Eddy with 35 to go. ,,I felt a second wind coming, and kept believing in my chances'', said Leppens later. And as it sometimes happens amongst top players, a minor miracle took place.
From the moment Tasdemir showed a hiccup, Leppens started to score, making runs of 7, 3, 3, 2, 2, 9 and 3, bringing the score to 38-33.
When the Turk finished with two, his opponent was left with the equalizer: seven points to go. He did the impossible, threw off his shackles, feeling the pressure but standing up to it. The chances were now even again, a shootout had to decide. Tayfun Tasdemir, who must have thought he'd won already, found an almost impossible position for his second point, but brilliantly solved the problem. The Turkish technician found his rhythm, showed his toughness and only stopped scoring when he had made ten.
There he was, Eddy Leppens, after that spectacular comeback he now had another mountain to climb. He scored from the break, made a second point and missed. Out of the tournament, but with his head held high. ,,I am used to this. To play well, and be eliminated anyway'', he said as he left the room. Top level billiards can be torture.
Dick Jaspers had produced his first 30 points in six innings, but then halted, missed six times in a row and saw Javier Teran close the gap. From 40-28 the Dutchman finished, the diminutive Ecuadorian adding seven to his total to make it 40-35.
Jean Paul de Bruijn played a strong and solid match, with a good mix of offense and defense. Mehmet Gören, who had created an upset in the qualifications against Jae Ho Cho, could do little about it: 40-24 in 21.