PRAGUE - The Spanish balkline expert Raul Cuenca and Frenchman Olivier Careaux top the ranking of sixteen players after the preliminary in the Euro Grand Prix balkline 71/2. The tournament is played in Prague this weekend. The last sixteen players: eight Frenchmen, four Czechs, one Belgian, one Spaniard, one Greek and one Dutchman.
Olivier Careaux finished as the winner in his group of three with 30.00 average. Raul Cuenca was second with 32.00, but lost one match in an exciting final part to Carreaux, who finished with 138-0 down on the scoreboard in the third inning with a run of 150.
He was the only one with the maximum run. Jean-Francois sparkled with 144, Marek Faus with 115.
Marek Faus (Czech Republic) and Nicolas Gérassimopoulos (Greece) recorded averages of 25.00 in the top five.
The winners in the nine groups advanced to the final rounds with seven numbers two. The young Dutchman Sam van Etten was unlucky: he was eliminated as the eighth number two.
The group winners in the nine flights:
Olivier Careaux, Adam Baca, Nicolas Gérassimopoulos, Patrick Niessen, Marek Faus, Jean-Francois Florent, Benoit Legros, Patrick Dupont en Germ Bot.
The eighth finals (as of 18.00 live op Kozoom):
Olivier Careaux-Janis Ziogas
Patrick Niessen-Adam Baca
Benoit Legros-Pascal Dessaint
Germ Bot-David Jacquet
Bernard Villiers-Nicolas Gérassimopoulos
Jean Francois Florent-Raul Cuenca
Marek Faus-Johann Petit.
Raul Cuenca