BLANKENBERGE - Frédéric Caudron escaped with an ultimate final shot from elimination by the outstanding Peter Ceulemans. Eddy Merckx even survived six match points against Martin Spoormans, before winning the game 3-2. But eventually the two finalists from last year are still in the tournament and still in the race.
This afternoon, it was pure enjoyment for the fans in the stands. And the matches showed that the two champions of the Belgian three cushions aren't inaccessible in their own country. Peter Ceulemans, the upcoming star on the firmament, proved it in his match against Caudron, Martin Spoormans, the crafty veteran, in his duel with Merckx.
Peter Ceulemans took the lead for 1-0 and 2-1 (15-8, 6-15, 15-10), Caudron fought himself back to 2-2 and Ceulemans only had to bend when his famous opponent closed the match at 15-13. Martin Spoormans even had the victory for grabbing against the reigning champion Merckx. The master of the carotte was opposed with his own weapons on the way to the finish and was punished for the six match points that he didn't use for winning the game.
Merckx swept away the 14-9 backlog in those six innings and scored the setbal in the nineteenth (!) inning. In the deciding set Spoormans had a quick start again (11-5 and 13-5), but Merckx showed his incredible coolness, first with a run of nine, who brought him to 14-13 and finally with the matchtbal at 15 -13.
Where Caudron and Ceulemans played 1.465 and 1.348, Merckx and Spoormans finished just over one average (1.236 Merckx, 1.105 Spoormans). That was certainly much less than Leppens Eddy, who emerged as a big favorite for the time being. He made his first thirty points in the three-cushion game against Johan Claessen in only six innings and won 3-1 with 2.750 average.
The absolute peak in the other disciplines was the phenomenal match between Caudron and Leppens in the balk-line 47/1. Leppens, the shining star of the Multi's so far, seemed on his way to the arrival with a big lead (190-39), but after he missed, Caudron finished with a masterful run of 161.