Demonstration of the star players

SCHILTIGHEIM - The message from the German league came at the wright moment. The Belgian player Roland Forthomme had just made a run of 24 in the second Bundesliga a highlight in his career. But at the same moment in the Agipi Masters the star players took off for another glorious evening. Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti and Lütfi Cenet treated the crowd to an unprecedented demonstration.

The score after three and four innings was amazing. Marco Zanetti had after three innings (24 caroms on the score board (11, 0 and 13 points, 8,000 average). Lütfi Cenet gathered fifteen points in three innings (5.000 average) and Dick Jaspers after runs of thirteen and ten in four innings 26 caroms (6.500).

Roland Forthomme, far away from the Agipi room, made his forty points in eighteen innings and told us on the phone: ,,That's my highest run ever.'' The record in the Bundesliga was at 26, made by Eddy Merckx in his world famous match. And Martin Horn made a run of 24 in Belgium this year.

In the tribunes of the Agipi arena, Claude Fath, the organizer, gleamed: ,,I've never seen this before, such a high level at the same time at two billiards.'' The high runs and the marvellous start marked the third round of the group with Jaspers, Horn, Zanetti, Cenet and Umeda.

The extremely high level couldn't continue of course: after the break there was a relapse (Zanetti-Cenet 31-26 in 11, Jaspers-Umeda 40-7 in 12). But where Jaspers quickly finished his match and treated the Japanese to one of the worst defeats in his career (50-13 in 14, for Jaspers two innings more than his best match ever in Agipi, last year against Jérémy Bury), there was the duel between Zanetti and Cenet turning out in a real match.

The Turk came back in an amazing sprint and took the lead for the first time at 32-31 in thirteen innings. He ran even to 38-31 and 43-38. The final was spectacular. Zanetti fought himself back in the match with a run of 5, bringing the score to 48-49 after Cenet had missed his first matchball.

The Italian could run out with two and watched from his chair the equalizer of Cenet (50-50 in 26 innings). The carom for the draw means for Cenet just a minimal chance to reach the final round.