Gravelines and Kozoom for play-offs

GRAVELINES - The sixth day of the French championship for teams in the league already has cast a long shadow. The match between Andernos and Laxou, which is played two weeks ago on neutral ground at Agipi, was an absolute highlight in the league: Andernos won 8-0, the level was extremely high and Dick Jaspers, Filipos Kasidokostas and Torbjörn Blomdahl were the starplayers of the night.

In contrast, in the days after, the team of Clichy Montmartre retired. They felt themselves victim of the lack of communication regarding the calendar in the Netherlands and France. Therefore Clichy would miss his two main players (Merckx and Leppens) in the play-offs. Jean Reverchon, the team captain and his sponsor concluded that for that reason the team couldn't participate in the battle for the title.

The league will continue without Clichy Montmartre (Merckx, Leppens, Bitalis, Reverchon) and all matches that the team had already played are cancelled. The decision not only damages the French league, it is a disgrace for the billiard sport in general.

The big loser is the team of Albert, that won his match against Clichy unexpected and now has lost these two match points. The third team that's qualified for the play-offs is Laxou now with Agipi and Andernos as the leaders in the ranks. Kozoom and Gravelines will play for the fourth place tonight (Thursday, 8 March), Albert has a day off.

The matches start at 17.30 and 19.30 tonight.