SAINT QUENTIN – The top teams in the French team competition are engaged in a thrilling battle. The team on top, Soissons, lost a valuable match point this Friday evening by drawing against Blois. Saint Quentin surprised another title contender, beating Andernos 3-5. Berkay Karakurt was the best player of the evening, defeating Marco Zanetti 40-20 in 17 innings. Eddy Merckx held on to a maximum score with Soissons. The Belgian defeated Sameh Sidhom 40-27 in 21 innings in the match between Soissons and Blois. The top team in that match was of a high standard as well. Glenn Hofman defeated Jérémy Bury 40-35 in 20 innings.
Soissons and Blois played a high-quality match, with some excellent matches also being seen on the other tables. Mikaël Devogelaere defeated Pierre Soumagne 40-32 in 28, and Jean Paul de Bruijn won for Soissons against Maxime Panaia 40-38 in 25. Soissons still leads the standings after five rounds with 9 match points, but Albert, with players including Belgians Peter Ceulemans and Jef Philipoom, closed the gap to one point. The northern French team defeated Colmar 6-2. Peter Ceulemans defeated Ruben Legazpi 40-33 in 31, but the Belgian/Spanish battle remained undecided, because Sergio Jimenez beat Jef Philipoom 40-26 in 16, the best match of this round. Cédric Melnytschenko and Thierry Roxo secured the victory for Albert.
Saint Quentin, without its captain Dick Jaspers, traveled to Andernos and returned with a surprising 3-5 victory. Berkay Karakurt played a magnificent match against Marco Zanetti (40-20 in 17). Young Nathan Duriez defeated veteran Francis Connesson (40-16 in 19), and Barbeillon drew with Perrotin in 43 innings. Nick Polychronopoulos's victory over Johan Loncelle (40-29 in 30) couldn't save Andernos from defeat: 3-5.
Intermarché won the match against Blois 2 thanks in part to Dimitrios Seleventas, who defeated Puigvert 40-34 in 33. Mottet and Dubernet were the other winners for Intermarché.
Douarnenez defeated Courbevoie 6-2. Steven van Acker and Francis Forton were winners for Douarnenez against Reverchon and Kunt in 35 and 41 innings, respectively. With their 6-2 victory, Douarnenez moved up one spot in the standings.
Standings after five rounds
- Soissons 9
- Albert 8
- St. Quentin 7
- Andernos 7
- Blois 6
- Intermarché 5
- Colmar 4
- Douarnenez 2
- Blois 2 1
- Courbevoie 1