ANTALYA - The European three cushion championship was close to a real sensation, but the gold medal eventually went to Marco Zanetti. The 61-year-old Italian won his third European title in Antalya in a final battle with Berkay Karakurt, the 28-year Turkish hero and coming man of this championship. Marco Zanetti, who rises to second place in the world rankings after Dick Jaspers with his title, won the final 50-46 in 27 innings. For the Italian, it was the climax of a championship in which he eliminated Dani Sánchez, among others, and shone with a top run: 21.
On his way to the big triumph, the new European champion defeated Czech Adam Kozak, Dane Jacob Haack Sörensen, Dane Thomas Andersen, Dani Sánchez and finally Berkay Karakurt. That final match, with two players constantly around and over two average, remained raging until the bitter end with intermediate scores of 12-8 for Zanetti, 18-17 for Karakurt, 24-19 for Karakurt, 24-24 and after a run of ten by Zanetti 34-29 for the Italian star. It then went to the end with a small lead for Zanetti: 44-42, 48-42, 48-46 after a final counter attack by the Turk and finally after a superb bankshot, one missed match-winner and a costly miss by Karakurt, finally 50-46 for the Italian in 27 innings.
The Italian flag soon waved from the stands, Marco Zanetti raised his hands jubilantly and celebrated the European success exuberantly with a proud fist roll on his chest and a pose for the cameras and photographers with the Italian tricolor.
The big sensation stayed out, the winner had richly deserved his third European success.
The Turkish crowd hero in Antalya had an almost blank record at European championships until this year. He did win the Junior European Championship in 2015 (Brandenburg) and was only beaten in the quarter-finals at the main European Championship in Berlicum last year. His next appearance on the European stage in Antalya was an unlikely success.
Marco Zanetti stood on a European championship podium for the first time at age 30: then, in 1992, Raymond Ceulemans won in Cairo and Zanetti finished third following Francis Connesson. The Italian then went on to finish in the top four in 2003 (following Jaspers and Caudron), 2008 (following Jaspers and Blomdahl) and in 2010 (following Jaspers and Merckx).
Those were the years that eventually led to Marco Zanetti's two European titles in 2013 and 2017 in Brandenburg in finals against Christian Rudolph and Frédéric Caudron. The most legendary match was the semi-final in 2013: Zanetti-Caudron. The Belgian made the show with a run of 28, just missing the world record run by one point. Yet, Zanetti still miraculously came back and won that match.
The 2023 European Championship, encapsulated in the mega-event in the Turkish resort of Antalya, will go down in the books as the tournament in which Marco Zanetti was the only world top player to compete for gold until the very end and Berkay Karakurt announced his big break through in front of Turkey's own fans. The final gala in three-cushion was preceded on Friday by the dethroning of reigning champion Dani Sánchez, who was beaten by Zanetti 50-41 (29) in the semi-finals. Torbjörn Blomdahl suffered the same fate, but against revelation Berkay Karakurt with a chance-less score for the Swedish phenom: 50-23 in 21/20.
That was a kind of salvation for the Turkish fans, who had to say goodbye to their top favorites Tayfun Tasdemir (beaten in the 1/8th finals by Thomas Andersen 50-45 in 29) and Semih Sayginer in the same round against Eddy Merckx (50-31 in 25/24) at an early stage. The European Championship was robbed of its big Turkish idols and later, in the quarter-finals, also of Dick Jaspers, who had to capitulate against Berkay Karakurt (50-38 in 25/24) and Eddy Merckx (loss against Sánchez, 50-34 in 24). Thus, it finally went to the climax with Marco Zanetti and Berkay Karakurt, the eternally young routine player against the new idol of Turkish billiards.
The results of the quarter-finals:
Dani Sánchez-Eddy Merckx 50-38 in 24
Marco Zanetti-Thomas Andersen 50-43 in 25
Torbjörn Blomdahl-Tolgahan Kiraz 50-28 in 26
Berkay Karakurt-Dick Jaspers 50-38 in 25.
Semi-finals:
Marco Zanetti-Dani Sánchez 50-41 (29/28)
Berkay Karakurt-Torbjörn Blomdahl 50-23 (21/20)