3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - Martin Horn left no doubts about reality: Dick Jaspers, until recently in the league his teammate in the Netherlands, is the best player in the world. But sometimes there are those days when the German player can demonstrate his great form on the blue tables and can grow above himself.
That happened today, at the start of the second round in the Agipi Masters: Martin Horn defeated Dick Jaspers in a breathtaking and thrilling finish 50-49 in 24 innings. He deserved it because he could close a gap two times with runs of ten after the break and five and seven in his last three innings.
The full winn slipped him almost out of his fingers, because Horn missed his first matchpoint unluckily. Jaspers got another chance with 48 on the score board, made onea point, but also missed the decider. And then, after his last shot, Horn could raise his cue in his classic moment of joy.
The result in the match of friends makes the group in which Jaspers and Horn play extremely exciting. On the other table, Marco Zanetti accelerated from the start in his match against Ryuuji Umeda, who's head was on the block from the early part (50-25 in 26). Lütfi Cenet, the fifth player in the group, has played only one game so far.
Zanetti forced his opponent for a long time on the chair. The Japanese had a very bad start and looked at a 20-2 backlog after eight innings. With a run of 9 in the 19th turn, the Italian wiped the floor with his opponent.
Jaspers and Horn went straight up to 19-19, then the Dutchman launched an attack with some small runs of 3, 2, 2, 4 and 6 (33-21). Horn closed the disadvantage for the first time in the match with ten (33-31), Jaspers ran away again, but Horn had the best final sprint with 5, 7 and 1 (50-49).