Maximum score but still under pressure

SCHILTIGHEIM - He already knew it when he finished his match against Raimond Burgman. The French player Jean-Christophe Roux won his third match in a row in the preliminary round group, he has a generous margin but still has not paved his way to next round for a hundred per cent.

Javier Palazón and Dion Nelin, who both are in the same group of five, are still in competition for one of the top two positions. The Spaniard and the Dane played only two matches so far, both a win and a loss. They could finish with six points and are in the race for second place.

,,That is the system when you play with five in a group'', said Jean-Christophe Roux after his victory over Burgman with 50-36 in 35 innings.
 
,,I have to wait until tonight (when Roux is facing Nelin) or maybe even until the last day.''
 
The Frenchman nonetheless surpassed himself in the qualifying round with Forthomme, Nelin, Palazón and Burgman as opponents. Theoretically it is the strongest group, in which he started as a challenger.
 
But Roux improves each round: after winning in 40 innings against Forthomme, he beat Palazón in 38 and just needed 35 innings to overpower Burgman with a high run of twelve in the 15th inning, forcing the gap to 36-16.
 
The tension for qualification is still optimal, because Javier Palazón at the other table took the win against Dion Nelin won (50-43 in 33). Just before he finished, the Spaniard missed a lucrative ten-run at one point.