ANDERNOS - Three players in the Kozoom Challenge Cup are fighting today on the third day of Group E and Group F for two places in the final tournament. Eddy Merckx is almost certain to qualify in Group E with Jérôme Barbeillon and Can Capak. Torbjörn Blomdahl and Peter Ceulemans will decide today, Friday, who will go to the main tournament as the winner of Group F. The averages played by the leaders in the Kozoom arena are excellent: Merckx 2.085, Blomdahl 2.078, Ceulemans 1.789.
Eddie Merckx had an excellent day in Group E in the second session of six sets. The Belgian showed himself superior and won five out of six sets by a big margin. Can Capak only won the first set on the second day, Jérôme Barbeillon remained without a set win, so Merckx now leads with 8 sets won ahead of Capak and Barbeillon with 2. Merckx needs one more set to be certain, but already has enough advantage in average to face the third day without worries.
Jérôme Barbeillon had an off-day on the third day and scored only 1, 1, 6, 0, 4 and 0 points (0.632) in six sets. Can Capak started with a set win (10-5-1), but then also scored only 3, 2, 1, 5 and 5 points against an overwhelmingly strong Merckx. The Belgian won his sets in 4, 5, 2, 4 and 4 innings, good for a 2.500 on average on day 2.
The standings in Group E after two days:
1 Eddy Merckx 8-2,085-9
2 Jérôme Barbeillon 2-1,250-
3 Can Capak 2-1,205-5.
Torbjörn Blomdahl and Peter Ceulemans are fighting a nice battle today with a difference of one set win for Blomdahl. The Swede and the Belgian keep each other in balance after two days: Blomdahl with 6 sets won, Ceulemans with 5. Pierre Soumagne stays behind with one set won and 1.263 on average.
The Swede started the day as he had finished on day one: with two sets won in 3 innings. Peter Ceulemans took the third set, the fourth and the sixth set in 5, 5 and 3 innings and stayed in the track of Blomdahl, who in the second part only won the 11th set in two innings: 10-0-0. Ceulemans travels back to Belgium immediately after his last games to start tomorrow, Saturday, in the Belgian Cup in Hooglede.
The standings in Group F:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl 6-2.078-10
2 Peter Ceulemans 5-1.789-7
3 Pierre Soumagne 1-1,166-5.