ATHENS - The second Grand Prix tournament for the Greek rankings, played in the Trisponto club in Athens, turned out into a miraculous finish. The two best Greek players Nikos Polychronopoulos and Filippos Kasidokostas were in the final clash. The winner was almost known when Kasidokostas led 26-39 after a great match. Polychronopoulos did a desperate attempt to save the match in the 21st inning and reached the finish by a run of 14!!! Kasidokostas missed his last point in the equalizer.
Filippos Kasidokostas seemed unstoppable in his drive to win the tournament. The current number two ranked player excelled with position playing, runs and took a margin over Polychronopoulos. The ultimate attempt of Poly turned the match upside down. And Kasidokostas who just could look his opponent's famous flow from his chair, eventually missed the final point (too long).
Nikos comment: ,,It was a strong game as always! I started good but I made many easy mistakes after the start. Filippos took the advantage and made some really high quality runs! At the end he didn't finish three times when the score was 39-26 and I made 14 and out. He missed the break shot, so I won the final''
Kostas Kokkoris, who won the first Grand Prix, also in a final against Kasidokostas) leads the ranking after two tournaments with 118 points, ten more than Kasidokostas. Polychronopoulos missed the first tournament and is third.
The best match and highest run were from Kasidokostas, who won in the semifinal against Thomas Koukis 40-22 in 15 innings with a run of seventeen.
Polychronopoulos won his match against one of his main competitors, Kostas Papakonstantinou, 40-17 in 17 innings and vs Anastasios Gkoptzias 40-12 in 16. Kasidokostas was victorious against Dimitris Apostoleas (40-36 in 28) and continued against Manol Minaoglou (40-31 in 28) and Christos Papageorgiou (40-20 in 19).
Kostas Kokkoris, the leader of the ranking, started with a win over Andriopoulos (40-29 in 45), Kostas Antonatas (40-32 in 32) and Nikos Trémoulis (40-16 in 25). In the semi-finals, he was stopped by Polychronopoulos 40-25 in 22.
The Trisponto result:
1 Polychronopoulos 1.731
2 Kasidokostas 1.793
3 Kokkoris 1.169
4 Koukis 1.148
5 George Papageorgiou 1.253
6 Balogiannis 1.112
7 Tremoulis 1.032
8 Christos Papageorgiou 0.933
The top ten after two Grand Prix tournaments:
1 Kostas Kokkoris 118 points
2 Filippos Kasidokostas 108
3 Nikos Polychronopoulos 80
4 George Papageorgiou 64
5 Apostolos Balogiannis 64
6 Nikos Trémoulis 52
7 Kostas Papakonstantinou 42
8 Spyros Llanos 42
9 Nasos Gavriilidis 42
10 Thomas Koukis 38.
Kostas Kokkoris, who won the first Grand Prix, also in a final against Kasidokostas) leads the ranking after two tournaments with 118 points, ten more than Kasidokostas. Polychronopoulos missed the first tournament and is third.
The best match and highest run were from Kasidokostas, who won in the semifinal against Thomas Koukis 40-22 in 15 innings with a run of seventeen.
Polychronopoulos won his match against one of his main competitors, Kostas Papakonstantinou, 40-17 in 17 innings and vs Anastasios Gkoptzias 40-12 in 16. Kasidokostas was victorious against Dimitris Apostoleas (40-36 in 28) and continued against Manol Minaoglou (40-31 in 28) and Christos Papageorgiou (40-20 in 19). Kostas Kokkoris, the leader of the ranking, started with a win over Andriopoulos (40-29 in 45), Kostas Antonatas (40-32 in 32) and Nikos Trémoulis (40-16 in 25). In the semi-finals, he was stopped by Polychronopoulos 40-25 in 22.
The Trisponto result:
1 Polychronopoulos 1.731
2 Kasidokostas 1.793
3 Kokkoris 1.169
4 Koukis 1.148
5 George Papageorgiou 1.253
6 Balogiannis 1.112
7 Tremoulis 1.032
8 Christos Papageorgiou 0.933
The top ten after two Grand Prix tournaments:
1 Kostas Kokkoris 118 points
2 Filippos Kasidokostas 108
3 Nikos Polychronopoulos 80
4 George Papageorgiou 64
5 Apostolos Balogiannis 64
6 Nikos Trémoulis 52
7 Kostas Papakonstantinou 42
8 Spyros Llanos 42
9 Nasos Gavriilidis 42
10 Thomas Koukis 38.