BLOIS – The world's top three-cushion players will have a great tournament to look forward to at the end of this year. The French organizer Patrice Lalanne, known for his events in Blois, France, has announced the Blois 3-Cushion Masters after negotiations with with the UMB (world federation). The tournament will be held from 18 to 21 December and features the 20 best players in the rankings and four wildcards. The top prize is 30,000 euros, with a total prize fund of 200,000 euros.
Patrice Lalanne, who played in the World Cup in Ankara yesterday, has consulted extensively with UMB president Farouk Barki and now has official approval. ’’The aim is to organize more attractive tournaments in Europe,’ says Lalanne, who was the organizer of the World Championships for ladies and juniors in Blois last year.
The French city has put itself on the calendar and wants to host another major event within its city borders this year. Patrick Lalanne: "After the World Cup in Porto, which has its finals on 5 July, the top 20 players in the world rankings will be selected to participate in the Blois Masters. The four wildcards are yet to be decided, but Torbjörn Blomdahl is almost certain to receive the UMB wildcard, and for the three wildcards from the organization, we are thinking mainly of our players who are not in the top 20. Glenn Hofman is almost certain, and we will choose a young French player."
The tournament is played under the auspices of the UMB, in collaboration with Doozy Billiards and the French Billiards Federation (FFB).
Playing system:
X 40 points with equalising inning in 4 qualifying groups of 6 players.
X 16 players (numbers 1 to 4 from each group) qualify for the knockout phase: 50 points without equalising inning.
The current top 10 in the world rankings are Dick Jaspers, Quyet Chien Tran, Myung Woo Cho, Thanh Luc Tran, Tayfun Tasdemir, Jung Han Heo, Eddy Merckx, Jun Tae Kim, Sameh Sidhom and Marco Zanetti. These are almost certain participants in Blois, except for Jun Tae Kim, who has announced his departure to the PBA.
The French organization prefers Kozoom to broadcast the images, but this is still under negotiation.
French organizer Patrice Lalanne in the Ankara World Cup