ISTANBUL - The master himself got the first punch in. Torbjörn Blomdahl brought his team of FC Porto today through the first round at the European Cup in Bahcelievler, Istanbul. In the Scandinavian clash with the former huge talent Dion Nelin, the Swedish number one in the world made the difference: 40-25 in 22 innings (1818/1,091). His team, FC Porto, had the much better finish against BK Gröndal, the Danish top team with Dion Nelin, Tonny Carlsen, Lars Dunch and Michael Lohse, who remained in the race until the break, but then lacked the power to threaten the opponent: The Portuguese team won 7-1 and is therefore are almost certain of qualificati on.
The same for Andernos, that took a quick lead (4-0) by Filippos Kasidokostas and Jérôme Barbeillon against the Italians of All Games Alcamo and then could finish it off with Roland Forthomme and Francis Connesson. The Greek had a flawless start against Michele Notarrigio (40-14 in 19). Jérôme Barbeillon, when he finished 40-19 in 20 against Francesco Orlando) watched from his seat his two teammates Forthomme and Connesson and came to a remarkable conclusion.
,,We play not enough matches in France'', said Barbeillon, who has too many ups and downs for a top player as he is. ,,If we compare with the Netherlands and Belgium, where they play every week on a high level, there is a big difference of course. For me it is one month ago from Brandenburg that I played a match. Therefore we miss game rhythm and feeling.''
The French team nevertheless remained unbeaten and won after two tough matches of Forthomme (40-37 in 35) and Connesson (40-31 in 50) 8-0. ,,The start was good, but tomorrow we face the super team of Dallinga. That's another story.''
Torbjörn Blomdahl, FC Porto's frontman, doesn't complain at all about rhythm. He just made a two week trip to South Korea and China for his sponsors, Gabriëls and Molinari. The Swede gave some exhibitions in Korean billiard halls, visited a major international trade show in China and took time to practice. He said: ,,I even did a lecture about my life in a university in Korea.''
He returned a week ago and could prepare for the battle at the European Cup, where he made a strong impression on the first day. Dion Nelin, many years ago Blomdahl's in Belgium, among other with Roland Forthomme, is missing the international competition already for some years and couldn't show the audacity for which he was known in his younger years. So, Blomdahl was a way too strong, ran away in the first part and finished it off pretty easy.
Dion Nelin
His three teammates of the famous Portuguese sports club, Dani Sánchez, Joao Ferreira and Rui Costa, were all close to a slip in the opening round, which was so important because the European cup holder, Bahcelievler, is the third team in this group.
Two of these three teams advance for the semi-finals, which meant that both FC Porto and BK Gröndal could not afford a loss. The outcome was that Dani Sánchez escaped against Tonny Carlsen, who made a run of six on a score of 39-31 behind and then missed his 38th point on a very makeable shot. The position that was left on the table was the perfect match ball for Dani Sánchez (40-37 in 28).
Then, it was up to Joao Ferreira and Rui Costa to grab the full profits for FC Porto. The young Ferreira was in balance for a long time with Lars Dunch and then proved to be the better finisher: 40-32 in 32.
In the last match, Rui Costa and Michael Lohse played a draw in 34 innings.
Filippos Kasidokostas had a flawless start. ,,The table was very good.''