LOMMEL - On his way to the plane that took him from Amsterdam to Seoul last night, Eddy Merckx recalled his wondrous final match at the Kimchi Superprestige. Three hours before, on Saturday-afternoon, he won his second in a row in the Lommel arena, his third since Eddy Leppens and his crew were the organizers. And like last year, Merckx defeated Roland Forthomme in the last match, this time with a minimal score: 40-39 in 18 innings. ,,I was really amazed that I still could win the game'', was Merckx comment. The explanation for the winning dash to the end? ,,I think it's all about andrenalin and focus, that's what I need to fire up a match.''
,,I need to feel tension to play well '', he looked back at the start, when Merckx was far behind on average to Caudron and Leppens, who played over two in three matches, Merckx around 1.5. There was, obviously a lack of focus in the run-up to the knock-out stage. But the world's number two showed it so many times this summer: watch out for Eddy Merckx when he's in danger. The final days in the Superprestige turned into his favor again.
He escaped against Ronny Brants (final run of eight at 32-30), but dominated the match against Caudron after a fifteen in the first part and a comfortable score at the end: 40-23. ,,I felt from the start that it was my match'', Merckx said after the semi final match with his eternal rival. ,,The more important the matches, the better I can deal with tension and focus.'' Merckx quckly ran out after his fifteen (20-9) to 32-16 to finish 40-23, winning his second of the last three matches with Caudron who had been the better in McCreery's final for the big money.
In the final match, Merckx ran into a whirlwind start of his opponent: Roland Forthomme launched the final with two 10 runs in the first part. Merckx: ,,It felt like a knock-out, but I took my chances after the break.'' The end of the match, how curiously, turned into Merckx's advantage. Forthomme led 32-38 when Merckx came back with five and scored two in the next, bringing him to one point of the finish (39-38). Forthomme missed again, but left an almost impossible position. Merckx went to the table and finished brilliantly. Forthomme needed only two to equalize: he was unlucky with the break shot and missed out for the draw.
What a summer is this for Eddy Merckx: starting with the victory in the 3CC World Masters in Seoul (final against Eddy Leppens), win at the Verhoeven Open (final against Dani Sáncez), the final in McCreery and now the victory in the Superprestige. ,,I'm a lucky man to be at my best in this summer'', Merckx concluded, leaving for Korea for another big tournament, the LG U+ Cup with a 160.000 dollar price money. The start, with a world class field, is on Tuesday.
The podium at the Adelberg in Lommel was completed by Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Leppens, who narrowly escaped to Francis Forton in the quarters, 40-39 and was defeated by Roland Forthomme in the semi-final 40-35 in 25.
The final score at the Superprestige:
1 Eddy Merckx 1.626-15
2 Roland Forthomme 1.6224-10
3 Eddy Leppens 1.741-10
4 Frédéric Caudron 2.0795-11
5 Peter Ceulemans 1.380-8
6 Francis Forton 1.207-9
7 Ronny Brants 1.198-7
8 Davy van Havere 1.172-5.
The podium at the Superprestige with Eddy Leppens, Eddy Merckx, the winner, Roland Forthomme and Frédéric Caudron