It's the final day, only the semi's and the final left. We've already forgotten about the losing quarterfinalists. They will be in the audience this afternoon, in civilian clothes. Their cue is in the hotel, they are soldiers without a gun.
Maybe it's because I have lost so many 3-cushion matches in my life, that I have a soft spot for the guys who go out. They don't always get the credit they deserve. After all, what is the difference between a place in the quarters and a place in the audience? Sometimes no more than a millimeter, or a fluke by your opponent.
So here is a little tribute to 10 of the 47 players who will leave Bordeaux without a world title. Without their hurt, there would be no world championship. Their pain is our pain, because without it, billiards would be a game, not be a sport.
10) Riad Nady. What a chance he had, to beat the great Roland Forthomme. Riad just could not get over the winning line, stumbled, fell and waited for Roland to put him out of his misery. Get back up, Mr. Nady! Get back on the horse.
9) Miguel Torres. One day you are on cloud nine, because you've survived the group stage at the WC. You are with the 16 best in the world, you are a professional billiard player. The next day, somebody tells you that your game is incomplete and full of weaknesses. Miguel was the pupil, Eddy Merckx was the cruel teacher, the final score was 40-8. Back to the drawing board, Miguel.
8) Jeremy Bury. He probably would not have won the world title, but the way he went out did hurt. Hit by the Dong Koong Kang freight train, never had half a chance: 40-12 in 18. If you are the face on the billboards and the local favorite, you would hope for a place in the quarters, n'est ce pas?
7) Nikos Polychronopoulos. What an exciting match that was, the group decider between the Greek and Jae Ho Cho! Too bad it ended with a fluke: Cho's 39th point, and the 40th was unmissable. Bad luck, Nikos.
6) Semih Sayginer. No, Semih wasn't a victim of bad luck. He still isn't good enough to make it to the late stages of a world cup or a world championship. But he's on the list because he is trying to climb Mount Everest. He's a former Oscar-winning actor who now accepts supporting roles, because he wants to act! If you look past his angry face and his occasional tantrum, you will see a man with a lot of courage.
5) Jae Ho Cho. It was 38-40 against Blomdahl, could well have been 40-38. The tragedy of Cho is, that he is SO good, only a world title is big enough for him to live up to his promise. He is more richly talented than most of his countrymen, but he does suffer from the occasional weak moment. Caution cost him the Blomdahl match: a few more full-blooded hits would have put him in the quarters.
4) Xuan Cuong Ma. He was the victim of Marco Zanetti's run of seven in the equalizing inning. The gentle Vietnamese player did absolutely nothing wrong, and I hope he realizes that Marco's flamboyant celebration was not aimed at him.
3) Tayfun Tasdemir. He's had such a great year, I guess he can handle this disappointment. The Turk is now amongst the favorites for the title in every tournament he plays. Still, the battle with Merckx will be on his mind for a while, because he had three chances to win. Okay, they were difficult. But these guys ask of themselves, that they solve these problems. At least once, in three tries.
2) Eddy Leppens. How often has it happened to him? I've lost count. This was another brutal chapter in the book of Eddy's bad luck. He played Sidhom, had a big lead, then sat and watched the Egyptian run 6 and 19. Final score: 40-35 to the dentist. What can you do?
1) Ruben Legazpi. What happened to Ruben was exactly the same as what happened to Ma, only it was in the K.O. stage. And the same player had done the same thing to him a while ago, in the Spanish championship. To win 40-32, see your opponent run 8, then lose the shootout 2-3 (mostly because of Ruben's poor break-off), it is the worst thing that can happen to a 3-cushion player. The good news for Ruben is: he is getting stronger every year, and is now a threat to everyone.
Three more players will have to lose before the day is over. This sport of ours is mean, injust, at times sadistic. That's how we like it.