SCHILTIGHEIM - Just like Torbjörn Blomdahl and Kyung-Roul Kim, the numbers one and two of last year, who are off for the final round, Eddy Merckx, the world champion, is almost down for the count. The Belgian lost tonight, at the end of the first round, his second match against Jérémy Bury.
The Frenchman showed his joy after the match: ,,I saved my chances, there is still hope to reach the final.'' His opponent, who lost 50-36 (25) and could hardly show his world class, was almost knocked down in the ring.
The world champion is in a vale of tears and has to go on a survival tour. That is is the biggest surprise in Group C, in which Lütfi Cenet (who defeated Merckx in the afternoon) and Martin Horn (victory over Dion Nelin) are the only two undefeated players.
Dion Nelin could not continue his level from his first match. Martin Horn outplayed him pretty soon in the match and just stumbled before the finish.
,,I could close the match with ten'', he concluded, ,,but the last carom was difficult. I got a fifty-fifty shot and I missed.'' And about the match: ,,You never know with Dion Nelin: at one moment he is dead and a few innings he is alive and kicking.''
Eddy Merckx' poor start is hard to understand. The Belgian played a bit unlucky at the end against Lütfi Cenet, but against Jérémy Bury he never found control over his game. He seemed to recover when he ran ten in tenth inning, but then he started scoring zero's again.
The Frenchman was at fourteen points after twelve innings. In the next part of the match he ran out to 35-27 and at the end he took victory with small runs of four, three and six in his last three inings.
Both Martin Horn and Lütfi Cenet lead the group with two match points out of one game. Jérémy Bury and Dion Nelin gathered two points out of two, Eddy Merckx finds himself at the bottom of the ranks with two losses.
Tomorrow afternoon at 14.00 a crucial match is on the program: Horn against Cenet.