PRAAG - The victory in the Europa Cup was celebrated with a delectable Dom Perignon, after the team of Vitkov Prague had to dig deep to beat Chartres from France 4-2 in the final on Sunday. Marek Faus was the undisputed MVP of the team all through the tournament, German veteran Wolfgang Zenkner was the weakest link (he lost four matches in a row), and it was Eddy Leppens who was put under tremendous pressure to bring home the bacon.
The Belgian jack of all trades, who has specialized in 3-cushion and rarely practices in the balkline disciplines these days, saw Frenchman Willy Gérimont run away from him in balkline 47/2, he trailed 216-58 after five innings after his opponent had ran 111 and 105. ,,I felt the pressure, because it was 2-2 after Faus had won (200-7 in 3 against Xavier Gretillat) and Zenkner had lost (120-101 in 26 against Jacky Justice).''
Leppens was at his best when his team needed him the most. ,,I had made a small mistake in the early innings, but in the sixth inning I started to feel good and it looked like I was going to finish with a run of 189. But then I had to play a difficult draw shot and I miscued. It gave my opponent a good position, and he needed only 34 more. But I saw he felt the pressure as well, and he was going to miss, which he did. I had to make my last thirteen points all over the table, one full-length shot and one extremely difficult draw shot. I kept my cool, I fought for every point and luckily, I could finish the job.''
Vitkov Praag prolonged the title they first won last year. ,,We basically did it with two players'', said Leppens. ,,Marek Faus played superb in all his matches. He put every opponent under pressure with high runs in the first or second inning. Zenkner played a poor tournament, and we had to make up for that. It is very annoying that he showed his dissatisfaction regularly, always complaining. And affected our concentration.''
Marek Faus won his four matches in four, eight, three and three innings, which gave him a general average of 44.44 in 71/2. Eddy Leppens played 47/2, and averaged 35.59, Wolfgang Zenkner played 1-cushion, and scored a disappointing 4.50 average. Chartres from France was a deserved finalist, after they beat Rochin in the semi. Willy Gérimont beat Brahim Djoubri 250-85 in 4, Xavier Grétillat got past Jean Francois Florent 200-65 in 9. Bernard Villiers was leading 115-102 (in 21) against Jacky Justice, but that match was not played to a finish.
Vitkov Prague won the other semi against Etikon, the 5-time Europa Cup winner. For the Dutch team, only Jean Paul de Bruijn could win: he beat Zenkner in 1-cushion 120-93 in 7. Patrick Niessen, who had an up-and-down tournament, was blown out of the water by Marek Faus in 71/2 (200-7 in 4) and Eddy Leppens beat Henri Tilleman in 47/2: 250-45 in six innings. The Vitkov Prague team dedicated their win to sponsor Jiri Vitek, who goes out of his way to present the players with the best possible conditions.
The individual averages: Balkline 47/2 Henri Tilleman 45.41 (3 Matches) Willy Gérimont 36.54 (4) Eddy Leppens 35.59 (4) Brahim Djoubri 26.59 (3) Sam van Etten 20.18 (2) Nikolas Gérassimopoulos 19.55 (2) Balkline 71/2 Thomas Nockemann 47.25 (2 Matches) Marek Faus 44.44 (4) Patrick Niessen 30.07 (3) Xavier Grétillat 22.61 (4) Francis Connesson 19.66 (2) Jean Francois Florent 5.19 (3) 1-cushion: Jean Paul de Bruijn 14.56 (3 matches) Bernard Villiers 6.71 (3) Ludger Havlik 6.25 (2) Bernard Baudoin 5.95 (2) Jacky Justice 5.43 (4) Wolfgang Zenkner 4.50 (4).