NANTES - It's not so easy in these times to defeat the world's best this summer, Jérémy Bury, in a French tournament. Yet, Andernos's Jérôme Barbeillon succeeded in the national tournament in Nantes. He won the final after a shootout when the match had ended 40-40. Bury had the best start in the final with runs of 6, 1 and 5, but Barbeillon closed the gap with 10 and even led 22-14 in 6 innings.
In the final phase, Barbeillon first missed the matchball, Bury reached the forty with a run of five, then Barbeillon equalized from the break. In the shootout, Barbeillon triumphed 2-1.
Barbeillon outplayed his team mate Francis Connesson in the semi-finals 40-27 in 31. Jérémy Bury dominated in the other semi-final against Thierry Roxo, 40-12 in 17, but he was in troubles against Grégory Deventec whom he finally beat 40-38 in 31 in the quarter finals.
With a 1.489 general Jérôme Barbeillon played an excellent tournament, a good run-up for the World championships in Bordeaux. Jérémy Bury, but it's known for some months, is in top form: despite the setback in the final, he finished 1.802 on average in the second tournament of the season.