MEDELLIN – Haven’t we seen somewhere that Filippos Kasidokostas has played a thirty caroms match in four innings in Mexico? The Greek, who played the final of the World championship against Frédéric Caudron, showed an excellent form in Antwerp, where he was one of the top guns until the final match.
The question, on this first day of the World Cup in Medellin is: How was the preparation, this weekend, of the main players in the western countries?
Jef Philipoom is the man of the week with a fifty points match in only ten innings, with final runs of 17 and 18, but the Belgian former world champion will not play this week in the Medellin World Cup in Colombia .
Eddy Merckx did even better, concerning the high runs: in the Dutch league, the twofold world champion ran twenty on Sunday in a match against Raimond Burgman.
Torbjörn Blomdahl showed his form in the bundesliga in Germany, where he closed his 40 points match against Dion Nelin in 14 innings (run 12). The Swede, passed by Frédéric Caudron as the number one on the world ranking, is looking for revenge after his poor performance at the World championship.
Frédéric Caudron is the main favorite for victory in Colombia, where he won his first World championship in 1999. The Belgian got a big boost with his win in Antwerp and raised his confidence. He bested Dick Jaspers this week in the Belgian league and continued his winning series in the Dutch league on Sunday with 50 in 28 innings.
Eddy Merckx ran through the finish in 26 innings after his superb run of 20 in the Netherlands.
Marco Zanetti could not show his best form at the WC in Antwerp, but has recovered from a small hickup. The Italian won a tournament in Cetinje, Montenegro, this weekend: final game, 40 points, 16 innings.
Eddy Leppens was one of the best players in the bundesliga with a 40 carom match in 18 innings.
Jérémy Bury played a tournament in his home land this weekend and was surprisingly beaten by Jean Reverchon in the quarter finals. The long artistic specialist won the tournament in the final against Pierre Soumagne.