LA BAULE - The World Cup circuit returns to French ground for the first time after many years. The Frenchman Joel Switala is the promoter and organizer of the sixth World Cup this year in La Baule on the Atlantic coast. The top twelve of the world, led by Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti and Dani Sánchez, couldn't wish a better preparation for the World championship three cushion, which is played in Bordeaux one month later.
Who can stop Jérémy Bury's winning streak in this new WC tournament from 24 to 30 October? The Frenchman, who seemed unbeatable on the global stage this summer, is one of the favorites to win this season's sixth World Cup showing his excellent form and confidence already for months. The world top of three-cushion, at full strength, is preparing for another attack on Bury's status in the gorgeous town on the Cote d'Amour.
The French champion doesn't want to put too much pressure on himself before the start. He knows that there are so many players who can win big tournaments and doesn't want to make a prediction. ,,It is a huge pleasure to play a World Cup for the first time in my country, especially in La Baule which is my new club where I play the French league. This is a very nice city where, for sure, everybody will feel good!''
The world's top twelve, headed by Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers and Marco Zanetti, couldn't wish for a better preparation in the run-up to the World championship, one month later in Bordeaux. The differences on top of the ranking are minimal: Caudron leads by 404 points, followed by Blomdahl 376, Jaspers 341 and Eddy Merckx 327 points.
The well known French player and billiard promoter Joel Switala made sure that his country returned to the World Cup calendar after a long absence. Ten years ago, Switala already planned to organize an international tournament. And finally the 63-year-old organizer has realized his dream: the sixth World Cup in the cycle this year in La Baule with its population of 14.000, near to the Atlantic coast and its ten kilometers long boulevard. The world top and a maximum field of participants in the preliminaries gather from 24 until 30 October in the fashionable city for another showdown. The venue is the Complex Sportive des Salines.
With two World championships in a row in Bordeaux and the World Cup in La Baule, France is back in the international spotlight. In the long World Cup history since 1986, Raymond Ceulemans was the last winner in France, in Orleans 1992. Before that, four World Cups were held in Paris, three times won by Raymond Ceulemans and once by Torbjörn Blomdahl.
Two protagonists in Joel Switala's top team in the French league, Frédéric Caudron and Jérémy Bury, are starting of as the favorites for the win. The Belgian as the world's number one and winner of two previous World Cups this year. Jérémy Bury climbed to the top ten of the world ranking with his victory in the last World Cup in Guri. He was a finalist in the World Cup in Luxor (winner Eddy Merckx) and won the prestigious Verhoeven Open tournament in New York.
Joel Switala, the organizer and promotor during one of his World Cup performances
Joel Switala, born in Vendôme in 1953, married to Laurence and father of two daughters, is a billiard player for 47 years. He played for many clubs and is the chairman of La Baule now. The Frenchman is well known in the world of three cushion. He was the sponsor of strong teams with Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers, Ludo Dielis, Semih Saygıner, Raymond and Peter Ceulemans, Richard Bitalis and Tayfun Tasdemir from 2002 until 2008. He participated in 21 World Cups all over the world and played six times in the Carom Cafe in New York.
,,I already had the idea of organizing a World Cup in 2005, when I played my first World Cup in Sluiskil'', says Switala. ,,This is a great challenge for us. We will first take stock after this year, then I'll see if we continue to organize.''
The World Cup in La Baule will be played in an arena in La Baule with a capacity of 1200 spectators. Thirty people are involved in the preparation and organization. The city government, in addition, will give its full cooperation with the technical service.
The twelve seeded players are Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti, Dani Sánchez, Sameh Sidhom, Nikos Polychronopoulos, Jae Ho Cho, Dong Koong Kang, Roland Forthomme and Haeng Jik Kim. The wildcards are given to Jérémy Bury, who was not yet a top twelve player at the time of the classification, the other four are handed to Javier Teran (Ecuador), Choong-Bok Lee (South Korea), Zayed Mohamed (Egypt) and Jérôme Barbeillon (France).
Jérémy Bury, this summer's star in three cushion, now playing for his own crowd in La Baule
The registration for the tournament was fully booked within a few hours after the opening with the maximum number of 150 participants on the entry list. The first round starts on Monday, October 24th at 11.00. The main tournament with 32 players will start on Friday, the semi-finals are Sunday at 13.30, the final 17.00.
The top guns of three cushion are ready to take the fight. The UMB, together with Joel Switala and his team, invite you to come to La Baule or watch all the matches live on Kozoom.