BRANDENBURG - The climax at the European championship in balk-line 47/2 turned into a fratricide with only one big winner. Swiss Xavier Gretillat beat his friend and team mate Willy Grémont with the maximum score of 250-0 in 3 innings. It was Gretillat's fifth European title in the balk-line games. The Frenchman took his first silver in a big championship. Gretillat's comment, "I am very sorry for my friend, but I still consider him the best French player in the classical games." Gérimont: "I was beaten by a player who deserved the win, because he was the very best in this final."
The golden match of the small balk-line took a strange course. Willy Gérimont missed the break shot, like so many players in this tournament. Xavier Gretillat replied with one, in the second inning both players missed, after which the Swiss reached the finish in one long run of 249. The Frenchman, who had been sitting on his chair for 1 hour and 20 minutes during the run, took a short stop, returned to the arena and again missed the break shot and he played more than ten centimetres too slow.
The two finalists, who had dinner together the night before the final, had imagined a more exciting final. In the previous days, Willy Gérimont played technically perfect runs over 200 and showed his best form. Apparently, the tension was too high for his first European final. ‘'I've not been able to take the few chances that I got." Xavier Gretillat replied, "For sure, I haven't played an easy run. The table is quite difficult and I often asked to clean the balls. But you still had to be very careful not to lose your position."
The Swiss police man, who is doing night shifts in his work, has to deal with his free days. "For a championship like this, or for a European Cup with Chartres, I have to take a holiday." Still, Gretillat has been a natural talent in the classical games for many years. He is not one of the fastest players, but extremely precise and solid in the subtle runs on the lines.
The balk-line 47/2 silently continued with the one cushion this Tuesday, in which Gretillat and Gérimont also belong to the field of 24 players. In the semi-finals of the 47/2, Willy Gérimont won against Raymund Swertz 250-4 in three. Xavier Gretillat defeated Eddy Leppens 250-31 in 2 innings.
Xavier Gretillat, during his long run in the final match
Willy Gérimont, 3 innings, no score