SCHILTIGHEIM/BRANDENBURG - Two players are responsible for most of the highlights in three cushion the first part of 2013 in cushion. Marco Zanetti marks the early months of the year with some fantastic wins, followed by his team mate Frédéric Caudron.
The Italian shines as never before. After his defeat in the World Cup in Antalya (loss against Dick Jaspers) he wins all the main tournaments: the Lausanne Billiard Masters, the Agipi Masters and the European championships in Brandenburg.
It are not the easiest victories, because he has to fight with Caudron all the time. The best performance of all: Caudron who equaled the world record run at the EC (28), but Zanetti still wins the match.
Frédéric Caudron is the most consistent player in the professional circuit already for years. After a shaky start (first round off in Antalya), he finds his form and his rhythm to increase his level.
The first highlight is the match in the preliminary round of the Agipi Masters against Dick Jaspers and later the match in the semifinals in Brandenburg against Zanetti, the unforgettable moments in the series of highlights in the first half of this year.
The most impressive results, tournaments and averages:
January 25 to 27:
Agipi preliminary round Group A
The French tournament starts off with the first round, in which Group A and B play simultaneously. A week later Group C and D battle for qualification.
The strong Tayfun Tasdemir wins in A ahead of Marco Zanetti. Both qualify for the final. The level is very high: Tasdemir ends with 2.326, Zanetti 2.124. Kasidokostas is outplayed with 2.076.
More galling is the elimination of Torbjörn Blomdahl, the defending champion, who is fourth and only wins against Jean Christophe Roux.
Agipi group B
Even higher is the level in Group B, where an incredible overall average is played: 2.024. Dani Sánchez surpasses everyone with a final average of 2.469. He qualifies with Jae Ho Cho. Kyung-Roul Kim is eliminated with 2.313.
February 1 to 3:
Agipi group C
The Turk Cenet is the winner ahead of Martin Horn, the number three in the previous year. The German must duel in the last match with world champion Eddy Merckx, who loses 50-48 and misses the final round.
Agipi group D
Frédéric Caudron closes the preliminary round with an even better average than Dani Sánchez: 2.500. The Belgian plays an incredible game against Dick Jaspers, on Sunday morning. Caudron comes back from a hopeless disadvantage (44-7) and ultimately wins in 24 innings.
Jaspers is the second finisher. Eddy Leppens with is outplayed with an average of 2.000 by Sung-Won Choi, the Agipi winner two years earlier.
February 11 to 17:
World Cup in Antalya:
Podium: 1 Blomdahl, 2 Bury, 3 Jaspers and Merckx.
Seven players play over two average, Dick Jaspers is the highest with 2.466. Total of 196 participants. Best match Eddy Merckx, 40 caroms in 7 innings. Caudron is eliminated in the first round by Ahmet Alp.
February 21 to 24:
World championship national teams in Viersen
Podium: 1 Belgium A, 2 Germany A, 3 Korea and Turkey
The 24 teams are playing at the World championships for national teams for the 27th time and for the 24th time in Viersen. The Belgian team with Merckx and Caudron defends the title successfully and beats the homeland Germany. Record champion Sweden is seventeenth. Best match: Dick Jaspers, 30 caroms in 7 with a high run of 22.
March 15 to 17:
Lausanne Billiard Masters
Podium: 1 Zanetti, 2 Caudron, 3 Blomdahl
The tournament is organized for the first time, in a flawless entourage, in the Casino of Lausanne. Zanetti starts his incredible victory march. Final against Torbjörn Blomdahl, 40-33 in 17/16 innings. Blomdahl is the only player over 2 average.
March 21 to 24:
Agipi Masters final:
Podium: 1 Zanetti, 2 Caudron, 3 Jaspers
The Agipi Masters, held in Strasbourg, Alsace, remains the most important tournament for the top players after the World championship. No tournament on the calendar is so attractive due to the prize money.
A week after his victory in Lausanne, Zanetti shows again his brilliant form. For the first time he wins the tournament in the billiard room where he feels at home. Zanetti beats his leader in the Agipi team, Frédéric Caudron.
The semi-final is sensational: Zanetti beats Jaspers after trailing 38-12 in fifteen innings. With runs of 9 and 16 he closes the gap to finally finish with a lucky shot.
Caudron, Sánchez, Kim, Kasidokostas and Leppens finish over two average.
The success of Marco Zanetti is a tribute to Claude Fath, the founder of the Masters, who first sees his friend prevail.
April 5 to 7:
European championship classic disciplines in Soissons (France)
Podium: 1 Etikon (Ned), 2 DBC Bochum (German) 3 Anag (Czech)
The defending champion wins the 2013 edition in the usual line-up with Henri Tilleman (47/2), Patrick Niessen (71/2) and Jean-Paul de Bruijn (one cushion). DBC Bochum is second ahead of Czech team Anag. The hosting France teams end on the positions 4 to 6.
April 12 to 21:
European championships in Brandenburg
The first European championship in this form has been received as a great success. The organization shows to be ready for the huge challenge. It’s a fantastic promotion for the carom sport. Kozoom provides the images of all the matches all over the world.
The audience witnesses the victory of Marco Zanetti in the first weekend, for sure it is the highlight of the year. The Italian starts as the favorite and is brilliant in his race to the final.
On his way he defeats Dick Jaspers, as in the Agipi tournament. And in the semifinals Frédéric Caudron has to bow for his opponent after an incredible comeback of the Italian.
The Belgian makes a 28 run in the sixth inning, an equaling of the world record. Zanetti is leading 15-3 at the moment of the huge run. After the break Zanetti fights back and wins the match 40-37 in 12 innings.
The final against the surprising Christian Rudolph is a formality. Zanetti wins in 18 innings with 2.222 average.
Zanetti’s average over the whole tournament is a European record: 2.500 average.
The big winner in the tournament is the Dutch team with 18 medals, including seven European titles and a victory in the battle for national teams against Belgium (Jaspers and Burgman). The Belgians are second in the medal table for Italy.
Raymond Swertz is the two-time European champion in the balk-lines.
May 3 to 5
Femina Open in Halle-Zoersel, Belgium
Podium: 1 Klompenhouwer, 2 Natsumi Higashuchi, 3 Jetten
Sovereign victory for the freshly crowned European champion, a successful revenge for the World championship. World champion Natsumi Higashuchi (Japan) is fourth.
The tournament, with 20 players from 9 countries, is praised for the perfect organization.
June 6 to 9
European Cup final for club teams in Schiltigheim
Podium: 1 BBSK (Turk), 2 Agipi (Frace), 3 Andernos (France) and Coral Colon (Spain)
The changing of the guards, after seven golden years of the almost unbeatable Agipi team. The team with Frédéric Caudron and Marco Zanetti as his leaders plays a solid tournament and then meets the Turkey’s topteam in the final.
BBSK shows itself the best: the line-up of the winners is too strong for the competitors on the positions three and four with Adnan Yüksel and Murat Naci Coklu.
Lütfi Cenet and Tayfun Tasdemir top off the success of the team.
Torbjörn Blomdahl sparkles in the group stage with a run of 22.
June 28 to 30
CEB Grand Prix balk-line 71/2 in Ronchin
Podium 1 Caudron, 2 Niessen, 3 Faus and Garcia
Double Belgian victory with Frédéric Caudron and Patrick Niessen, with a total of 27 participants.
Caudron ends 64.70 average and is the mayor player together with Niessen. Kozoom Competition makes its debut with the registration of results, rankings and playing times. The system records for Caudron a playing average of 338 caroms per hour.
June 26 to 30
Pan American Championships in Cali.
Podium: 1 Pedro Piedrabuena, 2 Huberney Catano, 3 Alexander Salazar, 4 Cesar Garzón.
Pedro Piedrabuena wins his second title in the Pan Americans with a victory in the final over Huberney Catano. Seven Colombians end in the last eight.
Piedrabuena beats Huberney Catano in the final 40-33 in 27 innings. The American ends with a record average of 1.687.