HO CHI MINH CITY - He is named after the famous cyclist Eddy Merckx, who with 525 victories in his career was nicknamed The Cannibal and is the best cyclist of all time. The 53-year-old billiard player Eddy Merckx is a ruthless killer as well, he is fabulous in final matches and almost unbeatable in matches where World Cup gold is at stake. Eddy Merckx was in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, for the 13th time in a World Cup final this Sunday afternoon. He won for the 12th time, now against Italian Marco Zanetti in the final, 50-42 in 23 innings. The Belgian's victory was the climax of a miraculous World Cup, in which he had started with two losses and felt poorly due to a sudden intestinal ailment he got after arriving in Ho Chi Minh. ''I felt weak, had no strength and felt too bad to play billiards'', Merckx said after those first, almost hopeless performances. The 'miracle of Merckx' took place in his next match, which he had to win convincingly to not silently disappear from the World Cup. He won the match on willpower, advanced to the knock-out rounds and began a triumph march that resulted in his 12th World Cup victory on Sunday afternoon.
With a garland of flowers, after an exceptional jump of joy for Merckx in the arena, he stood on the top scaffold, flanked by three absolute European champions: Marco Zanetti, the number 2 of the World Cup, Dick Jaspers and Torbjörn Blomdahl. The pompous, golden cup protruded on the stage above the heads of the dignitaries, of whom Mr. Farouk Bark, the president of the world federation, made great compliments to the organization and the Vietnamese billiard fans.
On the final day, Eddy Merckx first beat Torbjörn Blomdahl, the most successful billiard player of this generation, 50-17 in the semi-final, then ran into Marco Zanetti, who beat Dick Jaspers, the number one in the world. And after his miraculous come-back in the previous days, Merckx brilliantly took victory in that Ho Chi Minh final.
The Belgian and Italian finalist remained in balance for a long time: Merckx led 14-8, Zanetti first 24-23, Merckx went over again with an 8 (33-30) and with small runs, the finish came in sight, which the Belgian reached with a last run of 3: 50-42 in 23/22, good for a 2.173 on average against 1.909 for Zanetti.
Eddy Merckx not only had to overcome his illness after a bad night on the day before the start, but was also under pressure because of his position in the rankings. ''I was playing with a lot of stress'', he said after the homage on the podium. ''There was a chance that I dropped out of the top next tournament, because I lost a lot of points. But now, I even climb into the top five, because it is all so close together. Of course, I am very happy that I can win this tournament at exactly the right moment.''
With his Belgian friends (Forthomme, Forton) at a Vietnamese terrace (''where for the first time on an evening it is not raining...'') Merckx looked back on his bizarre adventure. ''I seriously didn't feel well, with lots of muscle aches, bad stomach and tired after a sleepless night. Then, I also lost my first two games, but I kept believing in my. Chances. And fortunately, things went better, especially after a good night's sleep. I could do what has happened before in Ho Chi Minh, a few years ago. Then, I was also bad in the rankings and won the final against Blomdahl. And now, I win again in Ho Chi Minh, I can't believe it. So much pressure, so much tension and then I still win. I was lucky that I had a very good start twice on the final day, both against Blomdahl and Zanetti. That helped me twice, but of course I still had to finish it off.''
Merckx indeed rises with his 80 ranking points to fourth place following Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti and Quyet Chien Tran. Torbjörn Blomdahl has risen to tenth place. In the final ranking in Ho Chi Minh, Merckx finished with a 1.898 average ahead of Zanetti with 1.802, Jaspers with 2.101 and Blomdahl with 1.703.
The top 8 of the ranking in Ho Chi Minh:
1 Eddy Merckx 1,898
2 Marco Zanetti 1,802
3 Dick Jaspers 2,101
3 Torbjörn Blomdahl 1,703
5 Hwang Bong-joo 1,612
6 Jérémy Bury 1,589
7 Dani Sanchez 1,952
8 Kim Jun-tae 1,926
Semi-finals
The stands were half filled with mostly young Vietnamese, the arena reserved for two European clashes on the early Sunday in the semi-finals. The memorable last day in the World Cup cycle laid out the runner for a generation of famous European champions, who had withstood the onslaught of all Asians and were fighting for gold and the top spots at stage on this final day.
Torbjörn Blomdahl and Eddy Merckx, before the start of Ho Chi Minh the numbers 13 and 8 in the ranking, launched the gala with a one-man show by the Belgian (50-17 in 19). Dick Jaspers and Marco Zanetti prepared for the prestige match between the numbers one and two of the world ranking list a little later in the Vietnamese afternoon.
Torbjörn Blomdahl had left a big impression with his victory over Vietnamese hero Quyet Chien Tran (50-15 in 20). Eddy Merckx, after a poor start after a short illness in the World Cup, outclassed Dani Sánchez in the previous round with a final run of 10 (50-40 in 15). The run-up seemed to guarantee a good fight between Blomdahl and Merckx. The reality was that Merckx, with a flashy start, decided the match in an early part.
The Belgian started 5-8-4-2 for a 32-11 lead in 10. Torbjörn was no shadow of the player who excelled on Saturday. The Swede's counter attacks were doomed to fail: Blomdahl stumbled over twos and threes, not nearly good enough to threaten Merckx, who reached 49 with a final run of seven and, after three misses, played out for the win with a wonderful bankshot: 50-17 in 19.
Torbjörn Blomdahl later looked back on his last performances: ''I had a bad start against Tran, but he didn't make much either. Then I could finish it off, with a bit of luck and with 38 in my last 9 innings. Sunday's start against Eddy was bad too, the difference was that Merckx was at 25-5 in 6 and he didn't offer me many chances in the second half. Congratulations to Eddy...''
The winner Eddy Merckx interviewed by the Asian media after his victory
Eddy Merckx, a comfortable win over Blomdahl in the semi final
Dick Jaspers and Marco Zanetti met in matches to 50 points in the World Cups of Ankara (semi-final) and Sharm El Sheikh (quarter-finals): both times Jaspers won, 50-40 and 50-48. The two coryphées, who have a lot of respect for each other, turned the tables in Ho Chi Minh. Marco Zanetti was the more cool-headed of the two eternal rivals now, Dick Jaspers, widely feared for his fatal sprints, this time lacked sharpness to keep the Italian from winning.
Zanetti was in balance with Jaspers for last at 13-13, then he went on the attack, which the Dutchman could not parry. Marco had his best part after five innings with 4-6-8 (31-23), made another five just before a series of misses by both players, with the red ball in a defensive phase stuck to the long rail. When Jaspers then only scored a two and a zero, Zanetti hit his stride with a final eight: 50-31 in 20.
Dick Jaspers' comment after the match: ''I lost to a very strong and powerful Zanetti, which I expected after a series of defeats against me. I was able to keep up until 20, but Marco made good use of every opportunity and was able to lock up the match for a while. He even played around 4 on average until 30, so he certainly won convincingly. I want to say that I feel very satisfied to have reached the podium here.''
Marco Zanetti, showing his joy after he beat Jaspers in the semi final
Marco Zanetti took his revenge in the match with Dick Jaspers
Eddy Merckx (54), two-time world champion, has won eleven World Cup finals in his career so far and lost one.
Marco Zanetti (60), two-time world champion, reached the final in a World Cup eleven times, winning three and losing eight.
The World Cup in Ho Chi Minh, the third of this year's cycle, was dominated by the Vietnamese players in the first phase. Ngoc Tri Nguyen, who later made it to the best 16 (where he lost to Dani Sánchez) was already the best in the first preliminary rounds. On the second day Than Luc Tran triumphed, followed on the third day by Korean Bong Joo Hwang, who even made it to the best eight, where he lost to Blomdahl.
Bong Joo Hwang was one of the starts who came from the prerounds and reached the final rounds
Jun Tae Kim was one of the most notable players in the tournament from the final qualifiers, knocking out HaengJik Kim 50-21 in 17 in a stunning match and losing to Zanetti one round later.
Lütfi Cenet was the best in the first round of the main tournament, but in the round with the best sixteen Cenet and Tayfun Tasdemir were the last Turks to leave the tournament. In the best eight, only Bong Joo Hwang and Jun Tae Kim were left from the Asians.
Dick Jaspers played the best match over 50 in this World Cup in the last eight against Jérémy Bury: 50-16 in 14. Eddy Merckx beat Dani Sánchez 50-40 in 15 (final run 10). The best run came from Sameh Sidhom with 16.
Sameh Sidhom, best run, Dick Jaspers, best match to 50 points
Torbjörn Blomdahl is leaving the arena cheering the Vietnamese crowd: ,,They were a wonderful audience.''
Full stands during the prerounds and on the final days
Very nice people in the stand, wonderful and friendly officials in Ho Chi Minh arena