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NEWS - 12-07-04 CEP Anniversary 8-Ball Open – German Final |
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During
the final matches of the Eurotour in Benalmádena, the 5th 8-ball jubilee
tournament of the Spanish federation CEP started at the same location with
more than 500 participants. Many participants of the Costa del Sol Open made
use of the opportunity and stayed a few days more. The tournament was played
on more than 30 7-feet tables and the 16 9-feet tables of the Eurotour. The
first two rounds were played in races to 6 in a double KO bracket and than
the tournament continued with the last 256 players in races to 7 in a single
KO bracket. In
round 1, I played R.R. Bueno from Spain and managed to win 6-2. In my second
match, I played D.M. Lafoz (ESP), won 6-0 and was qualified for the 256
bracket. My
first opponent in the KO bracket was A.H. Matas, the Spanish ladies champion.
She started without showing any respect and ran out the first table under
the frenetic cheers of the crowd. But then she could not keep her game on
this level and finally lost 2-7. I then had to play my fourth match at 01:15
a.m. on one of the 7-feet tables. This was sure an advantage for my opponent,
but after initial position problems, I found my pace and won 7-3 against
E.V. Costas (ESP). But lucky enough, I did not have to play further matches
on this bar box table. The next player from Spain on my road, M.O. Hernandez,
did not stand much of a chance and I won 7-0. In the round of the last 32
players, I faced F. Petroni from Italy. I continued where I had finished my
last match – and fully deserved to win 7-2. In the next round, D. M.
Alvarez from Spain was waiting for me and he fought a fierce fight before
giving in 4-7. Then I had to wait for more than two hours and started to be
tired. The night before, I could only sleep four hours and now, my
concentration started to diminish. I a weak quarter-final match which was
mainly characterized by many mistakes, I could win 7-5 against D. Skorput.
In the semi-finals, I played A.T. Fazanes, a good friend whom I got to know
many years ago at a tournament in the United States. The crowd (still some
200) tried to push their country fellowman to the final. At the beginning,
this seemed to work, but a missed 8 ball in the second rack turned the match
around. I played in a very focussed manner and entered the final against
Thomas Engert by winning 9-3. Engert had upset quite a number of high level
players (amongst which D. Peach, S. Tot and N. Feijen) on his way to the
final, but then he had to wait for more than three hours for his opponent.
He had already entered the final, while I just started my quarter-final,
because in my half of the bracket, we had heavy delays. |
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