The Agipi team has made history in the world of three cushion billiards by winning the European Team Club Championships for the fourth consecutive time. The team consisting of two world champions Frédéric Caudron and Marco Zanetti and the two french champions Jérémy Bury and Christophe Duval, won a very hard fought final against Futbol Club de Porto.
As Daniel Sanchez and Torbjörn Blomdahl were in the Portuguese legions, FC Porto was never to be a severe underdog. In the first session, the first point was booked by Jérémy Bury who played an excellent match against Rui Costa, scoring heavily and leaving no doubt about his ambitions. After that it was Santos Olivieira though to silence the crowd. With the score 1-1 after the first session, the big guns would be lining up for the second. Marco Zanetti versus Daniel Sanchez and Frédéric Caudron versus Torbjörn Blomdahl, a feast for the spectators and the people watching the livestream at home made by kozoom.
In the case of an even count in the final match, set scores were to define the winner. With even set scores, number of points made in the final was to be the criteria. With this ruling, Porto needed both a Blomdahl as a Sanchez win. The matches turned out to be very hard fought five setters. Nobody made any high runs, as nerves were coming into play, every point was hard fought.
Caudron was playing confident against Blomdahl and in total control of the match. In the fourth set though, with a score of two sets to one, Caudron misses a very makeable ball.
Blomdahl took control and forced play in a decisive fifth set. In the mean time Zanetti forced a five set as well. Even though Sanchez was playing a good tournament and scoring the biggest of everyone, Zanetti stuck to him like a Pitbull. The Spanish-Italian encounter never came to an end though. Caudron regained control over the match in the fifth set and drew to quick ending.
As Zanetti and Sanchez were watching Caudron hit his fiftheenth carom in the fifth set of the final to lead the Agipi team towards their fourth European title.
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Photo courtesy of JP Parmentier
