Frédéric Caudron beats Zanetti and wins Kimchi

SEOUL - ,,Top form in billiards is unpredictable, the magic touch, it comes and goes.'' It's one of Frédéric Caudron’s sayings, because he knows better than anyone else the caprices of the table, the balls and the player himself. The Belgian top player never gets into predictions before a tournament or a match.

With a great final in the Kimchi tournament, won by Caudron (40-36 in 13 innings) against a fantastic playing Marco Zanetti, the Belgian proved that he has started the new season in and outstanding form.

Winner of the Superprestige in Lommel, winner in the top match in the Dutch league, in which he defeated Dick Jaspers with a big margin, two strong matches in the Guri World Cup against his countrymen Roland Forthomme and Eddy Leppens, both with 2.000 average, an incredible comeback against Dani Sánchez in the quarterfinals, eventually a tie 40-40 and won by penalties (5-2) by the Spaniard.

In the Kimchi tournament, Caudron was on a roll again, with great victories over Kyung Roul Kim in the quarterfinals (40-34 in 19), Eddy Merckx in the semifinals (40-29 in 14) and finally against Marco Zanetti in the final 40-36 in 13 innings.

,,My general average was 2.086 with a very good final day'', Caudron said. He scored 120 in 46 innings (40 in 19, 14 and 13). ,,I hope to keep the good form for the next tournament in greece!''

The Belgian had preserved the best for last in the house of one of his sponsors. Most of all, the run of sixteen in the final was a joy to behold. ,,I must say it was a super run, though I'm not used to say that about myself,'' Caudron responded after the match.

The tournament turned into a showdown with the best players: Caudron, Zanetti, Merckx and Sánchez. Caudron was the best again in the traditional Belgian classic against Merckx and decided the match in 14 innings. Zanetti did the same in his duel with Sánchez: 14 innings.

It was leading up to a thrilling final game, a clash between the two undisputed top players from the golden Agipi team. This time, Frédéric Caudron was the strongest with a stunning final shot.

The score sheet in the final match:

Caudron: 2-4-0-7-1-0-16-1-0-5-1-1-2

Zanetti: 7-7-0-1-2-1-7-2-1-6-2-0-0.