(by Steve Hopkins)
The CCB Europe Top 16 Cup was held in this week in Montreux ,Switzerland. The event was originally launched in the 70s as a Top 12 event, but it has expanded to Top 16 – evening out the draw for the highest ranked 16 players on the Continent and providing all players the same number of matches without byes.
The top seed this year was Felix Lebrun. The other French player in the draw was Alexis Lebrun, and the two brothers were forced to face each other in the second round. Dang Qiu was the second seed and other big names included former Euro Cup winners Ovtcharov and Jorgic as well as Moregardh, Freitas, and Kallberg.
The first round proceeded largely by seed, making the Quarterfinal matchups Lebrun v. Lebrun, Moregardh v. Ovtcharov, Jorgic v. Kallberg, and Freitas v. Qiu. Alexis Lebrun upset his brother 4-2 to advance to the Semifinals. Truls Moregardh had a walkover when Ovtcharov hurt his shoulder. Jorgic defeated Kallberg 4-2, and Freitas upset Dang Qiu 4-2. With both of the top seeds gone, the two remaining highest seeds prevailed in the Semifinals – with Truls Moregardh topping Alexis Lebrun 4-1 and Darko Jorgic defeating Marcos Freitas 4-0. After Moregardh won the first game in the Finals, it was all Jorgic who ran off 4 in a row for the 4-1 win. Darko Jorgic is the Euro Cup winner for the second time.
On the Women’s side, the top two seeds (Bernadette Szocs and Sofia Polcanova) each advanced to the Semifinals. They were met by the third and fourth seeds (Nina Mittelham and Jia Nan Yuan). It was France’s Jia Nan Yuan (the 4th seed) who prevailed, coming from behind to defeat Szocs 4-3 (down 1-3, but winning 4-3), and then defeating Polcanova 4-3 (again, winning the final two games in convincing fashion to close out the match). Jia Nan Yuan is the Euro Cup winner.
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