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Backgammon NewsJune 28, 2009Summer of World Backgammon EventsThe Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship and the WSOB Cannes held sequentially on the last two weeks starting from July 12th until July 26th, marking the peak of backgammon events for 2009 summer, at least from the monetary viewpoint. 2009 World Backgammon Champion, Masayuki Mochizuki of Japan, won €62,160 and his WSOB equivalent, Najibulla Salamzy of Afghanistan/Germany, took home €18,000 and a free seat at the WSOB Prague in September and the WSOB championship in London at the end of October. And now for the details: Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship July 12-19, 2009Over 260 players attended the 34th Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship, 173 of them competed at the championship event. Since many players arrived straight from the World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas, the idea to drop the Monte Carlo tradition and move the backgammon world championship to Las Vegas, and at the same time, make additional changes in the 34 years old establishment, which was subtly described as unworthy of the investment it requires, especially from the American backgammon player point of view. By the fifth day of the Monte Carlo event, sixteen players remained from the 173 players, among them former world champion Jorge Pan, reigning champion Lars Trabolt and a group of unforeseeable names. They were reduced to eight following 21 point Crawford match, and then there were four: Masayuki Mochizuki vs. Phillippe Lecomte and Lars Trabolt against Roland Herrera. On first glance, it may seem like two uneven duos, yet both underdogs have fought tooth and nails but eventually lost to the future former champion and the world champion to be. WSOB Cannes July 21-26, 2009Team World CupThe third season of the World Series of Backgammon was opened with the first ever Team World Cup, with 16 teams of 2-4 players, paired randomly against each other, first for two clocked singles matches to 7 points, and later for double matches of 9 points after the teams unity starts falling apart. The top of the Team World event was a heads-on match between Falafel Natanzon of Israel and Masayuki Mochizuki of Japan, straight from the World Backgammon Championship crowning. The 7-points match consisted of 9 games and was eventually won by Mochy, while the Team World Cup was championed by the Armenian team with Vasgen Matevosyan, Artur Muradyan and Levon Petrosyan. WSOB Cannes 2009Only 74 players registered for the main event (as opposed to the 155 who played last year's Riviera Cup, which was then tied to the WSOB Championship), that begun on Thursday, at the third day of the entire event and lasted until Friday, when Najibulla (Najib) Salamzy of Germany with Afghan origins defeated Falafel at the final. |
