Saturday 11 June 2011

Day 5 - The heat is on

By the time I arrived for my match at 1pm my friend John McIntyre had already lost to the strong potter from Israel Ygal Pagliari. It leaves things difficult now for John, and he needs to secure a victory quickly. I had a good match against Gilles Grzeskowiak of France. My cue action felt light and effortless and for the first time this week I started to see the balls better. It was just as well because my opponent is a very strong player, as he demonstrated in the first frame which he won easily.

The second frame was a tight affair and could have went either way. In the end it came down to the pink ball and Gilles played a good safety with cue ball in baulk around the green spot and the pink just below the right hand middle, tight on the cushion. I instinctively saw the opportunity for a 'double' into the left corner and deliberatly punched the cue ball with some top and right hand side to make sure the cue ball ended up in a safe position. The pink thundered in not even touching the sides of the pocket, 1-1. This allowed me to get into the match and I won the next two frames comfortably enough. That's now played three with one defeat and two victories.

It was then into the city for dinner and we stumbled upon the famouse Ale House in Sofia, where you litterally do away with the bartender and pour your own beer, at the table. The beer was good, the food disappointing.