The 45th meeting of the Marseillaise was won by my friend and partner from Marseille, Kader Benefissa. Kader teamed with the Dubois brothers, Antoine and Joseph, who hail from Nimes. Benefissa-Dubois-Dubois defeated the team of Michel Schatz ("Passo"), Jean-Pierre Daudet, and Jean-Yves Bettoni, 13-10, after falling behind early, 10-1! The result means that Passo and Daudet have lost three finals in a row (2004, 2005, 2006), an extraordinary record (if unhappy, since neither has won the championship).
For Martha's photos of the semi-finals from the Old Port.
In 2006, I pointed for Marco Gouast, who played middle, and our shooter, Lucien. We lost in the sixth game — the 1/64 finals (the round of 128) — 10-13, to a team led by Donald Weiss. At 10-8 in our favor, we had the point on the ground with three balls in hand, our opponents out; we shot to win, hit, but also took the bouchon back to give our opponents two points. They then made three points in the next round and we were done. Weiss' team made it to the 1/8 finals, losing to the eventual semi-finalists, Karim Kourane-Gilbert Noguéra-Daniel Hernandez on the last ball, 13-12. (Two weeks later, Weiss would lose in the semi-finals in the 2006 French Doubles Championship, to Philippe Quintais and Henri Lacroix). I was the last foreign licensed player to in the championship, and I received 100 Euros in prizes.
For some of Martha Lewis's favorite photos of the 2006 Marseillaise, Part 1 & Part 2. These pictures give some idea of the ambiance and playing conditions at the Park Borély.
