6thMERITOpenInternationalBackgammonChampionship

6thIonRessuMemorialDoubles30thOctober–4thNovember,2018

MeritParkHotel&Casino-Girne/Kyrenia(KKTC)

Winnertakes69.000€(includinganaddedof12.000€)Totalmoneydistribution465.420€

(including3Super-Jackpots,389Jackpotsandanaddedof40.300€)

MarcoFornasir,GeneralSecretaryoftheWorldwideBackgammonFederation,hasthepleasuretoannouncetheresultsoftheTournament

Masterflight-358players

Mainwinner(17–16|9-7) FranckStepler|FranceMainFinalist AurelienBonnet|France3rdplace LarsTrabolt|Denmark

OfirBalali|IsraelAbdullahSorgüven|TurkeyRalfJonas|GermanyMichaelLarsen|DenmarkKatalinVeszeli|HungaryJanJacobowitz|GermanyTobiasHellwag|GermanyJanneBergström|SwedenRoohollahAmiriAndy|IranDimitriosManganas|GreeceConnyEriksson|SwedenRajJansari|UKStephaneCheneviere|FranceRecepUral|TurkeyMårtenHowe|SwedenTomZarrinnam|USA

4thplace5thplace6thplace7thplace8thplace9/12thplace9/12thplace9/12thplace9/12thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace13/20thplace SoinguliAmirov|Georgia

Lastchancewinner JalilKhalili|IranLastchanceFinalist MarcFerrin|USALastchanceSemi-Finalist IbrahimKaraca|TurkeyLastchanceSemi-Finalist TimurBulekbaev|Russia

LadiesPrize KatalinVeszeli|Hungary

MasterDoubles–154teams

Doubleswinners OlivierDecultot|France/AlainBabillon|FranceDoublesFinalists ThomasRönn|Sweden/JanneBergström|SwedenDoublessemi-Finalists EliRoymi|Israel/IsraelYacobov|IsraelDoublessemi-Finalists GerhardJanotta|Germany/MarkusRindisbacher|

Switzerland

Intermediateflight-174players

Mainwinner(13–10) PaulSchlegel|GermanyMainFinalist GelaMetskhvarishvili|Georgia3rdplace LevonKamalyan|Armenia

AshkanYahyazadeh|IranPedroRocadeTogores|SpainArefDarvish|IranOliverPlaehn|GermanyYilmazKurtay|Turkey

4thplace5thplace6thplace7thplace8thplace9thplace ZoranKrogstad|Norway10thplace PayamPasha|Iran11thplace JuanPabloPieroni|Argentina12thplace BogdanConstantinoiu|Romania

Lastchancewinner JordanKirchev|BulgariaLastchanceFinalist TomerWisbord|IsraelLastchanceSemi-Finalist CemalettinKarakütük|TurkeyLastchanceSemi-Finalist RuslanMialeshka|Belarus

LadiesPrize JuliyaGromenkova|Russia

Super-Jackpot1-32playersWinner MikaelWesterlund|SwedenFinalist KanadeKubota|JapanSemi-Finalist DagfinnSnarheim|NorwaySemi-Finalist YoshiNakamura|Japan

Super-Jackpot2-32playersWinner ShahabGhodsi|IranFinalist WernerSchmucki|AustriaSemi-Finalist TilmanSöhnchen|GermanySemi-Finalist MetinÇubuk|Turkey

Super-Jackpot3-16playersWinner GavrielMenasherov|IsraelFinalist MasayukiMochizuki|JapanSemi-Finalist StuartDunkin|USASemi-Finalist ThomasKazemieh|Germany

LadiesTournament-64playersWinner(9-6) AnnelieSkoglund|SwedenFinalist AlexandraKnupfer|Romania/SwitzerlandSemi-Finalist KarinaLanghoffdeTurah|DenmarkSemi-Finalist AnnMaibrittEhlers|Denmark

Warm-up869BG-256playersWinner YoshiyukiNakamura|JapanFinalist ShayAsraff|USASemi-Finalist ÇumhurBektüre|TurkeySemi-Finalist YurikoYamamoto|Japan

Speedgammon-128playersWinner HonzaCerny|CzechRepublikFinalist KenjiShimodaira|JapanSemi-Finalist HonzaCerny|CzechRepublikSemi-Finalist GötzHildsberg|Germany

OnePointMatch-128playersWinner AlainBabillon|FranceFinalist IrakliJashi|GeorgiaSemi-Finalist TobiasSchön|GermanySemi-Finalist HamidrezaArdalani|Iran

Mochy’sQuiz–163playersBestspeaker ZdenekZizka|CzechRepublikWinner YuriNakamura|JapanFinalist HenningFrick|GermanySemi-Finalist ShahabGhodsi|IranSemi-Finalist KazukiYokota|Japan

BMABEvent–16playersWinner AdrianNedelcu|USA|AustriaPRWinner ToniBernaba|Lebanon

WetGammon–UnderwaterBackgammononepointevent–14playersWinner TimLine|UKFinalist MariusCorneliuVeres|RomaniaSemi-Finalist SükrüYurttekin|TurkeySemi-Finalist KlausSwiton|Denmark

Data&Numbers

Master:358playersIntermediate:174playersPlayernotparticipatinginthemainflights:20(8Doubles;12Ladies)Total552players

43Countries:Afghanistan,Albania,Argentina,Armenia,Austria,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Belgium,Brazil,Bulgaria,Canada,CzechRepublic,Denmark,Finland,France,Georgia,Germany,Gibraltar,Greece,Hungary,Iran,Israel,Italy,Japan,KKTC,Lebanon,Luxembourg,Macedonia,Malta,Netherlands,Norway,Philippines,Romania,Russia,SouthAfrica,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Thailand,Turkey,UK,Ukraine,USA

Directors:MarcoFornasir|Italy-ArdaFindikoglu|TurkeyTournamentCommittee:JohnBroomfield|UK(president);SergeyErokhin|Russia;NodariGagua|Georgia;JörgenGranstedt|Sweden;ShimonKagan|Israel;MichihitoKageyama|Japan;JalilKhalili|Iran;YiorgosKleitsas|Greece;PetkoKostadinov|Bulgaria/USA;RicardoMalas|Lebanon;IanMacFarlane|Brazil;AbdullahSorgüven|Turkey;RainerWitt| Germany

WBFWorldwideBackgammonFederation

6thIonRessuMemorialDoubles

154Teamsx400€=61.600€+6.000€added=67.600€Winnerteam34.000€Finalistteam16.800€

Semi-Finalistteam8.400€Semi-Finalistteam8.400€

MERITDoublesChampionsF.1MasterOlivierDécultot/AlainBabillon|France

MERITDoublesFinalistsF.1Master

ThomasRönn/JanneBergström|Sweden

MERITDoublesSemi-FinalistsF.1MasterEliRoymi/IsraelYacobov|Israel

MERITDoublesSemi-FinalistsF.1MasterGerhardJanotta|Germany/MarkusRindisbacher|Switzerland