The Main Nue Individuel Elite Pro Championnat de France A and B competition is sponsored by the Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque (FFPB). The competition began on December 23, 2016 and will end on February 20, 2017. You can follow its progress here (link to "resultats" from the FFPB home page). Pelotelive.free.fr also provides A and B coverage. The tournament is a seeded ladder tournament.
* not listed on the Esku Pilota player pages at this time.
The A group consists of Antton Amulet, Philippe Bielle, Bixintxo Bilbao, Pascal de Ezcurra, Baptiste Ducassou, Peio Guichandut, Ximun Lambert, Peio Larralde, Matheiu Ospital, and Agusti Waltary. The seeds, from low to high are: Amulet and Ospital (1/8), Bilbao and Waltary (Quarter-finals), and Larralde and Ducassou ("Liguilla").
The B group consists of Gregory Aguirre, Jean-Philippe Benesse, Mickael Darmendrail, Vincent Elgart, Julien Etchegaray, Alexis Inchauspe, Laurent Lambert, Cedric Lucu, Alain Migueltorena, Antton Monce, Mattin Olcomendy*, and Mickael Palomes. The seeds, from low to high are: Darmendrail and L. Lambert (1/8), Palomes and Inchauspe (Quarter-finals), and Elgart and Monce ("Liguilla"). Note: Benesse was added to the Esku Pilota player pages sometime in January 2017.
The "Liguilla" phase is a round robin among the top 4 finishers (two who win their way in and two who are seeded in) which will determine the finalists.
Article describing the competition (Esku Pilota)
December 23 2016-January 2, 2017; January 6, 2017; January 9, 2017; January 14, 2017; January 16, 2017 ; January 20, 2017 ; January 21, 2017 ; January 23, 2017
Liguilla Semi-final Round 1-January 29-30, 2017
Liguilla Semi-final Round 2--February 3-6, 2017
The finals of the tournament began to come into focus after a long weekend of Round 2 Liguilla action. The matches were supposed to take place at Arcangues on February 3 and Armendaritz on February 5. The second Armendaritz match, a Liguilla Group A match between Ospital and Bilbao, had to be postponed due to condensation on the trinquet floor after a heavy storm. It was played on Monday, February 6 at Le Garat.
Ducassou (Group A) and Elgart (Group B) won matches that guaranteed them places in the final. Bilbao (Group A) and Benesse (Group B) suffered losses that eliminated them from the competition. The two remaining final places will be decided this Sunday at Irissarry between Etchegaray and Monce in Group B, followed by the Group A match between Larralde and Ospital.
Table after Round 2:
Groupe A.
Ducassou.2-0...(+35)
Larralde...1-1...(-2)
Ospital.....1-1...(-11)
Bilbao......0-2...(-22)
Groupe B
Elgart..............2-0....(+26)
Monce.............1-1....(0)
Etchegaray......1-1.....(-3)
Benesse...........0-2....(-23)
February 3, 2017
Arcangues (1) (2)
Preview article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
1. Groupe B: Etchegaray defeated Benesse 40-29
2. Groupe A: Ducassou defeated Larralde 40-28
Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
Match article for both matches, along with an audio interview with Baptiste Ducassou (Esku Pilota).
1. Etchegaray v Benesse
Partial linescore (winner always listed 1st) (source: both match articles)
0-7; 7-16; 18-16; 40-29
After getting off to a terrible start, Etchegary pulled the match back in his favor with an 11 point run, negating Benesse's 7 point run to start the match. Benesse never recovered and Etchegaray pulled away to win the match easily.
2. Ducassou v Larralde
Partial linescore (winner always listed first) (source: both match articles)
10-10, 17-10, 20-16, 25-19, 29-19, 40-28
In the marquee match of the tournament so far, Ducassou broke through with a 7 point run in the 3rd decade of the match and slowly expanded his lead to cruise to victory.
February 5, 2017
Elhina, Amindaritz (1) (2)
Preview articles for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
1. Groupe B: Elgart defeated Monce 40-28
2. Groupe A: Ospital v Bilbao was postponed.
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
The article also explains (in words and a photo) the circumstances surrounding the postponement.
Match article (Esku Pilota)
Match statistics (Esku Pilota, Spreadsheet format) (added February 10, 2017).
Elgart v Monce
Partial linescore (winner always listed 1st) (source: both match articles)
14-14; 20-15; 20-16; 25-19; 30-19; 37-24; 37-28; 40-28
Note: the 20-15 point ended with Elgart falling on the wet floor and losing the point. The match was delayed 45 minutes at that point.
A 16-5 run in the middle of the match put Elgart in command. From there he stumbled slightly, but then recovered to win.
February 6, 2017
Le Garat, St. Jean-Pied-de-Port (1) (2)
Ospital defeated Bilbao 40-28
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
Match article (Esku Pilota)
Match statistics (Esku Pilota, Spreadsheet format) (added February 10, 2017).
Partial linescore (winner always listed 1st) (source: both match articles)
12-12; 40-28
Ospital got up off the floor after a massive defeat at the hands of Ducassou last weekend at Le Garat and, after a competitive start, took the match over and won easily.
For cumulative records of Main Nue elite professionals see the "Cumulative records of EP players" on the recurring results page on the right side of the blog.
