The competition begins with a round robin League in both groups. The fifth place finishers in each group are eliminated. Then the 1st place finisher in Group B plays against the 4th place finisher in Group A. The winner plays in the Group A Semi-finals as the #4 team. The loser plays in the Group B Semi-finals as the #2 team (if the A team is demoted). This is a twist that makes the competition very interesting. A Group B team has a chance to be promoted within the space of one competition. The semi-finals will be #1-#4 and #2-#3 in each group. The winners meet in Finals on April 28 (Group A) and May 5 (Group B).
Player profiles at Esku Pilota
Player profiles at Pilota Ttiki
Group A:
Augusti Waltary-Peio Guichandut (defending Champions)
Peio Larralde-Bixintxo Bilbao
Mathieu Ospital-Baptiste Ducassou (runner up and Champion respectively of recently concluded FFPB Main Nue Individuel Competition)
Julien Etchegaray-Ximun Lambert
Antton Monce-Thierry Harismendy
Group B:
Phillipe Bielle-Bixentxe Cubiat
Alexis Inchauspe (winner of Group B Main Nue Individuel)-Antton Amulet
Laurent Lambert (runner up of Group B Main Nue Individuel)-Cedric Lucu
Vincent Elgart-Mickael Palomes
Mattin-Olcomendy-Ion Iturbe
Note: Elgart and Iturbe were Group A players in the Individuel competition. Harismendy and Amulet did not play in the Individuel competition. Pascal de Ezcurra, Gregory Aguirre, and Mikael Darmendrail (all Group B Indviduel) are not playing in this championship.
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NOTE: RECORD OF PREVIOUS CHAMPIONSHIPS (2007-2018) IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.
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Qualification Round: Week 1; Week 2; Week 3; Week 4; Week 5 and Barrage: April 13, 2019: Group B #1 v Group A #4
Semi-Finals
Finals: Group A; Group B
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Competition preview article (Pilota Ttiki)
Qualification Round 5 and Barrage
Mathieu Ospital (avant-front court) missed the March 24 Group A qualification match between Ospital-Ducassou and Larralde-Bilbao. He was replaced by Mattin Olcomendy. Ospital also missed the March 31 qualification match. He was replaced by Maxime Etcheverry. He has, according to Pilota Ttiki, "mal aux mains" (sore hands). When he will return is unknown at this time.
Bixintxo Bilbao (arriere-back court did not play in his March 30 Group A match with Larralde v Waltary-Guichandut. He was replaced by Bixente Garat. He also did not play in the April 7 match v Etchegaray-X. Lambert. When he will return is unknown.
Update: April 18, 2019: Both Ospital and Bilbao are scheduled to play in the Semi-Finals later this week.
Barrage
April 13, 2019
Inchauspe-Amulet (#1 Group B (3-1 +22)24 Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Winners always listed first) (FFPB
1-1; 2-2; 2-5; 8-5; 12-6; 18-17; 32-17; 40-24
Partial scoring (FFPB)
Monce 7 service aces, Inchauspe 6
Match article (FFPB)
Since the FFPB began the Barrage (4th place Group A v 1st place Group B) in an effort to "spice up" the Tournament and give the B Group an extra added incentive, promotion within the course of a tournament, the B Group has never won.
In 2016: Etchegaray-Lazcano 40 L. Lambert de Ezcurra 25 (Pelotelive.free.fr match page, with FFB match article)
In 2017: Waltary-Guichandut 40 L. Lambert Palomes 36 (1) (2--video of the last 5 points, 4 won by Waltary to win--W-G continued on to the final--see below).
In 2018: Larralde-Iturbe 40 Elgart-Cubiat 31 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video).
Attendance was sparce at this match and the FFPB match article speculated that it might be because of the good weather outside, or it might be because of the history of these matches. In any case, there has still been no B Group win in these matches as M-H simply picked up the pace with a backbreaking 14 point run just when I-A could have equalized. From there they coasted home. The match is an interesting idea, but, given the records going in, the gulf between the A Group and B Group seems quite large. There isn't a large sample of results to make a definitive judgment, but it seems that the fans are well aware that there is little chance of a Group B win, and are voting with their feet. It will be interesting to see if this format is continued. For now, M-H's next matchup, with Larralde-Bilbao (coming back from his second injury in the last two months), stacks up to be a much more difficult assignment than this. The last time they played (see below under the Upcoming Match links) L-B won easily. As for I-A, they go back to #1 seed in Group B and will face Olcomendy-Iturbe, who beat them 40-35 on March 16, their only loss in Group B Qualification play.
In 2017: Waltary-Guichandut 40 L. Lambert Palomes 36 (1) (2--video of the last 5 points, 4 won by Waltary to win--W-G continued on to the final--see below).
In 2018: Larralde-Iturbe 40 Elgart-Cubiat 31 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video).
Attendance was sparce at this match and the FFPB match article speculated that it might be because of the good weather outside, or it might be because of the history of these matches. In any case, there has still been no B Group win in these matches as M-H simply picked up the pace with a backbreaking 14 point run just when I-A could have equalized. From there they coasted home. The match is an interesting idea, but, given the records going in, the gulf between the A Group and B Group seems quite large. There isn't a large sample of results to make a definitive judgment, but it seems that the fans are well aware that there is little chance of a Group B win, and are voting with their feet. It will be interesting to see if this format is continued. For now, M-H's next matchup, with Larralde-Bilbao (coming back from his second injury in the last two months), stacks up to be a much more difficult assignment than this. The last time they played (see below under the Upcoming Match links) L-B won easily. As for I-A, they go back to #1 seed in Group B and will face Olcomendy-Iturbe, who beat them 40-35 on March 16, their only loss in Group B Qualification play.
Qualification Week 5
April 8, 2019
Source for both April 8 scores: Esku Pilota Resultats
Group A
Monce-Harismendy (1-3 -45) 8 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)
Info Garazi Youtube (extensive highlights)
Selected linescore (winners always listed first):
Decades: 8-2; 16-4; 25-6; 33-7
Scoring:
Waltary +24 (including 15 service aces and 1 direct point) -2; Guichandut +6 (incl. 3 direct points) -3
Monce +1 (1 direct point) -2; Harismendy +2 (incl. 1 direct point) -8
Time of match: 45 minutes 45 seconds
Actual playing time: 20 minutes 45 seconds (Henry Ocafrain, Goizeko Izzara)
Defending FFPB Championnat de France par Equipes (pairs) champions, Group A Waltary-Guichandut were faced with a match on April 8 that, had they lost, would have sent them into a "Barrage" match against the winners of the B Group. If they lost that match, W-G would be demoted to the B Group Semi-finals. They were having none of it, destroying Monce-Harismendy 40-8 at Le Garate. Waltary's contribution was +24 (including 15 service aces and 1 direct point) -2. W-G took leads of 8-2; 16-4; 25-6; and 33-7. Needless to say, M-H will play in the Barrage match. For the qualification round, Waltary had 37 service aces in 4 games, 13 more than Peio Larralde, who was second in the group. At age 39, he still has the most lethal serve in Main Nue. Their Semi-final will be against Ospital (coming back from a hand injury)-Ducassou. O-D won a "cliff-hanger" in the Qualification match between the two teams on March 11.
Defending FFPB Championnat de France par Equipes (pairs) champions, Group A Waltary-Guichandut were faced with a match on April 8 that, had they lost, would have sent them into a "Barrage" match against the winners of the B Group. If they lost that match, W-G would be demoted to the B Group Semi-finals. They were having none of it, destroying Monce-Harismendy 40-8 at Le Garate. Waltary's contribution was +24 (including 15 service aces and 1 direct point) -2. W-G took leads of 8-2; 16-4; 25-6; and 33-7. Needless to say, M-H will play in the Barrage match. For the qualification round, Waltary had 37 service aces in 4 games, 13 more than Peio Larralde, who was second in the group. At age 39, he still has the most lethal serve in Main Nue. Their Semi-final will be against Ospital (coming back from a hand injury)-Ducassou. O-D won a "cliff-hanger" in the Qualification match between the two teams on March 11.
Group B
Elgart-Palomes (2-2 +14) 29 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)
Info Garazi Youtube (extensive highlights)
Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (FFPB and Henry Ocafrain--Goizeko Izzara)
1-1; 2-2; 3-3; 12-3; 15-5; 16-14; 17-14; 24-16; 25-16; 31-18; 31-19; 37-20; 37-23; 37-27; 40-29
Scoring: (FFPB and Henry Ocafrain--Goizeko Izzara)
Inchauspe +21 (including 12 service aces and 2 direct points) -5; Amulet +5 (incl. 4 direct points) -7
Elgart +8 (incl. 2 aces and 4 direct points) -5; Palomes +9 (incl. 3 direct points) -9
Time of match: 1 hour 11 minutes 25 seconds
Time of play: 35 minutes 18 seconds
This was the match that determined first place in the Group and a Barrage match against the 4th place Group A finisher. I-A took a big lead on the back of a 12-2 run, but then E-P clawed back with a 9-1 run of their own. But I-A had another big run, 15-4, giving them a 13 point lead going into the last quarter of the match. They increased that and were ahead by 17, needing only 3 points to win. But E-P would not "go easily into the night." They put together a 10-0 run before I-A finally got over the line. Though the match played like a roller coaster ride, I-A were almost always in control. A big part of that was the magnificent effort by Inchauspe, +21, including 12 service aces and 2 direct points. The 12 aces gave him at least 39 (we have no data for the one match he played as a substitute in the A group) for the Qualification phase, most of any avant (front) in the tournament. The win also gave them a chance at promotion to the A Group finals, with a match against Monce-Harrismendy in the Barrage.
April 7, 2019
Group A
Etchegaray-X. Lambert (0-4 -78) 18 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
*Not on Esku Pilota or Pilota Ttiki player page.
Partial scoring:
Larralde 6 service aces, Etchegaray 3
This match was interesting if not competitive. Garat, substituting for the injured Bilbao for the second consecutive match, helped Larralde to an easy victory. This one was over a team whose only luck in this tournament has been bad luck, and lost all four of their matches, but last week L-G defeated Waltary-Guichandut by 40-25. In last week's summary, there are pointers to other Garat matches you can watch. As noted above, he isn't on the Elite Pro roster at present. That may change. Larralde-Bilbao will face whoever the fourth place team is after the Barrage match. If it is Monce-Harrismendy, L-B won easily in the Qualification match, by 40-19.
This match was interesting if not competitive. Garat, substituting for the injured Bilbao for the second consecutive match, helped Larralde to an easy victory. This one was over a team whose only luck in this tournament has been bad luck, and lost all four of their matches, but last week L-G defeated Waltary-Guichandut by 40-25. In last week's summary, there are pointers to other Garat matches you can watch. As noted above, he isn't on the Elite Pro roster at present. That may change. Larralde-Bilbao will face whoever the fourth place team is after the Barrage match. If it is Monce-Harrismendy, L-B won easily in the Qualification match, by 40-19.
Group B
Olcomendy-Iturbe (2-2 -14) 26 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (winners always listed first)
10-4; 21-9; 28-12; 28-19; 32-25; 40-26
Partial scoring: Bielle 6 service aces, Olcomendy 4
Both of these teams went into this match with a chance at a first place Group B finish, but only if Elgart-Palomes lost their match. B-C had won two very close matches coming in, so they needed not only to win, but to win big, to increase their net points. This they were able to do, but not without some mid-match fireworks from O-I that erased more than half of the 16 point lead B-C had built. But after getting within 7 points, B-C made sure O-I would get no further by ending the match with an emphatic 8-1 run. Both teams have made the Semi-finals. Only their opponents remain to be determined.
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Qualification Final Table: April 8, 2019
Group A
Larralde-Bilbao (4-0 +78)
Ospital-Ducassou (3-1 -3)
Waltary-Guichandut (2-2 +42)
Monce-Harrismendy (1-3 -39)
Etchegaray-X. Lambert (0-4 -78)
Larralde-Bilbao and Ospital-Ducassou advance to the Semi-finals. Monce-Harismendy finish 4th and must face Group B first 1st place Inchauspe-Amulet in a "barrage" match. The winner goes into the A tournament as 4th seed. The loser goes into the B Tournament as 2nd seed if the B team wins the barrage.
Group B:
Inchauspe-Amulet (3-1 +22)
Bielle-Cubiat (3-1 +11)
Elgart-Palomes (2-2 +14)
Olcomendy-Iturbe (2-2 -14)
L. Lambert-Lucu (0-4 -33)
The 4 Semi-finalists have been determined. Inchauspe-Amulet win the right to face Monce-Harismendy in a "barrage" match to determine who plays in which semi-final league.
Available cumulative scoring. Partial data is available for service aces during the Qualification phase. Service aces for Olcomendy and Inchauspe are provided for both A and B as they were substitutes in the A group. Source is FFPB match articles.
Through matches of April 8, 2019.
DNP: Did Not Play
NA: Not Available
Group A:
Waltary: 8; 9; 5, 15 = 37 (avg. 9.25)
Larralde: 10; 2; 6; 6= 24 (avg. 6)
Ospital: 8; 4; DNP; DNP= 12 (avg. 6)
Monce: NA; 2; 7; 0= 9 (avg. 3)
Etcheverry (sub for Ospital): 4
Etchegaray: DNP; 2; 1; 3= 6 (avg. 2)
Olcomendy (sub for Ospital): 3
Inchauspe: (sub for Etchegaray) NA
Group B:
Inchauspe: 8, 10, 9, 12= 39 (avg. 9.75)
Elgart: 12, 9, 3, 2= 26 (avg. 6.5)
Olcomendy: 5, 6, 9, 4= 24 (avg. 6)
Bielle: NA, 9, 7, 6= 16 (avg. 7.3)
L. Lambert: 1, 6, 8= 15 (avg. 5)
UPCOMING:
APRIL 19, 20, 2019
SEMI-FINALS
APRIL 19:
ANGLET
GROUP A:
OSPITAL-DUCASSOU (#2; 3-1; -3)
v
WALTARY-GUICHANDUT (#3; 2-2; +42)
March 11, 2019
O-D 40 W-G 38 (BLOG POST--LINK TO VIDEO--FIRST MATCH LISTED )
GROUP B:
BIELLE-CUBIAT (#2; 3-1; +11)
v
ELGART-PALOMES (#3; 2-2 +14)
March 23
B-C 40 E-P 37 (BLOG POST--LINK TO VIDEO--4TH MATCH LISTED)
APRIL 20
HASPARREN
GROUP A:
LARRALDE-BILBAO (#1; 4-0; +78)
v
MONCE-HARRISMENDY (#4; 2-3; -23)
March 16
L-B 40 M-H 19 (BLOG POST--LINK TO VIDEO--3RD MATCH LISTED )
GROUP B:
INCHAUSPE-AMULET (#1; 3-2; +6)
v
OLCOMENDY-ITURBE (#4; 2-2; -14)
March 16
O-T 40 I-A 35 (BLOG POST--LINK TO VIDEO-- 4TH MATCH LISTED )
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Previous Championships:
2018:
Group A:
Waltary-Guichandut 40 Larralde-Iturbe 36
Full match video (Audiense Audiovisuel via FFPB)
Match article (FFPB)
"Dossier" (FFPB--.pdf format, 9p., which contains all competition match scores).
Pilota Ttiki also covered the entire competition, with match articles and condensed match videos Their coverage begins March 19. At the bottom of the article click on "precedent" and page through articles about the competition, using the "dossier" as your guide to dates of matches. When there are match videos, Pilota Ttiki links to them from the bottom of the match articles. They are also available at Pilota Ttiki Youtube (CTRL-F Championnat elite pro par equipes 2018).
Group B:
Bielle-Palomes 40 Elgart-Cubiat 22
Full match video (condensed) (Pilota Ttiki)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
2017:
Group A: Larralde-Bilbao 40 Waltary-Guichandut 38
Full match video (Audiense Audiovisuel via FFPB)
Match article (FFPB)
"Dossier" (FFPB--.pdf format, 12p. ,which contains all competition match scores)
Full competition context, with final linescore graph and linescore (pelotelive.free.fr)
Group B: Inchauspe-Amulet 40 L. Lambert-Palomes 29
Competition context (pelotelive.free.fr) (no match video available)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
2016:
Group A: Waltary-Bilbao 40 Bielle-Ducassou 23
Full match video (Audiense Indivduel)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition context (pelotelive.free.fr)
Annotated linescore: (pelotelive.free.fr)
Group B: Inchauspe-Amulet 40 L. Lambert-de Ezcurra 23
Full match video (Esku Pilota)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition context: (pelotelive.free.fr)
2015:
Group A: Larralde-Bilbao 40 Etcheverry-Ducassou 10
Full match video (Bixintxo Bilbao Youtube)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition Context (pelotelive.free.fr)
Group B: Inchauspe-Saldubehere 40 Elgart-Bonetbelche 37 (no match video)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition context (pelotelive.free.fr)
2014: Larrechea-Harismendy 40 Sorhuet-Ducassou (substituting for T. Etxeto) 19 (no match video)
Match article (FFPB)
2013: Waltary-Harismendy 40 Larrechea-X. Lambert 25 (no match video)
Match article (FFPB)
2012: Ibarola-Harismendy 40 Bielle-Ocafrain 37 (no match video) Source: FFPB 2013 Assemblee Generale Ordinaire Exercice 2012 (P. 9)
2011: Waltary-X. Lambert 40 Ibarola-Jeannots 21 (no match video) Source: FFPB 2012 Assemblee Generale Ordinaire Exercice 2011 (P. 9) Match article (Naiz--Basque--note: Naiz has score 40-20.
2010: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Waltary-Etxeto 39 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2009: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Etxeto 34 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2008: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Ezkurra 32 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2007: Waltary-Etxeto 40 Sorhuet-Ocafrain 19 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque). Agusti Waltary becomes the first non-native Basque to win this competition.
Ibarola (av) played in 5 finals and won 4 (3 consecutive wins from 2008-2010). Ocafrain (ar) played in 5 Finals and won 3.
Iturbe (av), Etcheverry (av), and Jeannots (ar) have all played in 1 Final without a win.
2010: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Waltary-Etxeto 39 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2009: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Etxeto 34 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2008: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Ezkurra 32 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)
2007: Waltary-Etxeto 40 Sorhuet-Ocafrain 19 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque). Agusti Waltary becomes the first non-native Basque to win this competition.
Since 2007: (avant-front; arriere-back)
Waltary (av) has played in 7 Finals and has won 5.
Ibarola (av) played in 5 finals and won 4 (3 consecutive wins from 2008-2010). Ocafrain (ar) played in 5 Finals and won 3.
Sorhuet (av) played in 4 Finals without a win.
Harismendy (ar) won 3 consecutive Finals (2012-2014).
Larralde (av) has played in 3 Finals and won 2.
Etxeto (ar) played in 3 Finals and won 1.
Ducassou (ar) has played in 3 Finals without a win.
Bilbao (ar) has won 2 Finals.
Larrechea (av) played in 2 Finals and won 1.
X. Lambert (ar) has played in 2 Finals and won 1.
X. Lambert (ar) has played in 2 Finals and won 1.
Guichandut (ar) has played in 2 Finals and won 1
Bielle (av) has played in 2 Finals without a win.Iturbe (av), Etcheverry (av), and Jeannots (ar) have all played in 1 Final without a win.
