Posted by George Sakkas on facebook
October 2, 2021
THREE CUSHIONS IN THE LAND OF FREE GAME!!!
This could be the title of the Greek Billiard Federation’s first official 3Cushion tournaments ….
We were lucky enough to have been gifted “Free game” maestros, treated like movie stars, in the forbidden (for less than 18 years old youngsters), dark and …suspicious atmosphere of billiard clubs, since the 50’s… But almost nothing else concerning other Carom disciplines…..
By the end of 70’s, thanks to the knowledge and the passion for the game of a few Greeks who came back from abroad, you could practice 3cushions mainly in two Athenian clubs:
“Mondial” in Exarchia, and “Free time” in Patisia..
The pioneers, teachers, and top players at the same time, were Vasilis Mayorkinos, a billiard table manufacturer and billiard hall owner who came back from Alexandria- Egypt, the great multiplayer Kostas Papageorgiou who came back from Istanbul, and the tough and popular Paris Paloumbis who came back from New York…
Also, Johnny Melmintsak, officer of U.S. Army who was serving in Greece for a couple of decades, offered a lot to that new game with his style and abilities…..
Back then, we had the first local tournaments, and slowly the first explosion of the game…
The result was, on 1983, a few months before the establishment of the Greek Federation, you could find more than 100 3C players in several locations of the crowded Athens and Thesaloniki…
100 was not an impressive number, but at least you could talk about the “new” carom discipline…
Shon Nishimada, a Japanese player who lived in Athens from 1983 till 1999, played a very important role in the evolution of Greek 3cushions….Below you will see him winning two official Championships even if his participation was out of competition…
As for some Free game players like me, we tried the new game , by shooting points that we more or less knew already from our serie styles, plus a lot of safety!
The first 3cushions video tapes showing BWA tournaments, arrive to Greece after 1987, giving us a more clear idea of how this game should be played!
Experimental period for all of us……
1984 THREE CUSHIONS (from triathlon “Harris Glenis”) 40 points – 8 games
1. SAKKAS GEORGE G.A. 0.749
2. KORNILAKIS ELEFTHERIOS
3. MOUTZOURIS ARIS
1984-85 GREEK CHAMPIONSHIP
1. ILIOPOULOS VASILIS G.A. 0.636
2. KRIKELAS YANNIS
3. PAPAGEORGIOU KOSTAS
1985-86 GREEK CHAMPIONSHIP
NISHIMADA SHON (JAPAN-OUT OF COMPETITION- G.A. 0.612)
1. MARANIS GEORGE G.A. 0.595
2. ANAGNOSTOPOULOS YANNIS
3. RAMMOS ILIAS
1986-87 GREEK CHAMPIONSHIP
1. BITZAS MICHALIS G.A. 0.547
2. PAPAGEORGIOU KOSTAS
3. LAMBROU ARIS
TO BE CONTINUED …..
*PHOTOGRAPH FROM 1984
SAKKAS RECEIVING CONGRATULATIONS
FOR HIS WIN IN THE FIRST 3CUSHION TOURNAMENT, ORGANIZED BY THE GREEK FEDERATION.
*LEFT TO RIGHT: TSITSOPOULOS D.
DODOS, PAPAGEORGIOU KOSTAS, ARTINOPOULOS VAGELIS, SAKKAS GEORGE, ILIOPOULOS VASILIS,
CHRISTODOULIDIS, ARGYRIOU CHRISTOS
