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2009 Nordic Open Results The 21st Nordic Open, sponsored by Play65 backgammon site, held on 9-13 April, 2009 with attendance of about 200 backgammon players competing for the Beginners, Intermediate and Championship titles. The Nordic Open main champion for 2009 is Claus Elken of Denmark, the finalist is Tage Mellgren, and semi finalists are Johnny Tønnessen and Lars Trabolt, the reigning World Backgammon Champion, all overpowering strong backgammon players from the league of Morten Holm Lassen, Carter Mattig and others.
The seaside city of Helsingør, in eastern Denmark, is known worldwide as Shakespeare's Hamlet city, yet in the backgammon world it is known for hosting the Nordic Open, organized by the Danish Backgammon Federation (DBgF). The prestigious backgammon tournament, which marked its 21st anniversary this year, took place at the Marienlyst Hotel between the 9th and 13th of April, 2009, offering about €70,000 cash prizes.
As in many of today's major backgammon tournaments, the Dane players' presence was very noticeable. 5 of the 8 first finishers came from Denmark, while 2 of the 3 foreigners came from neighboring Norway; only backgammon pro Carter Mattig came all the way from the USA to close the top 8 list. Either way, the competition was very intensive, not surprising regarding the strength and magnitude of the Danish Backgammon Federation. Mattig also served as the commenter of the Nordic Open, together with local Karsten Bredahl, who finished fifth, with Israeli's "Falafel" Natanzon interjections.
The 21st Nordic Open has inaugurated a new tournament format. Unlike in previous years, the tournament was played in the double elimination format, allowing even the players who've lost a match to reach the final, providing they will fight back at the second chance fighter’s bracket, otherwise they will fall to the last chance competition. The list of players who competed for the consolidating last chance championships included many of the biggest backgammon giants such as Falafel, Bob Koca, Masayuki Mochizuki aka "Mochy" and others. Finally, it was relatively unknown players who won the second & last chance tournaments: Hans Kristian "Kedde" Mathieson and Jens Q. Hansen (respectively) both of Denmark, obviously.
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