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WSOB Riviera Cup and WSOB Championship July 2008 was a busy month for the world's backgammon pros. Many of the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship participants, including the 2008 champion Lars Trablot, had attended the 2007-8 World Series of Backgammon held in the consecutive week in Cannes, France. Theoretically, the two most important backgammon tournaments in the world, WSOB Championship and the World Backgammon Championship, could be won by the same player. In fact, the 2008 World Backgammon Champion got as far as the semi finals, with the two first spots captured by Frédéric Andrieu of France and Bob Koca of the US, who took home cash prize worthy of €100,000 and €60,000, respectively. The 2007-8 World Series of Backgammon was a 3-stops season: starting out in November 2007 at the UK Masters, continuing March 2008 with the prestigious Nordic Open and ended up at the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes with the PGT Riviera Cup, the annual Nations Cup and the WSOB final table. Riviera Cup and Nations CupThe Riviera Cup drew about 240 players, most of them in the Masters Division. The first place was won by American Bob Koca who earned a seat at the WSOB final table along with the UK Masters and Nordic Open winners, 8 top ranked backgammon players, and super-satellite qualifiers from Play65, True Money Games and the Zakynthos Festival of Backgammon. 16 teams battled in the annual Nations Cup competition until the German team (with Götz Hildsberg, Jan Jacobowitz and Christian Plenz) beat its Italic opponent. World Series of Backgammon ChampionshipThe 16 chosen players who competed for the title and the €100,000 1st prize met on July 21. For one of them, Dutch Aron Kopler who was qualified in Play65 online tournament, it was a first live backgammon experience. For some others, such as Israeli Matvey "Falafel" Natanzon it was a link in chain of backgammon events. The two opposites have met for a 3-points match at the first round of the final. Despite the primacy of the experience, novice Kopler gave a good fight to his veteran opponent, yet lost 3-2 and left the competition.
During the quarter finals, backgammon masters such as Rida Hassan and Karsten Bredahl were sifted of the competition and the leading quartet was composed of Frederick Andrieu, who won the super-satellite at the Riviera Cup, Lars Trabolt, Falafel, and Bob Koca. Koca beat Falafel 4-0 in a single game match while Andrieu had defeated World Backgammon Champion 3-0, and the suspenseful final had arrived: Andrieu vs. Koca. Eventually, to many of the spectators' surprise, the tournaments veteran lost to the less experienced super-satellite winner and Frederick Andrieu was announced the 2008 World Series of Backgammon champion.
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