SHARM EL SHEIKH – The Belgian revelation Peter Ceulemans was a bridge too far for Tayfun Tasdemir, Marco Zanetti was beaten by Turkish Berkay Karakurt. The final whistle of the day, on the 12th of the 12th in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh, was sensational for both players, who now have a good chance of entering the elite group of the top 14. Dick Jaspers and Sameh Sidhom, ranked 2nd and 10th respectively, are the other semifinalists on Sunday Peter Ceulemans has a simmering love for Sharm El Sheikh for years. The Belgian from the famous stronghold played against Dick Jaspers there once, in 2021, at the World Championship and World Cup. The Belgian won once, and drew in the other. The only pure billiards amateur in the top 25 of the rankings is once again playing remarkably strong in the World Cup at the Red Sea. This Friday afternoon, Ceulemans first defeated Nick Polychronopoulos, another standout player in this tournament, and then Tayfun Tasdemir 50-39 in 38/37. Ceulemans is the only Belgian remaining, after Frédéric Caudron was sensationally beaten by Marco Zanetti in the round with 16.
Berkay Karakurt is the other player eyeing a top 14 spot, where Glenn Hofman, after his promotion, is being threatened after two quick losses in Sharm. The Turk Karakurt defeated Zanetti, just coming from an emotional victory against Caudron, 50-29 in 28 innings on Friday evening. Dick Jaspers, after a brief slump, is back on track. Against Martin Horn, Jaspers once again displayed his traditionally high averages, and one round later, Jaspers was the better of a feared Korean holdout in this World Cup. Jaspers won 50-29 in 28 innings and is certainly in contention for World Cup victory and a high ranking. Sameh Sidhom secured his top spot against the last real outsider: Birol Uymaz, who once had a brief adventure in the PBA, wasn't particularly successful, and didn't achieve good results after his return. In Sharm, Uymaz shone by eliminating Vietnamese Phuong Vinh Bao (50-48), but couldn't threaten Sidhom: 50-34 in 26 innings.
Saturday's semifinals:
9:00 AM: Ceulemans-Sidhom
11:30 AM: Jaspers-Karakurt
Dick Jaspers finding his way back in top of the rankings
Berkay Karakurt, another revelation in this field
Sameh Sidhom, the public hero for the Egyptian crowd
Round 16 matches
Dick Jaspers is freed from the pressure of rivals at the top of the rankings. The Dutchman defeated Martin Horn convincingly in the afternoon and will face Korean Haeng Jik Kim later today for a place in the semifinals. The other players still in contention at that time are Marco Zanetti, Sameh Sidhom, Peter Ceulemans, Tayfun Tasdemir, Birol Uymaz, and Berkay Karakurt.
The gesture of joy and relief Marco Zanetti made after his winning carom indicates his ecstatic state. The victory against Frédéric Caudron, once teammates, now a perennial rival, gives the impression that Zanetti has just won the World Cup. The brilliant finish also played a part in this. Caudron and Zanetti played a fantastic match with some great highlights. Zanetti led 21-13, Caudron closed the gap to 22-21, and both players scored a 7, bringing the score to 37-34 for Zanetti. Caudron makes a wonderful 8, but Zanetti also responds with 8. And at 46-47, Caudron scores one point and Zanetti plays out with three! The Italian maestro's temperament is magnificent to watch, with a score of 50-47 in 17, averages of 2.941 and 2.764, an absolutely world-class match.
Dick Jaspers is the second winner of the session with 8. The Dutchman also defeats a longtime rival. Martin Horn has no chance, losing 50-28 in 21/20. Jaspers starts with 8, makes 7 and 6 shortly after, and already has a 25-3 lead. The Dutchman doesn't relinquish that margin.
Two matches are still in progress. Haeng Jik Kim only needs to finish his match against Jérémy Bury, who has been behind from the start. And Berkay Karakurt is also in the final stages against Ruben Legazpi, also with a big lead. The Turk, the younger of two brothers, wins 50-24 in 33 innings. Korean Haeng Jik defeats Bury 50-33 in 26 matches.
The first round of the World Cup knockouts in Sharm El Sheikh has already produced the first four winners. Two Turks, an Egyptian, and a Belgian advance to the tournament's top eight. Sameh Sidhom is the best of these rounds. He defeats Korean Myung Woo Cho, the number one player in the rankings, with a comfortable score: 50-24 in 17 matches.
Peter Ceulemans fights a fierce battle with Nick Polychronopoulos and ultimately wins 50-44 in 35/34 matches. Tayfun Tasdemir plays a superior match against Thanh Luc Tran (50-29 in 21/20), and Birol Uymaz has a strong finish against Phuong Vinh Bao, the Vietnamese star of the past two days. Bao misses a bankshot on his way to match point, and Uymaz finishes with a wonderful 3: 50-48 in 34.
Sameh Sidhom is by far the best player in this round with a score of 2.941.
Marco Zanetti, a fantastic victory vs Frédéric Caudron, eliminated in the next round by Karakurt