LUXOR - The new world record Dani Sánchez played in the Luxor World Cup (2.816 general average) will go with golden letters into the record books. The 43-year old Spaniard from Bacelona won the final on Saturday, beating Dutchman Dick Jaspers 40 - 28 in ten innings. The icing on the cake was his tournament average: 200 points in 71 innings. The previous World Cup tournament average was 2.739, held by Sanchez in a share with Torbjörn Blomdahl. The Luxor main tournament averaged a lofty 1.670. Dani Sánchez was all smiles when he shared the podium with Dick Jaspers, Myung-Woo Cho and Tayfun Tasdemir. The last World Cup to be played in Luxor could not have had a better final: the world champion (Sanchez) and the world number 1 (Jaspers) face off in the Sonesta St. George hotel on the borders of the Nile.
It was a repeat of the match for the Supercup, and again Dani Sánchez came out on top. The winner, in a first response: ,,I can hardly believe it, to win with a record, in a field as strong as this. We've spoken about it amongst ourselves, with a few of the top players. It's hard to predict where 3-cushion is headed. Two average, three average... we can only dream about the future of all this.''
He tried to come up with an explanation: ,,The equipment is better, the competition gets more intense every year. We drive each other up to new heights.'' The four-time world champion was on the highest step of the podium, and celebrated his tenth win in a World Cup. The year 2016 was his career best, with the world title, the Player Of The Year award and the Supercup win. ,,I did not think my form was great when I came here'', said Sánchez, but during the tournament he reached the highest level he has ever achieved in a World Cup. He saved his best match for last, against Dick Jaspers,. Earlier, he defeated Riad Nady (40-6 in 11), Murat Naci Coklu (40-29 in 15), Nikos Polychronopoulos (40-35 in 19) and in the semifinal Tayfun Tasdemir (40-30 in 16).
It was the best string of five matches ever produced in the history of 3-cushion. Dick Jaspers had the best start in the final, with a run of ten from the break. Sánchez took over the initiative in the third inning with a run of 14, and after Jaspers had made a five, the players took the halftime break (20-18 in 4!). Seven then became the magic number for Sánchez: he ran 7 in the sixth inning and again 7 in the eighth. The tenth and last inning: another run of seven. ,,We both started the final with general averages over 2.500, said Sánchez. ,,The pressure was high, because we needed a super level in order to win. I could make my move at the perfect time in the match, after a small mistake by Jaspers.''
Dick Jaspers realized that he had played a strong final, but had been punished for a few minor errors. ,,I missed a difficult massé and left Sánchez with a prime position, from which he ran fourteen. That turned out to be the key moment in the match. I knew I had to play perfectly, because Dani has never been more dangerous then he is now.''
The Dutchman stays on top of the world ranking, even strengthening his position. ,,The fact that I am the nr. 1 is because I was in three consecutive World Cup finals. I could not win any of the three, unfortunately. Still, I am proud to still be the world nr. 1.''
The run-up to the main tournament had been high quality too. Sung-Won Choi was the best player in the preliminaries with 2.580 average, ahead of Tayfun Tasdemir with 2.000, Semih Sayginer with 1.951 and Myung-Woo Cho with 1.904. The Koreans had nine players in the main draw, the Turks had six. Eddy Merckx was the title holder. Dani Sánchez recorded the first highlight in the K.O. stage with a mighty start against Riad Nady (35-1 in 6), and a win in 11 innings with a high run of 17.
Two matches in the first session ended in a shootout: Tayfun Tasdemir beat Choong-Bok Lee, Can Capak beat Jae-Ho Cho. Top favorites like Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx and Torbjörn Blomdahl were eliminated by Eddy Leppens, Haeng-Jik Kim and Semih Sayginer. Tayfun Tasdemir shone in the second round, when he obliterated Eddy Leppens 40-3 in 10 innings.
Dani Sánchez showed great form in the early rounds, with wins in 15 and 16 innings. Jaspers was superior against Haeng-Jik Kim, and the diminutive Korean Myung-Woo Cho played Semih Sayginer out of the tournament, Tayfun Tasdemir got past a Marco Zanetti troubled by back problems, and Sánhez had the better finish against Nikos Polychronopoulos. It led up to the semis between Dick Jaspers and Myung Woo Cho, and Dani Sánchez and Tayfun Tasdemir.
The best match of the tournament was shared by Tasdemir and Sánchez: 40 in 10. The Spaniard made the highest run: 17. The tournament average (main draw) was 1.670. The World Cup circuit said goodbye to Luxor after four editions. Next year, Egypt will host the World Championships, probably in Cairo, in the shadow of one of the famous pyramids.
The World Cup stage with Dani Sánchez, Dick Jaspers, Myung-Woo Cho and Tayfun Tasdemir
Dani Sánchez and Dick Jaspers before they start up the final
Dani Sánchez focused on the balls in the final part of the match
Dani Sánchez scoring a wonderful point
Dani Sánchez, on stage with his biggest fan: Myung-Woo Cho
The final ranking in Luxor:
1 Dani Sánchez 2.816-17
2 Dick Jaspers 2.540-10
3 Tayfun Tasdemir 2.343-10
4 Myung-Woo Cho 2.073-10
5 Nikos Polychronopoulos 1.854-12
6 Semih Sayginer 1.676-12
7 Marco Zanetti 1.546-9
8 Haeng-Jik Kim 1.516-10
9 Sung-Won Choi 2.117-15
10 Quyet Chien Tran 1.900-7
11 Murat Naci Coklu 1.815-12
12 Jae Guen Kim 1.547-12
13 Jérémy Bury 1.320-8
14 Can Capak 1.265-8
15 Eddy Leppens 1.162-10
16 Jung-Han Heo 1.038-9.
Semifinal 1:
Dick Jaspers-Myung-Woo Cho 40-21 in 12. For the third time, Dick Jaspers kicked a Korean player out of the event. Jaspers is too strong out of the blocks for the teenager. He scores 8 and then 7 in the second inning after Cho miscues. The 15-1 margin stays intact, because Jaspers keeps scoring regularly and Cho can only produce a 5 in the ninth inning. Two more runs of six, and Jaspers reaches the finish line at 40-21 in 12. It brings his total after four matches to 2.500. For the third time in a row (after Hurghada en Bursa), Jaspers is in the final of a World Cup.
Myung-Woo Cho discuss before the start of the match
Dick Jaspers starting the match in the semi-final
Korean fans cheering for the young Myung-Woo Cho
Myung-Woo Cho's backhand showing the wonderful stroke
Dick Jaspers raises his cue after the win in the semi-final
Semi-final 2:
Dani Sánchez-Tayfun Tasdemir 40-30 in 16 innings. Dani Sánchez clenches his fist and shows his delight after the win over Tayfun Tasdemir (40-30 in 16 innings). ,,I did not expect to play this well here, he confesses before the final. ,,Leading up to this tournament, I have only played one match in the past two weeks.'' Like Jaspers, Sánchez has around 2.500 average after four matches. He maintains that high level against Tasdemir, and after 26-23 in 13 innings, he wins thanks to a run of 8 and a closing run of 6.
Tayfun Tasdemir and Dani Sánchez making some fun before the start
Dani Sánchez on his way to victory in the semi-final
Dani Sánchez, never expected to be so good here in Luxor
Tayfun Tasdemir, great tournament with the best match at this World Cup: 40 in 10 innings
The new world ranking after Luxor:
1 Dick Jaspers 408
2 Dani Sánchez 396
3 Frédéric Caudron 346
4 Torbjörn Blomdahl 308
5 Nikos Polychronopoulos 307
6 Jérémy Bury 271
7 Marco Zanetti 265
8 Eddy Merckx 250
9 Haeng-Jik Kim 240
10 Sameh Sidhom 220
11 Jae-Ho Cho 213
12 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 207
13 Jung-Han Heo 200
14 Murat Naci Coklu 199
15 Quyet Chien Tran 198
16 Tayfun Tasdemir 175
17 Sung-Won Choi 175
18 Minh Cam Ma 158
19 Dong-Koong Kang 156
20 Semih Sayginer 147.