GURI - Dick Jaspers the 53-year-old Dutchman moved on to the last and best eight players at the Survival Masters in Guri this Saturday night. Joing him will be Turkish stars; Semih Sayginer and Murat Naci Coklu and Italian Marco Zanetti and Asians; Jae-Ho Cho, Dinh Nai Ngo, Chi Yeon Cho and Quyet Chien Tran. The winner will receive 50,000 dollars and a total of 220,000 dollars is at stake. Tomorrow, Sunday, the first semi-finals will be played at (15.00 and 17.00 Korean time, eight hours earlier than in West Europe), the final match is at 20.00.
Four Europeans play in one semi-final on the final day, the Asians in the other semi-final.
Group 1: Semih Sayginer, Dick Jaspers, Murat Naci Coklu and Marco Zanetti
Group 2: Dinh Nai Ngo, Jae-Ho Cho, Quyet Chien Tran, Chi Yeon Cho.
Dick Jaspers feels at home all the while in the new three-cushion era. He gets used to the long periods away from home, the long trips around the world, the inevitable jet lags and the long tournaments. "Billiard players are individualists, they have their own preparation, joy and disappointment, they stick together now and then, but I like to be alone as well, reading in my room, listening to music'', outlines the only Dutch top player the atmosphere during tournaments like the Survival Masters. ,,We all want to win, but there is always mutual respect.''
Jaspers emphasizes that he welcomes the new era in three cushion: ,,I am very positive about every new tournament format. The best thing, of course, is to win a world championship, because it's only played one time in a year. But it is great that there are experiments with new tournaments and formats, that so many people with a heart for billiards do a good job behind the scenes making billiards more and more professional and organizing tournaments where the players can make good money.''
Jaspers is looking for his own way. ,,I will never get used to strange food, because I don't eat things that I don't know. I grew up with old Dutch stew, with real Dutch food. I feel the best with that, but I always try to adjust the best I can. The same goes for traveling, the hotels, for the jet lags, in the past I had more problems than nowadays. I want to make it as easy as possible for myself. We are now staying in different hotels here in Korea. I don't like late dinners in the evening and I want to feel the freedom to decide for myself what I can do. Now, I have chosen the same hotel as next week for the World Cup, then I don't have to move. Nice and easy.''
The format, as in the Survival, of course is different than in a World Cup. ,,We are at the billiard table with four, so you have less control over the match. Your attitude has to be good and you have to constantly deal with the tension. My last group was decided in the final shots. I had to stay ahead of Tran and Blomdahl. Luckily I managed with a run of four. But you have to deal with it at such an important moment. That gives us a lot of tension. The averages were not high. That has to do with the tactical playing during the match. I have the feeling that luck and bad luck are closer together than in the other tournaments.''
Dick Jaspers, 4-time world champion, survived the Saturday matches where other European big guns such as Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx and Nikos Polychronopoulos had to leave the stage. Semih Sayginer was the best day winner with 90 points and finished with the best average: 2.428. Sayginer and Zanetti scored the highest run: 11.
The first part of the quarter finals was dominated by the Turks and the Asians. Semih Sayginer and Murat Naci Coklu competed for the group win in the first session, in which Dong-Koong Kang was the only real competitor, because Eddy Merckx had a total off-day. At the stop, Coklu led by runs of 8 and 5 ahead of Sayginer (run 11): 58-42. Kang (26) and Merckx (24) were doomed to lose. Coklu raised his score after the break to 101 at five innings from the end, Sayginer kept fluctuating around 90/95. Sayginer's last 'double score' was good for the number one position, two points ahead. Dong-Koong Kang who could no longer threaten, Eddy Merckx stayed well below his level. The Belgian, winner of the first Masters in Seoul, was out ten minutes before the finish with a minus score.
The ranking in Group A:
1 Semih Sayginer 90-2.428-11
2 Murat Naci Coklu 88-2.357-8
3 Dong-Koong Kang 68-2.071-7
4 Eddy Merckx -6-0.666-4.
Semih Sayginer
Murat Naci Coklu
The other Belgian still in the race, Frédéric Caudron, was overwhelmed by the Asians Dinh Nai Ngo and Chi Yeon Cho, who divided the leading positions. The Vietnamese led at the stop with 45 and ahead of Cho with 41, the Korean Heo was at 21 points halfway, Caudron at 13. The attack on the positions failed to happen. Caudron and Heo lacked strength, form and conviction to close the gap. The margin grew further towards the end. When Ngo and Cho were almost certain of group win, Caudron scored a 7 and Heo a 5.
The ranking in Group B:
1 Dinh Nai Ngo 86-2.357-8
2 Chi Yeon Cho 78-2.214-7
3 Frédéric Caudron 50-1.714-7
4 Jung-Han Heo 26-1.185-5.
Dinh Nai Ngo
Chi Yeon Cho
The best start, from Torbjörn Blomdahl in the group with Jaspers, Tran and Polychronopoulos, gave him a quick lead at the break, which then disappeared soon after the break. The Swede could not hold his rhythm and lost contact in the second part, when Dick Jaspers and Quyet Chien Tran attacked. There was still some tension in the fight until the last fifteen minutes. Jaspers led with 68 ahead of Blomdahl with 64 and Tran 60. Polychronopoulos had lost his chances. The match was decided in the last inning. Quyet Chien Tran went past Jaspers and Blomdahl with a run of 3, the Dutchman sprinted to the leading position with four, Blomdahl missed his second point and was out.
The ranking in Group C:
1 Dick Jaspers 75-1.388-7
2 Quyet Chien Tran 71-1.333-7
3 Torbjörn Blomdahl 59-1.166-9
4 Nikos Polychronopoulos 35-0.833-4.
Dick Jaspers
Quyet Chien Tran
Marco Zanetti put up his final sprint in the last group of the day ten minutes prior the end. Chasing for Jae-Ho Cho, who was the leader with a giant gap, the Italian passed Tonny Carlsen, showing his progression again, in that final stage. Zanetti saved the best for last and passed the finish line as second. HaengJik Kim still put up a brave attempt, but stuck at 16 points from Zanetti. Jae-Ho Cho was the deserved winner, Tonny Carlsen missed the qualification in the second part of the match.
The ranking in Group D:
1 Jae-Ho Cho 85-2.000-6
2 Marco Zanetti 65-1.687-11
3 HaengJik Kim 49-1.437-7
4 Tonny Carlsen 41-1.312-5.
Jae-Ho Cho
Marco Zanetti