VEGHEL - The Dutch billiard crowd had so eagerly hoped for Dick Jaspers on the main podium at the World Cup in its own country. The final day, however, of the global spectacle in Veghel has to miss the star player cheered by the orange legion. The 54-year-old world's number one is not a robot, of course not, he is not always the best in the world and even not always the best in his homeland. On the eve of the final day, Jaspers was tackled by a stoic Turk: Lütfi Cenet pulled the trigger to beat Jaspers 40-30 in 16 innings in the quarters. The other three finalists are Antonio Montes from Spain, HaengJik Kim from Korea and Duc Anh Chien Nguyen from Vietnam.
The World Cup arena is sold out in advance for the last day, but has to cheer for two Asians and two surprising Europeans. HaengJik Kim, the 27-year-old four-time junior world champion and former Asian champion, was the only one in this field to ever win a World Cup. Three absolute top players, not only Dick Jaspers, also Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx and Marco Zanetti, were eliminated in the run-up to the finals. Dick Jaspers admitted: "I really gave it all, because I wanted to shine here, but I was beaten by a very strong opponent and I was not on my best in this match." The Dutch player took the staring role in the previous round of this day, in which he made a fantastic world run of 24 against Vietnamese Nguyen.
The final stage will have an unexpected occupation, but not with the least players in the world. HaengJik Kim is the current Korean champion, 36-year-old Duc Anh Chien Nguyen is the title holder in Vietnam. Lütfi Cenet is the two-times team world champion with Turkey in Viersen and Antonio Montes the European junior champion in 2014. The two Asians meet each other in the first semifinal on Saturday at 12.00, Montes and Cenet play at 14.00 for the other place in the final.
HaengJik Kim, a billiard club owner in Siheung, one hour outside Seoul, was one of the biggest talents ever in three cushion when he took four junior world titles between 2004 and 2012. Two years ago, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen for the first time took the spotlight with a fifth place in the Carom Cafe in New York. Lütfi Cenet played the semi-final at the World Cup in Porto against Jaspers this year. "I don't want to remember that anymore," he said tonight. ''Then we tied 40-40 and I lost the shootout 1-0, missing the break shot.'' Antonio Montes dropped on the rankings after his European title, because he often had to pay himself for the expensive trips to the World Cups. ''I now earn some money by teaching other players and from now I want to play as many World Cups as possible. But of course, I also surprised myself here. I have never even reached one main tournament at a World Cup.''
Dick Jaspers ran into the killing fields Lütfi Cenet prepared for him after the run of 13 by the Turk, who brought the score to 16-0 after two innings. Jaspers fought back with small runs and even took a lead at 23-20. In the second part of the match, at 30-30, Cenet started the attack with 7 (37-30), Jaspers was unable to score anymore: 40-30.
HaengJik Kim went to the last four by a victory over Eddy Merckx. The last Belgian in the field quickly launched himself to a 17-6 lead in five innings and led at the break 20-13. Then, in the last part, the Korean found his rhythm, first with runs of six, three and six and towards the end of the game (31-23 for Kim), Merckx was overpowered in the final innings with five and six to 40-30 in 18.
The same scenario was seen in the match between Torbjörn Blomdahl and Duc Anh Chien Nguyen. After two innings, the Swede led 9-2, after seven innings 15-2. The Vietnamese outsider, 40th on the world ranking, first countered 6-7-5 before the break (22-16 in 9) and then ran out in the final innings with 6 and 7 for the finishing touch: 40-32 in 22.
Marco Zanetti was outplayed by Antonio Montes, who led 14-2 and 21-4 after the start and didn't give up that lead after the break: a final run of 7 made it to 40-22 in 21 innings.
Vietnamese Duc Anh Chien Nguyen shows his joy to reach the best four
HaengJik Kim recovered after a start with two losses and is in the last four
Antonio Mones from Spain, back from being away after his European junior title
Best sixteen rounds:
Nguyen Quoc Nguyen-Dick Jaspers 40-27 in 13
The thunderous applause from the crowded stands is the reward for Dick Jaspers' memorable run. The Dutch world champion is 16-8 behind when he strikes back with an excellent 24 in the seventh. ''I felt that it was time to score, because my Vietnamese opponent had a strong start and he can be very dangerous," Jaspers commented after the game, which he attracted with a generous score. Thanks to the monster run, Jaspers turned the score from 16-8 behind to 32-16 in his favor. ''I had some problems getting my focus back and finishing the game well on time.''
Marco Zanetti-Jun Tae Kim 40-28 in 15
The Korean, whom he also defeated in the previous round, was unable to threaten the unleashed Italian. The maestro Zanetti obviously feels at home in the country where he played competition for years, but did not perform for about ten years. He forces the young Korean on the way to the quarterfinals to chase after 10-3 in 5 and 25-10 in 11 innings. Kim still has a good revival with a 10 run to 32-24, but Zanetti doesn't give him more chances to further close the gap.
Lütfi Cenet-Tayfun Tasdemir: 40-34 in 25
The two Turks did not lose sight of each other in the start-up phase. Cenet launched the first attack around the break (25-18 in 13) and then ran out to 34-23. The Tasdemir counter was too weak to close the gap. Cenet won and meets Jaspers in the quarterfinals.
Antonio Montes-Gökhan Salman 40-32 in 24
The Spaniard, who has made a drop on the rankings, plays one of the best World Cups in his career. He also beats Gökhan Salman, another outsider. The game starts with an early lead for Montes (12-5 in 5), the margin remains constantly right below ten. The match is characterized by small runs, Montes after his winning finish joins the best eight.
HaengJik Kim-Jae Ho Cho 40-30 in 24
Kim's attack, in the 7th inning with a run of 11, was decisive for the second part of the game. The two Koreans, who also met in the previous round (winner Cho), now changed the roles. HaengJik won 40-30 in 24 after his opponent had missed six times in his last eight innings.
Eddy Merckx-Dani Sánchez 40-36 in 25
Two former world champions (Sánchez 4 times, Merckx 2 times) only were close to each other at the start and at the end of the game. The Belgian dominated and controlled the entire match, had a short 4-innings stop before the break (23-15 in 16) and went out with a 6 and 3, starting with a lucky shot, to 40-31. Sanchez made an attempt to equalize, but missed his sixth point.
Torbjörn Blomdahl-Jérémy Bury 40-19 in 15
The Swede was the speedy starter in this session with a fabulous attack after 8 innings. Blomdahl hit the final gap with Bury with a run of 14 and put a 33-4 score on the boards. The Frenchman tried to fight back with 'a seven', but couldn't treaten his superior opponent anymore.
Duc Anh Nguyen-Semih Sayginer 40-29 in 21
The little Vietnamese coming man got Sayginer under control from the first innings and led 22-12 after ten innings. At the end, Sayginer was offered four unexpected chances, but was unlucky with the positions and did not come any further than the best run of four throughout the game.