EYSINES/BORDEAUX - The best billiard players in the world still come from Europe. The elite corps, with their 17 world titles against 1 for Asia, stepped onto the highest stage on Sunday-evening after the three days of battle in the Ceulemans Continental Cup. The European team had a 117 point lead at the finish with 600 points against 483 for Asia. The final match day had a sensational start with a big win by Korean Dong-Koong Kang over Frenchman Jérémy Bury. The margin was reduced by 24 caroms in that match, but it could not stop the triumphant march of Europe. The Asians have a chance to take revenge for this huge loss in Bordeaux with the second edition which is in South Korea in April of 2019.
The battle, in a small suburb of the French wine city, was dominated by Europe from the first matches. Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx, Marco Zanetti and later also Murat Naci Coklu, Dani Sánchez, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Dick Jaspers and Jérémy Bury fired the starting pistol for a series of 24 contests of which 18 were won by Europe. The Asians won 5 matches, one game ended in a draw. The score board showed a 29 point lead after one day, 92 after the second day and at the end 117 caroms.
The new, relatively young generation of talents from South Korea and Vietnam still must recognize the hegemony of the more crowned and experienced Europeans, of whom the most are in their forty's and fifties. Raymond Ceulemans, the legend to which the tournament is named, who did not miss one carom in the front rows of the stands, commented after the first Europe/Asia meeting in history, "With our wonderful generation, we still have the better players, but what will it look like in five or ten years.''
The Asians, with Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, Quyet Chien Tran, Dong-Koong Kang and HaengJik Kim, showed a glimpse of their fame in some matches. And as a result, there was a little hope at the start of the third day that the battle would get back a bit of its tension. Dong-Koong Kang, the player with one of the most powerful shots in the circuit, captured the hearts of the audience on the early Sunday morning. With a run of sixteen, the best run of the tournament, Kang took a big lead over Bury. The Asians in the players' lodge showed an admiring 'ai-ai-ai' for every carom, but the catch up race stopped again after Minh Cam Ma's small victory over Murat Naci Coklu (27-25).
Dani Sánchez brought Europe back on track with a smooth match against Quyet Chien Tran and his second high level performance these days. With his 25-15 score, the Spaniard increased the lead by 10 points to 475-400. Torbjörn Blomdahl added another 13 points by knocking down Jae-Ho Cho 25-12 in 9 innings, thanks to a run of 11, the second best in the tournament. Marco Zanetti confirmed again his great weekend with a big win over Jung-Han Heo (25-14 in 12). Dick Jaspers, not on his best these days, lifted the margin over 100 when he defeated Sung-Won Choi 25- 21 in 14. The advantage, with only Caudron and Merckx to go for Europe, was 550-447, a 103 points margin. The two Belgians closed the clash with two 25-18 wins, Caudron in 10 innings and Merckx in 12. The Europe team then, after three days and 24 matches, could celebrate their victory in the historical match. The team captain Frédéric Caudron received the trophy out of the hands of UMB president Mr. Farouk Barki.
Kozoom CEO Xavier Carrer was very pleased with the first edition of the Ceulemans Continental Cup. "The system to play over 600 caroms is good, despite the margin after two days. We should not think too soon that the winner is known, because with a few strong matches from the Asians, the tension could have been back again.'' The French organizer concluded the setting was good, expected a little more audience, but the Continental Cup was most of all a media event with a big TV exposure thanks to MBC, the biggest sports channel in South Korea. "We never had the intention to copy the Mosconi Cup in pool billiards, because there it's more about show and ambiance than about the sport. I didn't want that. The setup as we have made the start now is good to continue for the coming years.''
The Europe team after the last and winning point
The individual averages after three days:
1 Eddy Merckx 2.343
2 Frédéric Caudron 2.205
3 Dong-Koong Kang 2.181
4 Marco Zanetti 2.083
5 Dani Sánchez 1.973
6 Quyet Chien Tran 1.619
7 Murat Naci Coklu 1.595
8 Torbjörn Blomdahl 1.595
9 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 1.500
10 HaengJik Kim 1.477
11 Sung-Won Choi 1.463
12 Jae-Ho Cho 1.413
13 Minh Cam Ma 1.300
14 Dick Jaspers 1.293
15 Jérémy Bury 1.271
16 Jung-Han Heo 1.072
All the players at the Ceulemans Cup with Raymond Ceulemans the legend and Mr. Farouk Barki, the UMB president
The players who gained and lost the most points for the team:
1 Dani Sanchez +30
2 Murat Naci Coklu +27
3 Eddy Merckx +26
4 Marco Zanetti +23
4 Torbjörn Blomdahl +12
6 Dick Jaspers +7
6 Frédéric Caudron +7
8ong Koong Kang -3
9 Quyet Chien Tran -7
10 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen -9
11 Haeng-Jik Kim -10
12 Sung Won Choi -15
12 Jérémy Bury -15
14 Jung Han Heo -16
15 Ma Minh Cam -23
16 Jae Ho Cho -34
The Asians after the big match of Dong-Koong Kang
Dong-Koong Kang, one of the giants in the tournament
Dick Jaspers (left), remained unbeaten, Eddy Merckx finished with the best average
Torbjörn Blomdahl, one of the best on the Europe team
Kurt Ceulemans, the excellent entertainer in the Ceulemans Cup named after his father, the legend Raymond