GWANGJU – The World Cup in Gwangju, the sixth-largest Korean metropolis with approximately 1.3 million inhabitants, a three-hour train ride away from Seoul, is gearing up for the arrival of the world’s elite these days. The run-up to the final qualifiers saw the best of Europeans in their twenties in a thrilling three-way match this Wednesday. Two French players, Gwendal Maréchal (28) and Maxime Panaia (24), battled with promising Turkish player Denizcan Akkoca (23) for group victory. The matches were full of quality and excitement. Maréchal emerged victorious after a spectacular win over Akkoca, who lost his way after a brilliant opening run of 17.
The other highlights of the day were seen in Group H (Geonjun Kim winner) and Group I (David Pennör winner). Chun Woo Park was the top winner of the day with 4 match points and 2,121, ahead of Tarik Yavuz and Nguyen Chi Long. The Koreans had 4 winners, the Turks and Vietnamese 3. Ten of 16 winners achieved the maximum 4 match points. David Pennör and Ahmet Alp qualified with only one win. The Colombians advanced with Huberney Cataño, but lost Jose Juan Garcia. Ryuuji Umeda, Carlos Anguita, and Pierre Soumagne, among others, finished in the lower parts.
The attractive and high-quality group started with the French clash between Gwendal Maréchal and Maxime Panaia, which ended in a draw. That match saw a constant up-and-down in the scores, 15-15 in 10, 24-20 for Maréchal in 20, followed by a tactical and defensive finish: Panaia opened the attack with 7 and scored six times 1, while Maréchal kept up that steady rhythm and, after the 35th, managed to equalize by scoring a 1 from Panaia. The next game also had a similarly wonderful finish. Denizcan Akkoca and Maxime Panaia opened 13-11 in 10 for the Turk, who took control of the match with runs of 6 and 9. Panaia regained control with a 13 run in the 16th inning. At 32-28, Akkoca finished with 7, Panaia made 2 in the equalizer, but fell short of a major carom: 35-34 in 17.
The match between Akkoca and Maréchal was the decider. The Turk had two match points, while Panaia and Maréchal had one, meaning Panaia, who was already out of the game, was certain of elimination.
Denizcan Akkoca had a formidable start against Maréchal with a 17-point opening, which led to a brief pause before the Frenchman came to the table for his first inning. The erratic Turk suffered a significant setback after this remarkable start. With nine misses in 15 innings, he squandered his substantial lead, and after 18 innings and a run of seven, the Frenchman even led 32-29. Akkoca scored four more times, Maréchal secured the unexpected victory in the 23rd inning, 35-33 in 22. The player with the sensational 17-point start, Denizcan Akkoca, was forced to retire and leave the tournament.
The best groups in terms of averages were Group H, with Geonyun Kim winning with a 1.428 score, followed by Birol Uymaz with 1.625 and Tom Löwe with 1.514. And Group I, with David Pennör winning with 1.486, followed by Mikaël Devogelaere with 1.476 and Young Ho Kim with 1.418. The qualified player with the lowest average was Huberney Cataño with 1.129.
The 12 groups for Thursday in the final qualification (group winners and 2 best numbers 2 qualify for the main draw):
Group A: Hoan Tat Nguyen, Thanh Tien Le, Phuong Vinh Bao
Group B: Gwendal Maréchal, Geonyun Kim, Peter Ceulemans
Group C: Hong Chiem Thai, David Pennör, Huberney Cataño
Group D: Ahmet Alp, Alessio D'Agata, Glenn Hofman
Group E: Sam van Etten, Hugo Patiño, Ruben Legazpi
Group F: Yes In Kang, Ufuk Kapusiz, Nick Polychronopoulos
Group G: Torbjörn Blomdahl, Van Ly Dao, Sung Il Jeong
Group H: Myeong Jong Cha, Chang Hoon Seo, Kostas Papakonstantinou
Group I: Turgay Orak, Chi Yeon Cho, Roland Forthomme
Group J: Rui Manuel Costa, Nguyen Chi Long, Gökhan Salman
Group K: Sergio Jimenez, Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen, Tarik Yavuz
Group L: Bong Joo Hwang, Chun Woo Park, Omer Karakurt.
The day winner Chun Woo Park
The wonderful Gwangju arena
Wednesday's standings:
Group A:
1 Alessio D'Agata 4-1.206-6
2 Do Hyeon Kim 2-0.887-10
3 Gerhard Kostistansky 0-0.954-6
Group B:
1 Hoan Tat Nguyen 3-1,372-7
2 Nguyen Nhu Le 2-1.291-8
3 Pierre Soumagne 1-1.264-8
Group C:
1 Ufuk Kapusiz 4-1.272-9
2 Jose Juan Garcia 2-0.980-8
3 Gurhan Kabak 0-0.491-3
Group D:
1 Chun Woo Park 4-2,121-10
2 Dimitrios Seleventas 2-1.260-9
3 Tobias Bouerdick 0-1,183-8
Group E:
1 Nguyen Chi Long 4-1,489-7
2 Tatsuo Arai 2-1.196-9
3 Jose Miguel Soares 0-1,186-6
Group F:
1 Ahmet Alp 2-1.395-7
2 Viet Hoang Minh Thon 2-1.320-8
3 Ryuuji Umeda 2-1.111-7
Group G:
1 Thanh Tien Le 3-1.372-9
2 Arnim Kahofr 2-1.109-4
3 Carlos Anguita 1-1,239-11
Group H:
1 Geonyun Kim 3-1,428-13
2 Birol Uymaz 2-1.625-6
3 Tom Löwe 1-1.514-7
Group I:
1 David Pennör 2-1.486-7
2 Mikaël Devogelaere 2-1.476-6
3 Young Ho Kim 2-1,418-10
Group J:
1 Hugo Patiño 4-1,250-7
2 Riad Nady 2-1.347-7
3 Kevin Vasseur 0-0.875-6
Group K:
1 Tarik Yavuz 4-1,750-6
2 Takao Miyashita 2-1,238-8
3 Jo Yeongyon 0-0
Group L:
1 Sung Il Jeong 4-1.458-10
2 Jun Hyuk Son 2-1.297-7
3 Serdal Bas 0-0.865-7
Group M:
1 Kostas Papakonstantinou 4-1.458-11
2 Volkan Cetin 2-0.916-8
3 Mehmet Goren 0-1.222-6
Group N:
1 Gwendal Maréchal 3-1.186-7
2 Denizcan Akkoca 2-1.700-17
3 Maxime Panaia 1-1.301-13
Group O:
1 Chi Yeon Cho 4-1.458-12
2 Lukas Stamm 2-0.915-6
3 Muammer Rahmet 0-0.563-4
Group P:
1 Huberney Cataño 4-1.129-6
2 Atsushi Kiyota 2-1.215-8
3 Alain Saeys 0-0.492-7