Jae-Ho Cho, little giant in New York

08/13/2017

Published by frits bakker

The glorious winner at the New York tournament, Jae-Ho Cho, the first Korean in history to take the Verhoeven Open

NEW YORK - Following the Frenchman Jérémy Bury as the prominent last year winner in New York, the Korean Jae-Ho Cho and Belgian Eddy Leppens were the shadow strikers to dominate and seize power now. The world top, with Dani Sánchez, Dick Jaspers, Frédéric Caudron and Torbjörn Blomdahl as the spearheads, missed the main spots in the Carom Café. Jae-Ho Cho was the final, diminutive giant in the last match against Eddy Leppens (40-19 in 16). The stage was completed by Dani Sánchez, who became third ahead of Semih Sayginer. Jae-Ho Cho stepped with his victory in the footprints of Sang-Lee, the former Korean/American to whom the tournament in the Carom Café was named. The Korean winner, the first in the history of the event, was awarded 9000 US dollars, Eddy Leppens by 6500.

The final victory in New York, with eight players from the world's top 12, was dominated in the last stage by two relative outside players, the Korean number 16 in the world, the Belgian nr. 18. Jae-Ho Cho (37) has won one World Cup in his career so far, three years ago in Istanbul. The 49-year-old Eddy Leppens was three times on the podium of a World championship, but could never win a World Cup.

They were not the two huge favourites who had the best sprint in the marathon of matches. The Spanish world champion Dani Sánchez, winner and big contender for a new victory, had only one weaker match: in the semi-final against Jae-Ho Cho. Semih Sayginer had a promising start in the other half-final against Leppens, but the Belgian escaped miraculously when his Turkish opponent lost his way.

The tournament was marked by many highlights with high averages, high runs and fascinating fights. When the apotheosis was coming up, it was all about win. The tension was growing. Jae-Ho Cho could deal better with it than Eddy Leppens, who ran into a better final opponent after a brilliant performance. Jae-Ho Cho was ruthless in the first part. With runs of seven in the third inning and eight in the fourth, he launched the attack with a 20-3 lead. Then, Leppens could only make a six (30-14), but the match had already been decided.

Jae-Ho Cho, who treated the audience to a huge smile, showed his emotions, waved to the fans outside the arena, popped up his cue, posed in front of the scoreboard with friends and Korean fans. He celebrated the prestigious victory, writing his name as the first Korean in the gallery of many of the world's major cracks.

Eddy Leppens was close to the main success after a flawless preliminary round and a strong come-back against Semih Sayginer in the semi-final. ,,I did what I could, but after that flashy start, I couldn't come back'', said Leppens, who's leaving for a new challenge in Los Angeles immediately after New York. ,,I was a little unlucky with my first shots in the final, a few sensitive balls, which I didn't touch the right way. So, it's all so close together. I only showed good matches her, for the Korean it was his first very strong performance in this tournament. But well, he's deserved it in this final match.''

Jae-Ho Cho after the ceremony with the trophy

Match for 3rd/4th place:

Dani Sánchez-Semih Sayginer 40-25 in 21

The Spaniard had recovered from his poor semi-final and ran out to 13-1 on the scoreboard after two innings. He maintained that lead, including a run of eight in the eleventh (28-14). The victory comes after 34-18 in between and 40-25 at the end.

Semi-finals:

Eddy Leppens-Semih Sayginer 40-31 in 24

The first attack of Sayginer, with runs of six in the tenth and eight in the twelfth inning to 24-9, broke Leppens' resistance in the opening of the match. The Belgian, so confident and strong in the previous stage of the tournament, suddenly was looking for his form and feeling. The misses were often followed by a desperate look, unrecognizable for the Leppens who played so sovereignly. Semih Sayginer took a profit from the better start, but ran into some misses when Leppens regained his confidence after the break. The first revival with six brought the Belgian back to 26-20, four innings later (22nd), Leppens dashed off with a run of 13, putting Sayginer in a losing position (37-29). Two innings later, the Belgian finished and reached for the second time (after 2008) the final of the New York tournament.

Eddy Leppens, on his way to a second final in New York

Semih Sayginer, a sudden setback after a flaunting start

Jae-Ho Cho-Dani Sánchez 40-21 in 20

The almost unbeatable Dani Sánchez for more than one year, is running for one time into a poor match. The top scorer of current three-cushion couldn't find his rhythm in the fight with the Korean, missed the start (20-7 in 4) and failed to reverse the match. The long runs and his wonderful stroke technique, usually his strong weapons, fail to happen and put the Spanish toreador in a bad position. The Korean played quickly, fired up the match and didn't care for the opponent's reputation. Jae-Ho Cho, who rarely shows emotions, was given a free passage when he remained highly focussed in the final part of the match. And even at the end, Sánchez only can produce three, four misses in his last runs. Jae-Ho Cho was the more than deserved superior.

Jae-Ho Cho, big smile after his victory over Sánchez

Dani Sánchez, the world's best, losing his match in the semis to Jae-Ho Cho

Match 5th/6th place:

Duc Anh Chien Nguyen-Frédéric Caudron 40-24 in 18

The tournament in New York saw a new Vietnamese star coming up. Duc Anh Chien Nguyen (35) debuted last year and then already showed all his talents. He came to the Big Apple, he then told, to look the big guns and learn. His come-back this year was impressive, including victories over Torbjörn Blomdahl, Semih Sayginer, Sung-Won Choi and Frédéric Caudron, whom he defeated for the fifth place: after 14-1 and 19-9, the most unknown of the Nguyens beats the Belgian world star 40-24. The Asian three cushion has produced a new diamond.

The four final players in New York: Jae-Ho Cho, Eddy Leppens, Dani Sánchez and Semih Sayginer

Final ranking:
1 Jae-Ho Cho 1.650-10
2 Eddy Leppens 1.897-10
3 Dani Sánchez 1.847-11
4 Semih Sayginer 1.683-12
5 Duc Anh Chien Nguyen 1.602-12
6 Frédéric Caudron 2.055-14
7 Wan Young Choi 1.592-12
8 Quyet Chien Tran 1.573-12
9 Dong-Koong Kang 2.050-11
10 Roland Forthomme 1.960-14
11 Dick Jaspers 2.011-13
12 Minh Cam Ma 1.712-11
13 Haeng-Jik Kim 1.927-10
14 Dinh Nai Ngo 1.793-15
15 Torbjörn Blomdahl 1.724-15
16 Eddy Merckx 1.330-8.