There was not much emotion on the face of Jung Han Heo, just a small smile curled his lips after his match against Kyung Roul Kim and the first win of the day. He rubbed his cue and looked with some interest at Jérémy Bury, who struggled at the other table to take a distance in the duel with his compatriot Pierre Soumagne. He only succeeded in the 24th inning with a run of nine, then he took a definite advantage (50-36 in 26 innings).
Jung Han Heo shoved the cue in his suitcase and walked slowly out of the room, on his way out to enjoy a cigarette. Was it a surprise tha Jung Han Heo defeated the worlds number two? What is called a surprise in the current billiard, certainly not when two Koreans facing each other. But anyway Heo immediately started with a grand average: 50-34 in 18 innings (2.778).
,,It's just a matter of some luck, even I also beat Suong Won Choi in the previous round'', he later told before the cameras. ,,My goal is to be the best of my country and also to be better than Kim and Choi.''
Jérémy Bury emphasized already before the start of this round: ,,Jung Han Heo is very dangerous, he is the player with the best average in qualifying.'' The 33-year-old Korean, from the south of the country, apparently showed no tension. He looked all the way to the finish better than Kyung-Roul Kim, who had much more difficulties to acclimatize.
The best start of the match still was for Kim, who was leading 26-22 in eleven inninngs. Heo then attacked from the eleventh to the fourteenth inning with runs of 6, 2, 4 and 6 and in the last two innings he took the win with 6 and 4 (50-34 in 18 innings).
Jérémy Bury had his best phase of the match in the first part and in the final innings. At a 26-17 score at the halfway point he ran away from Soumagne, but after some bad innings, he permitted his young compatriot to come back to 36-34.
The French prestige battle, however, ended with a deserved winner, as Bury in the final stage produced fourteen points in his last three innings.
The group continues in the evening session (21.00) with probably the most important match. Kyung-Roul Kim fights for his last chance for survival against Jérémy Bury. The Frenchman can prepare for a blissful night's sleep if he wins this match.