GWAJUNG – The first day of the main World Cup in Gwajung, with 32 players in 8 groups of 4, saw some miraculous scores this Friday. Belgian Eddy Merckx, who finished with a fantastic average over 3 (40 in 15, 12, and 12 innings), overwhelmed Greek Nick Polychronopoulos in one of his three matches with an incredible 40-3 in 12 innings. German Martin Horn defeated Vietnamese star Quyet Chien Tran 40-5 in 12 innings. The dominance of these two winners was almost unprecedented: rarely are top matches in the World Cups decided by such a large margin. On this crucial tiebreaker day, with 32 players competing for 16 spots, the averages were often sky-high. Eddy Merckx was the absolute maestro with 3.076. Dutchman Glenn Hofman, the only orange player remaining after Dick Jaspers' elimination, shone against Tayfun Tasdemir in a do-or-die match with a brilliant run of 17, defeating the Turk with a flawless 40-20 score in ten innings. Peter Ceulemans, who was eliminated after two matches, produced a magnificent run of 19 in the second inning of his match against Hong Chiem Thai.
Two world-class players, Dick Jaspers and Frédéric Caudron, had a shaky start with losses. Quyet Chien Tran even had a completely off day, something the Vietnamese player rarely experiences. Caudron secured qualification after losing to Merckx (40-39). Jaspers, far from his best form, had to fight a tough battle with Colombian Daniel Morales and was knocked out in the final innings. Jaspers' top position in the world rankings is now in danger due to this early elimination. The Dutch top gun was also eliminated in this early stage at the last World Cup in Antwerp. Glenn Hofman and Haeng Jik Kim were the deciding players then.
Eddy Merckx, the best player this day, is back at the top of the UMB player rankings for the first time in about ten years. That feels like a nice recognition. "I'm not one of the youngest players anymore in this field of top players, so it's great to be at the top of that ranking." The Belgian number 1 had one of the best days in his career. "It felt like a fantastic day," Merckx assured. "I was beaten by Frédéric Caudron in the World championship final. I didn’t feel well for exactly fifteen minutes then, but I didn't lose to the first, the best. After that, I picked up again, now I feel an excellent form. But who knows what will happen tomorrow."
Saturday's knockout matches of 16 (starting at 12:00 PM Korean time, 4:00 AM Western European time):
Eddy Merckx-Daniel Morales Sergio Jimenez-Frédéric Caudron
Sameh Sidhom-Wan Young Choi
Van Ly Dao-Myung Woo Cho
2:30 PM in Korea, 6:30 AM in Western Europe:
Martin Horn-Jung-han Heo Glenn Hofman-Nguyen Chi Long Bong Joo Hwang-Tayfun Tasdemir
Haeng Jik Kim-Marco Zanetti
The overviews of the 8 groups of four on Friday:
Group A:
Dick Jaspers is eliminated from the World Cup after the first round with 32 top players. The Dutchman lost one of his three preliminary matches, played 1 draw and was unfortunately eliminated from the knockout round with 16 players. He lost his first to Sergio Jimenez, the volatile Spaniard who outdid himself, winning with a run of 16, 40-34 in 24 innings. Jaspers recovered somewhat with a win over Vietnamese TTT Nguyen (40-32 in 22), but in his third and decisive match, Jaspers was defeated by Colombian Daniel Morales despite a draw in the equalizer: 40-40 in 29. Sergio Jimenez is the group winner with an average of 1.738, Morales comes in second with 3 points and 1.716. Jaspers falls short on average: 3 points and 1.520.
Standings:
1. Sergio Jimenez 4-1,738-16
2. Daniel Morales 3-1,716-11
3. Dick Jaspers 3-1,520-10
4. TTT Nguyen 2-1,308-9
Group B: Haeng Jik Kim and Myung Woo Cho open the match with a win for Kim in a one-man show of 10 innings: 40-17. Turgay Orak follows with a win over Rui Costa, but then loses to the two Koreans. Myung Woo Cho claims second place with 4 points and 1,796.
Standings:
1. Haeng Jik Kim 6-2,142-11
2. Myung Woo Cho 4-1,796-10
3. Turgay Orak 2-1,364-8
4. Rui Costa 0-1,228-12
Group C:
Martin Horn is a sole champion in this four-way match against a remarkably poor Quyet Chien Tran. The German wins his three matches with an average of 2,068 and runs of 12 and 11. The most impressive victory is the 40-5 victory against Quyet Chien Tran, who is playing one of his rare weak World Cups. Wan Young Choi advances to the next round with a respectable 4 points and 1,859.
The standings:
1. Martin Horn 6-2,068-12
2. Wan Young Choi 4-1,859-11
3. Hugo Patiño 2-1,508-8
4. Quyet Chien Tran 0-0,980-7
Group D:
The sublime star of the day is Eddy Merckx, who, with three wins in 15, 12, and 12 innings, plays an astronomical average of 3.076. He beat Caudron, in a kind of revenge on the World Championship final, 40-39 in 15 and then steamrolled Polychronopoulos (40-3) and Myeong Jong Cha (40-17 in 12) for a masterful final score.
Merckx: "This my best average ever in a World Cup session over three matches. It felt like top form, but tomorrow is another day." Caudron won his next two matches, defeated Polychronopoulos with a final run of 12, and advanced to the next round, also with a great average.
The standings:
1 Eddy Merckx 6-3,076-13
2 Frédéric Caudron 4-2,245-12
3 Nick Polychronopoulos 2-1,531-9
4 Myeong Jong Cha 0-1,276-8
Group E:
The tension remained until the end, as Marco Zanetti faced Bong Jo Hwang (40-36 loss) in his final match. The Korean, who already had a good average, moved to the top of the group with this win. Berkay Karakurt still had a slim chance to threaten Zanetti's average, but was defeated by Vietnamese Thanh Tien Le, who scored a 14 and secured a win in the final group match. That means Hwang and Zanetti advance to the knockouts.
The standings:
1. Bong Jo Hwang 4-2,125-10
2. Marco Zanetti 4-1,784-11
3. Berkay Karakurt 2-1,464-10
4. Thanh Tien Le 2-1,421-8
Group F:
The Vietnamese take the spoils, as Tolgahan Kiraz can't stop their dominance. Van Ly Dao claims the group win in his match against Nguyen Chi Long, winning 40-36 in 22 matches. Kiraz wins his only match against Tran 40-30 in 35 matches.
The standings:
1. Van Ly Dao 6-1,600-11
2. Nguyen Chi Long 4-1,901-7
3. Tolgahan Kiraz 2-1,272-10
4. Thanh Luc Tran 0-1,189-7
Group G:
Dutchman Glenn Hofman isn't shying away from world stars in his rise. After losing to Jérémy Bury in his first match, Hofman must defeat Tayfun Tasdemir. The match is tied at 16-16, at which point Hofman launches an unstoppable attack with a run of 17. That leads to a 40-20 win in 9 (4.444 average, best match of the day) and the top spot in the group.
The standings:
1. Glenn Hofman 4-2.235-17
2. Tayfun Tasdemir 4-2.222-9
3. Jérémy Bury 3-1.666-7
4. Ruben Legazpi 1-1.559-7
Group H:
Sameh Sidhom's final score is almost flawless after starting with a 40-40 win in 26 against Hong Chiem Thai. The longtime African world-class player continues with victories over Peter Ceulemans and Jung-han Heo. The four players are not far apart in averages, with match points being decisive. Peter Ceulemans experiences his moment of glory after being eliminated. In his second inning against Thai, the Belgian star player blazes with a run of 19. It's just one point away from his career-best of 20. Peter Ceulemans commented: "I definitely had my chances, but I wasn't at my best today and was punished twice by a run of 12."
The standings:
1 Sameh Sidhom 5-1,621-12
2 Jung-han Heo 4-1,790-12
3 Peter Ceulemans 2-1,529-19
4 Hong Chiem Thai 1-1,590-10
