PORTO – The world champion Myung Woo Cho has now won his second World Cup as well after winning his first world title. In the Portuguese heat, the Korean won the final on Saturday evening against Frenchman Jérémy Bury, who, after his victory over Zanetti in the semi-finals, wasn’t able to pull off a big stunt and could only nod in admiration at his opponent’s wonderful caroms. Korean wonder boy Cho defied high European expectations and seized power in the scorching heat (38 degrees Celsius indoor temperature) on the final days. He was by far the strongest in the final: 50-34 in 23 after runs of 5, 5 and 8 in the decisive final phase.
FC Porto TV sent a charming girl to interview the winner after the final, but Myung Woo (27) could only say with his big smile that he did not speak English, that he was happy with his second World Cup, waved his sensitive billiard fingers to indicate that it had been very hot and that he wanted to go and eat as soon as possible.
The podium was completed by Jérémy Bury, who unsuccessfully chased his second World Cup title but played an excellent tournament. Marco Zanetti was number three, Gökhan Salman also won bronze, which he had never done before in his career. ’’This really was my best World Cup ever, I had never made it to the top 16 before.’’
Because of the extreme heat, FC Porto's World Cup failed to live up to its great reputation as an organiser and was exposed to harsh criticism from players and the public about the heat. The tournament was long characterised by European hegemony, with 12 players against 4 Asians in the top 16. The gold for a Korean was certainly deserved. The world champion, already one of the biggest talents ever with three world titles at junior level, does not always shine in World Cups. The one in Porto was only his second after his first in Sharm El Sheikh.
In the semi-final, Marco Zanetti was well on his way to victory against Jérémy Bury and, among other things, took a comfortable lead after a run of 12. In the final, in which he missed three match points, Bury suddenly got some chances. He took advantage of the most important one and won 50-49 in 37/36. Zanetti's surprising comment: ‘For the first time in my career, I'm happy that I don't have to play in the final anymore. That would have been unacceptable for a player of my age in this heat.’ Myung Woo Cho also won comfortably in the other semi-final against Gökhan Salman, 50-24 in 22/21.
The sportive run-up was difficult with long matches. Carlos Crespo was the first to score high in this terrible temperatures with 1,818. The Colombians seemed to quickly get used to the weather they are accustomed to in their own country. Viet Hoang Minh Thon and Frédéric Caudron approached an average of 2,000 in the following sessions, Jimenez scored a 15, Hofman a 14.
The main event started with high scores for Caudron and Cho (2,666 and series 18). Quyet Chien Tran and Phuong Bao were quickly eliminated from the tournament, the most notable being Dick Jaspers, the number 1, who lost to Haeng Jik Kim and Frédéric Caudron and, contrary to his usual form, had to go home early.
The rest of the tournament saw Merckx, who got off to a great start with some wonderful runs, defeat Ceulemans, Caudron defeat Hofman and Bury defeat Haeng Jik Kim. The quarter-finals brought Gökhan Salman as a sensation with a victory over Caudron. Cho defeated Merckx with a decisive run of 15, Bury beat Jimenez, and Zanetti beat Legazpi. The Spaniards bowed out with a look back at a remarkably strong tournament, Legazpi even with a game averaging a solid 3.
Eddy Merckx achieved the highest run with 19, Myung Woo Cho scored an 18 and a 15, Sergio Jimenez a 15. Ruben Legazpi had the best game average with 3.846. Nick Polychronopoulos had the highest overall average with 2.161.
The World Cup in Porto will go down in history as the hottest World Cup ever. During and after the tournament, many players asked themselves: ‘Why did the UMB, the world federation, allow this? We have never had to play billiards in such poor conditions.’ The answer from Mister Farouk Barki, the president, was clear. "We heard a month in advance that FC Porto, the famous football club, did not have the sporting hall at the stadium available due to renovations. So we had to find an alternative, only one month in advance. I was confident. The accommodation was good, the billiard tables better than ever in Porto, but we had incredible bad luck with the weather. I have never experienced this in 22 years of World Cups and European Cups in Porto. What was I supposed to do? Say in the days before the start that we would cancel the World Cup? Should I go to FC Porto and say it couldn’t take place? The only organisation in the world that has been organising tournaments for the UMB for 22 years without interruption? And what to say to all the players who had booked tickets. I know it was bad to play, but we had no choice.
The players who are critical are always the same complainers and don't know what they're talking about, Barki assures us.
"They don't want to go to South America, they don't want to go to Vietnam, nowhere is good enough for them. I haven't heard a word of complaint from Eddy Merckx or Dick Jaspers or any of the other players. Yes, it was hot, it wasn't ideal, they suffered under those conditions. But look at the averages, look at the great matches we saw. We all had to endure it. I have deep respect for FC Porto, for all the years they have helped us. It was impossible to cancel this World Cup because of the extreme heat. Next year it will be somewhere else, I've already heard. Not in the stadium, but maybe in the Sheraton hotel in Porto, where we've played before, or in Matosinhos. But luckily Porto will remain on the calendar for another four or five years. I'm very happy about that.
The final standings of the World Cup in Porto:
1 Myung Woo Cho 12-1,962-18
2 Jérémy Bury 10-1,903-11
3 Gökhan Salman 10-1,615-13
4 Marco Zanetti 8-1,505-12
5 Eddy Merckx 8-1,854-19
6 Frédéric Caudron 8-1,621-12
7 Sergio Jimenez 6-1,221-15
8 Ruben Legazpi 4-1,941-12
9 Nick Polychonopoulos 6-2,161-9
10 Van Ly Dao 6-1,538-10
11 Haeng Jik Kim 4-1,916-13
12 Glenn Hofman 4-1,623-14
13 Berkay Karakurt 4-1,441-8
14 Myeong Jong Cha 4-1,408-7
15 Tolgahan Kiraz 4-1,247-6
16 Peter Ceulemans 2-1,595-12
17 Jose Juan Garcia 4-1,421-7
18 Emrullah Basegmez 3-1,217-11
19 Dick Jaspers 2-1,521-11
20 Quyet Chien Tran 2-1,500-12.
The world rankings after Porto:
1 Dick Jaspers 428
2 Myung Woo Cho 358
3 Quyet Chien Tran 322
4 Eddy Merckx 318
5 Marco Zanetti 278
6 Thanh Luc Tran 271
7 Tayfun Tasdemir 268
8 Jung Han Heo 266
9 Sameh Sidhom 224
10 Jérémy Bury 211
11 Tolgahan Kiraz 206
12 Berkay Karakurt 193
13 Frédéric Caudron 187
14 Martin Horn 174
15 Haeng Jik Kim 170
16 Phuong Vinh Bao 168
17 Peter Ceulemans 165
18 Hong Chiem Thai 160
19 Glenn Hofman 138
20 Ruben Legazpi 137.