3-Cushion
LUXOR - The opulent ballroom of the Sonesta St George hotel was the scene of many an interesting derby on the billiard table, today. Three Turks met in a single group, two Vietnamese, two Koreans and two Greeks opposed each other in the final qualification. The best match in the early hours: Chi-Yeon Cho, who started off with a run of fifteen against Hyun Min Seo and won by 40-30 in 15 (2.666/2.000). The most exciting match of the final round: Lütfi Cenet against Adnan Yüksel, a Turkish showcase, with Cenet the better man out of the blocks, Yüksel in the lead at halftime thanks to a run of twelve (21-19), but his countryman eventually the winner: 40-38 in 25. Adnan Yüksel was rewarded for his efforts though, he was one the nrs. 2 to make it into the main draw.
Nikos Polychronopoulos, the usually lightning fast Greek, had arrived in the hotel at half past one in the night, and was at the table early the next morning. His short sleep did not bother him: he beat his elder countryman Kostas Papakonstantinou 40-34 in 17 after a quick jump of 17 in 4.
Korean Chi-Yeon Cho, a coming man, also demonstrated his class. The 41-year old newcomer, former room owner, made it to the final o the Asian championships earlier this year, and got beaten by HaengJik Kim: 40-29 in 24. His promising start of the season saw a hiccup in Luxor, when he lost to surprise Murat Celik (40-32 in 32), but he barely made it as a best 2nd, behind Quyet Chien Tran and Adnan Yüksel.
The top achievers of the day?
1 Nikos Polychronopoulos who first beat his countryman and then also Peter De Backer by a margin. Nikos showed impeccable form with a 2.222 general average. He had the flair of a star player, and almost casually took the lead in the day rankings.
2 Lütfi Cenet, who dug deep twice against fellow Turks. Especially his encounter with Adnan Yüksel was a joy to behold.
3 Murat Naci Coklu was under no threat in his group. He first beat local Egyptian favorite Ihab El Messery (40-20 in 21) and closed the deal with an authoritative win over one of the earlier top qualifiers, Korean Hyung Kon Kim (40-26 in 24).
Murat Naci Coklu, ready for the next mission in Luxor.
The unexpected winners?
1 Murat Tüzül told us that he had no form and consequently low expectations. The Turkish room owner first eliminated sixteen year old Myung Woo Cho and secured his place in the main draw with wins over Tae Soo Lim (40-38 in 34) and Quyet Chien Tran (40-30 in 22).
2 Choong-Bok Lee had a horrendous start against Savas Bulut (40-20 in 24), but was given a second life, beat Tolgahan Kiraz and still advanced with two match points and 1.200.
3 Emrullah Basegmez, who did not have a very good first day, found his form against Eddy Leppens and won 40-29 in 29 innings.
The lucky losers?
1 Quyet Chien Tran started well against Tae Soo Lim, but could not overcome the power of Murat Tüzül in his second match. With 1.750 he was nevertheless the best of the losers.
2 Chi-Yeon Cho, in the hotel hallway, waited anxiously after his disappointment against Murat Celik. He was relieved to find out he was the third (and last) of the second place finishers into the main draw.
The unexpected losers?
1 Javier Palazón could not live up to the expectations: he suffered defeat twice and went out in spite of one good match. The Spaniard had played the semifinal in the last Hurghada World Cup, losing by two points to Dong Koong Kang there.
2 Birol Uymaz was unrecognizable, not the player who had beaten Semih Sayginer a day earlier in an exhibition-like match. The diminutive Turk had a complete offday and lost to two countrymen: Adnan Yüksel (40-26 in 25) and Lütfi Cenet (40-14 in 20).
3 Eddy Leppens, full of confidence after three spectacular victories in Belgium, was eliminated without a single win, losing to Xuan Cuong Ma and Emrullah Basegmez. The Belgian was leading 13-2 after two innings, but from 26-26 it was Basegmez who finished the job.
Lütfi Cenet who battled it out with Adnan Yükslel and Birol Uymaz
The ranking of the day:
1 Nikos Polychronopoulos 4-2.222
2 Lütfi Cenet 4-1.777
3 Murat Naci Coklu 4-1.777
4 Hyung Bum Hwang 4-1.702
5 Jung Han Heo 4-1.568
6 Jérémy Bury 4-1.509
7 Emrullah Basegmez 4-1.481
8 Murat Tüzül 4-1.428
9 Christian Rudolph 4-1.269
10 Vinh Ly The 4-1.142
11 Hyun Min Seo 2-1.627
12 Choong-Bok Lee 2-1.200.
Three best nrs. 2:
1 Quyet Chien Tran 2-1.750
2 Adnan Yüksel 2-1.560
3 Chi-Yeon Cho 2-1.531
High run: Chi-Yeon Cho: 15.
The draw for the main tournament, tomorrow (Thursxay):
12.00 uur:
Sung-Won Choi-Hyun Min Seo
Jean Paul de Bruijn-Jung Han Heo
Dong Koong Kang-Haeng Jik Kim
Marco Zanetti-Jérémy Bury.
14.00 uur:
Roland Forthomme-Emrullah Basegmez
Jae Ho Cho-Adnan Yüksel
Nikos Polychronopoulos-Christian Rudolph
Torbjörn Blomdahl-Chi-Yeon Cho.
16.00 uur:
Frédéric Caudron-Murat Tüzül
Hyung Bum Hwang-Choong Bok Lee
Dick Jaspers-Riad Nady
Murat Naci Coklu-Vinh Ly The
18.00 uur:
Tayfun Tasdemir-Pedro Piedrabuena
Dani Sánchez-Filippos Kasidokostas
Lütfi Cenet-Sameh Sidhom
Eddy Merckx-Quyet Chien Tran.