3-Cushion
VALENCIA - The opening day at the three-cushion World championship for ladies in Valencia started with a gala of 24 ladies around the arena, 16 of them qualified for the knock-outs. Therese Klompenhouwer, the undisputed favorite for a new title, directly showed the best average. The overall level, on brand new cloths, was disappointing. "It looked more like skating on slippery ice and swimming all over the table than like billiards," was the first comment of the reigning champion. That was shown in the averages: only the champion played over 1 average, other contenders like Orie Hida, Gülsen Degener and the two Korean players felt like dolphins in the desert. The run-up was poor, the later sessions much better. All favorites, except 18-year-old Hyunji Yong, moved up to the final rounds in the next two days.
The leading lady on the first day was Therese Klompenhouwer with two victories, a weak start against her compatriot Joke Breur, a first attack with a run of 9 and then a walk-over against Johanna Sandoval. With four match points, 25-points victories in 20 and 21 and 1,250 on average at the start, the Dutch title defender far exceeded her competitors. Orie Hida was 'best of the rest' with four match points and 0,806, after a start against Karina Jetten 25-19 in 39 and 25-18 in 23 against Min A Kim, which gave her a moderate 0.806, followed by Min A Kim with 0,754. With two wins and 0.665, Sruong Pheavy didn't show what she's really capable to play. The Cambodian star on social media did not feel any opposition from Céline Jacques and Ana Juarez in these first encounters. Turkish Gúzin Mujde Karakasli seems an outsider for a podium position, which she showed with a certain regularity in her two matches: 25-11 in 34 against Vargas, 25-20 in 39 against Mitterböck.
Estela Cardosa was the best in her group, because she managed to beat Gülsen Degener in a match that lasted just under 50 innings (25-23). Very surprising was the elimination of 18-year-old Korean Hyunji Yong after a hopeless loss against Cardoso in her first performance 40-5 in 29. Irena Hambalkova and Jackeline Perez won their group with averages under half. Hambalkova remained well ahead of Marianne Mortensen in the final match (25-12 in 46). Jackeline Perez was only one carom away from Steffi Daske, who missed the equalizer (25-24 in 69). Belgian Jaimie Buelens, who heard two days before the start of the tournament that she could replace Vietnamese participant, defeated Danielle le Bruyn in the Belgian clash, who then also lost to Ayako Sakai. The Japanese finished as group winner with minimal difference, because Jaimie Buelens missed her last point: 25-24 in 53.
There were plenty of examples of how difficult the start was on these slipping tables. Two matches passed the 70 innings: Jacques-Juarez took 74 innings, Daske needed 73 innings against Gomez to finish and 69 innings in her second match for a 1-point-loss. Joke Breur started her second game, which she won, with 12 misses. German Steffi Daske, who qualified as second, had 13 misses in a row in her first game and started in her second with 3 points in 30 innings.
The matches for Tuesday in the knockout with the last sixteen:
11.00:
Klompenhouwer-Mortensen
Perez-Kim
Cardoso-Mitterböck
Pheavy-Breur
13.00:
Karakasli-Daske
Sakai-Buelens
Hambalkova-Degener
Hida-Jacques.
The quarter finls are on Tuesday at 17.00 and 19.00.
The overviews of the group phase:
Group A position:
1 Therese Klompenhouwer 4-1.250-9
2 Joke Breur 2-0.423-3
3 Johanna Sandoval 0-0.367-3
Group B position:
1 Sruong Pheavy 4-0.665-5
2 Celine Jacques 2-0.341-4
3 Ana Juarez 0-0.262-3
Group C position:
1 Orie Hida 4-0.806-9
2 Min A Kim 2-0.754-5
3 Karina Jetten 0-0.438-7
Group D position:
1 Estela Cardoso 4-0.641-5
2 Gülsen Degener 2-0.539-3
3 Hyunji Yong 0-0.405-4.
Group E:
1 Güzin Mujde Karakasli 4-0.684-5
2 Helga Mitterböck 2-0.454-4
3 Edna Vargas 0-0-0.329-3
Group F:
1 Jackeline Perez 4-0,434-5
2 Steffi Daske 2-0.347-5
3 Soledad Gomez 0-0.294-3
Group G:
1 Ayako Sakai 4-0.537-4
2 Jaimie Buelens 2-0.538-6
3 Danielle le Bruyn 0-0.551-6
Group H:
1 Irena Hambalkova 4-0.4588-4
2 Marianne Mortensen 2-0.330-3
3 Martha Castro 0-0.302-3.
Therese Klompenhouwer, the best of all on average on the starting day
Orie Hida, not the best start, showing her good form in the second match
Güzin Mujde Karakasli, one of the candidates for the podium
Japanse Ayako Sakai was the better of Jaimie Buelens on one point
Min A Kim, the only Korean in the last sixteen
The ladies for the World championship enjoy before the start making selfies