NEVSEHIR ÜRGÜP - With a starting field of 800 players, the second Turkish ranking tournament had a great ambiance again and an exciting final. Tayfun Tasdemir was crowned winner after a final against Murat Celik: 40-25 in 20 innings. Can Capak, the winner of the first tournament, was eliminated by Murat Celik. He remains leader in the Turkish rankings followed by Semih Saygıner, Tayfun Tasdemir, Tolgahan Kiraz and Gökhan Salman.
The second ranking tournament was played in Nevsehir Urgup, in central Anatolia in the historical region of Cappadocia. In the Ürgüp Kapadoyka sports center, twelve tables were prepared to handle the huge number of matches.
Tayfun Tasdemir defeated in the final phase successively Harun Göleli 40-28 in 26, Mahmut Özdemir 40-34 in 23, Semih Saygıner 40-32 in 22, Haci Arap Yaman 40-31 in 19 and finally in the final Murat Celik 40-25 in 20.
Haci Arap Yaman, the 51-year-old 2008 world champion artistic, played a surprisingly strong tournament, with victories over Hakan Incekara (40-32 in 23, run 14), Birol Uymaz 40-39 in 30 and Muharrem Peker 40-33 in 29. Only in the semifinal, Yaman was defeated by Tasdemir 40-31 in 19 innings, despite a run of twelve.
Murat Celik made it to the final with victories over Ömer Karakurt (40-34 in 28) Can Capak (40-39 in 29), Serdal Bass (40-24 in 20) and Gökhan Salman (40-34 in 33).
The best match was played by Soner Bag, who bested Salih Tekkeli 40-18 in 14 innings. One of the most exciting matches was Savas Bulut-Lütfi Cenet, in which Bulut sparkled with a run of 14. The matches ended in 40-40 after 28 innings, Bulut won the shoot-outs 3-2.
Tayfun Tasdemir shows his joy after he won the final
Tasdemir in his match against Semih Sayginer