ROISSY-EN-FRANCE - The European men's team led by Frédéric Caudron and women's Gülsen Degener in three cushion was the big winner in the World Team Trophy on the first day. The tournament, organized to bring billiard sports into the Olympic spotlight, started on Monday in Roissy-en-France near Paris. The three cushion, pool and snooker disciplines are played in short matches at three tables. The four participating teams, each in a line-up with three men and three ladies, are Europe, Asia, the Rest of the World and France. In the ladies event, Asia is the main contender for the final win.
The players in the tournament come from all over the world, including Belgium, France, Germany, England, Vietnam, China, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, India and Australia. The teams are composed based on the rankings. The best-known players in pool and snooker include Jasmin Ouschan from Austria and Igor Figueiredo from Brazil, who recorded two-century breaks (over 100) on the first day in snooker.
The European men's team won its two matches against Asia and France 3-0. In the ladies event, Europe defeated France 3-0, but the team lost against Asia 3-0 on the opening day. The Belgian Frédéric Caudron shone with two 30-point matches in 10 innings, beating Vietnamese Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and Frenchman Jérémy Bury. Gülsen Degener lost her first match against Sruong Pheavy (25-23) and won her second against French Céline Jacques 25-7 in 24 innings. Caudron won his matches in ten innings against Nguyen 30-12 and Bury 30-17.
At the men's event, the battle for the final victory is between Europe and Rest of the World, which both lead the rankings with two wins and play against each other on the final day, today (13.30). At the ladies, team Asia has the best chances by far with two wins. The team is playing against France today (12.00). The Asians won 3-0 against Rest of the World and 3-0 against Europe. The Asian team consists of Sruong Pheavy from Cambodia, Ga Young Kim from Korea and Amee Kamani from India.
The results on the first day:
Men:
Europe-Asia 3-0
Rest of the World-France 2-1
Europe-France 3-0
Rest of the World-Asia 2-1.
Women:
Rest of the World-Asia 0-3
Rest of the World-France 2-1
Europe-Asia 0-3
Europe-France 3-0.
Frédéric Caudron, shining in three cushion with two 30-points matches in 10 innings
Vietnamese Nguyen Quoc Nguyen at the kick-off of his match against Caudron
Igor Figueiredo from Brasil was the star in snooker with two century breaks on the first day
Sruong Pheavy from Cambodia won her matches in three cushion against Jackeline Perez and Gülsen Degener