Before you know it, we'll all be watching the Istanbul Survival and looking forward to the LG+ Cup, the World Cup in Veghel and the World Championship in Randers. In a matter of weeks, the Verhoeven Open 2019 will be a fading memory. I was lucky enough to be in New York last week, and I saw some great 3-cushion. At the start of the event, it looked like a half-disappointing field: most of the strong Koreans had stayed home, the Vietnamese had cancelled and only a few South Americans showed up. But the players in the Carom Café were inspired, and not a day went by without some remarkable result. I've collected some impressions of players that stood out, twelve of them. Hopefully the other ninety (some of them did very well) will not hold it against me.
Khalil Diab. Some of you might even say: "Who is that?" Well, Khalil is not just anybody. He played the world championship balkline 47/2 (for Egypt) in his younger years, then became a 3-cushion player known for his creative solutions. Now, at the ripe age of 84 he can still invent shots and put runs together. He survived the first group stage in NY, then lost 34-35 to Dion Nelin! Thumbs up for this likeable veteran of the game.
Dan Johansen. Another regular in the Carom Café, one of the many good-natured Danes. Dan likes boisterous laughter, his business and his billiards. As a player, he usually stays under the magic 1.000 barrier. But as a sponsor, he ranks among the best. Not everybody would bid in the traditional Verhoeven open auction, win it, and put ANOTHER player back in the tournament. We need guys like Dan the Dane.
Raymon Groot. The young Dutchman, now living in New York, had a few bad matches this week, but quite a few more that were excellent. He finished fifth in his group, with wins over quarterfinalist Seo and world top 10 player Sidhom. A 35 in 18 and a 35 in 16 showed that he is still developing as a player.
Gerhard Kostistansky. The seasoned Austrian looked to have disappeared from the radar, he had a few seasons without international success. This year, he showed up with focus and a game plan, and his big stroke has not left him. Fourth place in his group, and a nice general average of 1.370. Gerhard is back on track.
Harry Pena. In group A, the "Sayginer" group, three players ended with seven wins, two losses: Myung Woo Cho, William Oh and Harry Pena. Cho went to the quarterfinal on average. That should tell you how well the former Colombian played! He is fearless, intuitive and quick: a joy to watch in spite of his unpolished technique. Harry Pena and Blomdahl were the only two players who managed to beat Sayginer.
Markus Dömer. The German 1-cushion and 3-cushion player from Dortmund made no secret of the fact that his trip to New York was a gift from his father, who passed away recently. The senior must have been happy with the junior's performance: Dömer opened his campaign with a win over the great Dani Sánchez and ended fourth in his group with a 6/3 record and 1.240 general average. Gute Leistung!
Dion Nelin. The most talented Dane in history, that's Dion. He thinks of 3-cushion more as a hobby than a profession, can you believe that? Not that it stops him from doing things as outrageous as making 25 points in 3 innings. The golden boy, now in his forties, can still make 3-cushion look ridiculously easy.
Myung Woo Cho. A future world champion, question mark? At just 21 years of age, this Korean sensation has all the shots, he is a complete player already. Thousands of hours of practice, a few good teachers no doubt, and talent dripping out of his ears. MWC made a 35 in 9, a 35 in 7 and a handful of shots that made jaws drop all over the world. Semih put all his experience to good use: he beat the kid twice. Still, a tournament average of 1.975 speaks volumes. A future world champion, exclamation mark!
Dani Sánchez. Did Dani play a poor tournament? Of course not, he made the final four and ran into a Belgian freight train: nothing he could do. But I have the impression that the Spaniard is not feeling as well inside his own skin as he would like. Business and billiards, it's not an easy mix. Dani is both a player and a sponsor, he's an icon in our world and the UMB / PBA troubles have caused him more headache than most.
Semih Sayginer. There's a new recurring theme in the career of Semih Sayginer: he almost wins. In the comeback years, he has reached an impressive number of semifinals and finals in World Cups and world championships. The only thing missing, is a big tournament victory. There is no doubt he has the game for it: he is more consistent than ever, stronger mentally and he still has that phenomenal cue ball control. He's done all the hard work; I am rooting for him to win a major title soon.
Torbjörn Blomdahl. The Swede slipped out of the world's top-14, after two seasons of adversity and health issues. Blankenberge looked like a turnaround: he beat Jaspers there and reached the semifinal. New York took him a step further, to the final. We all know what happened next. But it's good to see him healthy and optimistic, playing 1.8 and treating us to the occasional outrageous shot. Make no mistake: he can still beat anybody.
Eddy Merckx. Dr. Jekyll did not play all that well, in the group stage. Yes, he won all his matches. But some were a grind, and his 1.607 was okay but unimpressive. We know Jekyll though: he'll plough through and keep his eyes on the prize. That's how he won his quarterfinal against Forthomme: 40-29 in 27. Then Mr. Hyde showed up for the semifinals. Sanchez had 11 points after 2 innings, but Hyde didn't care. He made 40 in 9. That felt good, so he repeated the performance in the final against Blomdahl: 40 in 10 with a closing run of 18.
Merckx is an enigma. Based on season average, he is well behind DJ and FC. These two, on paper, should have a 58/42 advantage over Merckx. But in a final, I'll say it's even money. EM was in 11 World Cup finals, and he won 10 of them. Few players in history have had this ability to peak when it's most needed, to dig deep and produce the big averages on the final day. Not often have we seen a run more impressive than his closing 18 of last Sunday. I think, if the match had been to 50, he would have run 28. Because sometimes, Merckx looks like he's never going to miss.