CARTAGENA – The title and the world’s gold medal are back with Therese Klompenhouwer, who has been the queen of three-cushion billiards for many years. The Dutch billiards star shouted with joy when she scored the winning carom in the final at the world championship in the Spanish city of Cartagena. The golden mission, after five world titles in the recent past, was crowned with a glorious final sprint against Ha Eun Kim, one of the young stars at the Korean billiards scene. Therese was overjoyed and is now the most successful female billiards player of all time. “I am super happy to have my title back,” she said after the wonderful release in the arena. Therese Klompenhouwer has had a tough year, in which she lost her titles and her status, partly and perhaps mainly because she was not in optimal physical condition. Her shoulder and knee constantly bothered her, which also caused mental discomfort.
"I didn't play my best games at this World Championship, but I showed to be mentally strong. I made a few big mistakes in the final, but in the end I was a little more efficient, which is why I was able to win, also thanks to a fantastic winning carom. I am very happy and satisfied. I had lost my titles, but I am a winner and a champion. That is what makes it so wonderful to regain the world title. It was exciting. I was behind until the middle of the match, but I never doubted myself. I always believed that I could finish it mentally. My confidence in myself has been rewarded."
The golden match, with the world title at stake, pitted Therese against Ha Eun Kim on Thursday afternoon, a great talent, a golden player with a great future. The Dutch favorite, with runs of 4 and 5 in the first ten innings, was trailing 15-12 at the break. She then missed seven more times before taking control of the title fight. Therese returned to her best form, scoring 7 and 4 for a 24-22 lead and saw her opponent fade in the decisive phase. Therese finished with three 2’s in the last six innings, while Ja Eun Han, when the pressure hit, could only manage one more carom: 30-25 in 27/26 innings. “I faced three young girls in the final knockouts, girls who are very talented and barely twenty years old. The competition is slowly getting stronger. But fortunately, after losing two world titles, I could show that I can still win.”
Therese shared her joy with her wife Eveline and the Dutch fans in the Spanish arena. “I can finally put a difficult year behind me,” she said, relieved and elated. “We're staying here in Spain for a few days to celebrate. Tonight, I'm inviting everyone I know out for dinner and some wines. I'm so happy with this title. It's been super busy this year. I won Gandia and the World Games in China, but of course, nothing compares to this world title, the sixth in my career.”
Semifinals
Therese Klompenhouwer was the first player to reach the final with a victory over Vietnam's Thi Lien Nguyen in a one-sided match. The match lacked any form of excitement. The five-time champion until then dominated from the start with small runs, while the Vietnamese debutante at the World Championships couldn't handle the pressure. She finished the match with a below-average score of 0.333. Therese played well and solidly without peaking at a high average. Her lead from the start meant she never had to force anything. Klompenhouwer consolidated her margin and, with scores of 8-0, 14-4, and 25-10, was able to maintain her focus to finish in command. She did so with a 30-13 score in 40/39, average 0.750 for the winner.
The Vietnamese Nguyen, who has only been playing three-cushion for three years and has played on the Korean professional tour for a year, still needs to develop into a real asset on the world stage. She did make herself popular among the followers and was satisfied with her overall performance, despite her very mediocre performance in the semi-finals.
Ha Eun Kim and Bo Mi Choi, the two young Koreans in their twenties, kept the tension high until halfway through. Choi had the better start with 9-5 in 10 innings, but Kim pulled ahead with runs of 4 and 5 in the 11th and 12th innings: 14-11. The match had a long phase of misses, especially from Choi until the 24th inning. Ha Eun Kim pulled further ahead to 24-15 and finished ten innings later at 30-22 in 36.
The Women's World Championship, which started with 24 players, was mainly a battle between Therese Klompenhouwer (42) and three Asian ladies in the end. Therese, the champion, remained well below the average she achieved for her last world title three years ago. At that time, she had an overall average of 1.393. Before this year's final, the Dutch player had 0.927 with 140 caroms in 151 innings, while her Korean opponent Kim had 0.794 with 140 caroms in 176 innings.
Only the two Dutch players achieved scores over 1: Therese in the quarterfinals against Karina Jetten with 1,500, in the preliminary rounds she scored 1,000, Karina Jetten played a game of 1,034.
In the preliminary selection with 8 groups of three, three notable players already disappeared from the tournament. Charlotte Sörensen, defending champion, lost her two matches and finished 0.522. Guzin Mujde Karakasli and Nana Petersen also failed to reach the knockouts.
In the last 16, Klompenhouwer and Kim, the eventual finalists, were the best players in terms of average (0.909 and 0.833). The Japanese lost their last trump cards with Yuko Nishimoto and Ayaka Miyashita, while Litsa Mavridoglou put up strong resistance against Klompenhouwer, who only managed to escape late in the game.
Therese Klompenhouwer gave her best against Karina Jetten in the quarter finals with a final run of 8 and an average of 1.500 (30-11 in 20). Ha Eun Kim defeated Jackeline Perez (30-17 in 38/37), Thi Lien Nguyen beat Claudia Chacon (30-25 in 56) and Bo Mi Choi had the better final sprint against Gülsen Degener (30-19 in 32/31). It all led to the final battle between Therese Klompenhouwer, two Korean players, and one Vietnamese player.
Before the final match, Therese and Ha Sun Kim
The champion is back, shouting it out to her fans
The final stage with Therese and three Asians
Young Ha Eun Kim, a fantastic silver medal
The glorious winner of her sixth world title
The final standings at the World Championship:
1. Therese Klompenhouwer 12-0.955-8
2. Ha Eun Kim 10-0.81-6
3. Bo Mi Choi 8-0.713-5
4. Thi Lien Nguyen 8-0.574-5
5. Jackeline Perez 6-0.505-4
6. Karina Jetten 5-0.752-8
7. Gülsen Degener 4-0.675-6
8. Claudia Chacon 4-0.573-4
9. Johana Sandoval 4-0.593-5
10. Ayaka Miyashiga 4-0.580-4
11. Yuko Nishimoto 2-0.701-5
12. Jaimie Buelens 2-0.637-5