LINT/ANTWERP – The Belgian World Cup, hit by a lengthy power outage the day before the finals, will see a gold medal battle between three Europeans and Vietnamese Bao on Sunday. Tayfun Tasdemir, Glenn Hofman and Martin Horn will battle it out with a jovial former world champion in the Antwerp arena. Tasdemir was the best player in the quarter finals with 50 in 18, averaging 2.778. The most striking match was won by Glenn Hofman, who delivered a decisive defeat to reigning world champion Myung Woo Cho. Martin Horn was the last to qualify for the final with a victory over another Korean star, Haeng Jik Kim. The German veteran, along with Tasdemir, is a top-ranked player in the world rankings. Dutchman Glenn Hofman is currently ranked 21st, while Phuong Vinh Bao is one position lower at 22nd.
On this day, the Belgians lost Peter Ceulemans in their match against Hofman and Frédéric Caudron, who was defeated by Tasdemir in the round of 16.
Glenn Hofman, a player coming from the qualifications, was not only superior against Ceulemans today, but also in his match against Myung Woo Cho, the diminutive Korean who will defend his world title next week. Hofman had a weak opening against Cho, with two and five zeros. The recovery came in the 8th inning with 8, and later with 5, 6, and 9 in the next part, where Cho was able to anticipate with 10. The score went to 41-32 for Hofman, who had a sublime finish. In those final innings with small jabs of 5, 3, and 1, the Dutchman ended the match: 50-37 in 22 innings. Tayfun Tasdemir also demonstrated his excellent form in his match against Ruben Legazpi, including a run of 15 in the 7th inning (30-17). The Spaniard was a tough opponent and made a final attempt to get back into the match with a run of 10 to bring the score down 49-44. Tasdemir pulled the trigger two innings later at 50-46 in 18.
Phuong Vinh Bao, the 2023 world champion, who played a glorious match in this World Cp with 40 in 4 and a top run of 25, is the last Asian player in the field. The Vietnamese player faced Sameh Sidhom not in his best shape and held the Egyptian far behind, 50-27 in 25 innings. Martin Horn blew his famous kisses to the camera late in the evening, due to the power outage earlier in the day that lasted almost two hours. Korean Haeng Jik Kim, a superstar in his junior years, was treated to 6 and 8 in the first five innings for an 21-7 score. Kim fought back during Horn's less-than-stellar period, but at 47-41, the German was able to finish the match after Kim's six consecutive zeros: 50-41 in 25.
The semifinal matches are on Sunday:
12:00 PM: Tasdemir-Bao
2:30 PM: Hofman-Horn.
Final at 6:00 PM.
The round 16 matches:
Myung Woo Cho-Marco Zanetti 50-49 in 24.
This round-of-16 thriller concluded beautifully. Little Cho led 30-23 after a strong 9, but Zanetti refused to give up. The Italian fought back with his signature passion and even reached 49-46 by 8, 6, and 7, good enough for the first match point. Cho then missed his first match point after 3 (49-49), Zanetti missed again, allowing the Korean to finish at 50-49.
Glenn Hofman-Peter Ceulemans 50-35 in 23.
The last Belgian and the last Dutchman in the tournament faced each other in the battle for top 16. Peter Ceulemans and Glenn Hofman are rising in the rankings and played for prestige and status. For Ceulemans, supported by the home crowd, it turned into a match with six runs of 4, but each time, it stopped at that score. Hofman launched an irresistible attack with 14 in the tenth inning, bringing the score to 27-15 and adding two more 7’s. Ceulemans could not overcome the 41-23 deficit. Hofman also had a somewhat weaker finish, needing ten more innings to reach the final nine, but the Dutchman was never threatened: 50-35 in 23.
Tayfun Tasdemir vs. Frédéric Caudron 50-28 in 22.
Tayfun Tasdemir dominated this match on all fronts, in which Caudron, like Ceulemans later in the day, couldn't manage to get above four runs. The Belgian experienced strange moments, as Caudron rarely loses, and certainly not three in a row. That did happen now, almost without a chance against Tasdemir. The Turk led 20-9 in 10, 48-25 in 20, and finished with two 1’ns at 50-28 in 22. Tasdemir was never in danger to the unrecognizable Caudron.
Phuong Vinh Bao vs. Gökhan Salman 50-36 in 21/20. The Vietnamese stuntman at this World Cup had to fight back after a 10 from Salman. He did so first with 7 and five innings later with 9 for a 34-31 lead. The final stages also went to Bao with 4 and 6, he won 50-36.
Sameh Sidhom-Huberney Cataño 50-40 in 30.
The last South American put up a fierce fight in a very close match. Sidhom pulled away with two 6’s and secured the victory at 50-40.
Ruben Legazpi vs. Hong Chiem Thai 50-36 in 29/28.
The Spaniard had a solid period around the 10th inning when he extended his lead to 21-11 with 3, 3, 5, and 4. Hong Chiem Thai lacked the strength to fight back, so Legazpi finished with short runs and finally 4 to make it 50-36.
HaengJik Kim vs. Boo Joo Hwang 50-28 in 29/30.
The best of the Korean clash came in the second half of the match when Kim, after leading 12-9 in 10 innings, extended his lead to 29-10 with 6, 5, and 6, and then delivered the final blow with a run of 10. Kim struggled to finish with 8 misses at the end, but the final score was 50-28.
Martin Horn vs. Quyet Chien Tran 50-45 in 27/26.
The match got off to a slow start, with a slightly better Horn finding his rhythm with a 7 in the 7th and shortly after, 6 and 4. The struggling Tran made a 7 for 32-30 down, regained his composure, but lacked enough scoring in the decisive phase. Horn capitalized on this with small runs, winning 50-45 in 27/26.
Glenn Hofman, the better vs Ceulemans and Myung Woo Cho
Martin Horn bested Hang Jik Kim to reach the semis
Tayfun Tasdemir, best winner in the late evening matches