3-Cushion
LIMA - The results after one day in the World Championships in Lima prove that it's almost certain: the tradition of the recent years seems to repeat itself in the Peruvian capital. The battle for the title will be a duel between Europe and Asia, watching the results on the first day. Most of the South American and American players find themselves after one day on the edge of elimination.
Fabian Oliveto (Argentina), Michael Kang (USA), Ramon Rodriguez (Peru), Guido Sacco (Peru), Maximo Aguirre (Mexico), Harry Reyes (Colombia), Javier Teran (Ecuador) and Carlos Campo (Colombia) started the tournament with a defeat. Only the American champion Pedro Piedrabuena and Javier Vera and Raymundo Munoz from Mexico still have a chance to seed for the main event, but they will meet in their next encounter respectively Dani Sánchez, Jérémy Bury and Jung Han Heo.
The discussion which developed at the Dutch site of the Kozoom chat yesterday night was interesting to see. The question was: which players are able to participate in a world championship? Why do players with more potential must stay at home or for three-cushion players from countries where the discipline is played on low levels?
The UMB and the confederations adopt the golden rule, that the championships should be as broad as possible to put the billiard sport in the global spotlight. Glenn Hoffman said last night: ,,But look at a world championship in snooker: there are only players from a few countries, however snooker is played all over the world.''
On the other hand: for instance: every country in the world has the chance to participate in World championship football and a world championship in cycling is held with the most exotic riders at the start.
The world championship in three cushion, nevertheless, will probably been a traditional collision between Europe and Asia, as it was for many years. The only world champions from outside in the 64 year old history are Adolfo Suárez from Peru (1961), Enrique Navarra from Argentina (1953 and 1958), Pedro Leopoldo Carrera from Argentina (1952), Augusto Verez from Argentina (1938) and Edward Lancaster from the USA ( 1936).
The South Americans and Americans, the only players who could duel with Europeans and Asians in better times, are no longer on top in recent years. The last player who shone was Ramon Rodriguez in the world championships in Cuenca in 2007, where he beat Jean Paul de Bruijn and Nikos Polychronopoulos, which brought him to the semi final. There he was defeated by Dani Sánchez.
That world championship was the most successful edition for the South Americans in many years, because Rodolfo Covarrubias, Henry Diaz and Luis Aveiga also reached took the main event. Thereafter followed a bad serie: Ramon Rodriguez was in St. Wendel in 2008 the only one who played in the knockout stages: he was defeated in the first round by Jérémy Bury.
The World championship in Lausanne in 2009 was even worse: no one reached the final stage. Javier Vera was the best of the Americans with a 22nd place in qualification with an average of 0.888.
Last year in Sluiskil Luis Aveiga and Luis Avila surprised in the preliminary rounds. Luis Aveiga defeated Jérémy Bury, Luis Avila won in the qualification against Tayfun Tasdemir: 3-0. Both players were eliminated in the first session of the main event by Sung-Won Choi and Torbjörn Blomdahl.