SAMSUN – The thunderous applause belonged to the new champion, smiling on top of the rostrum. 54-year old Serdan Gümüs from Izmir had just been hugged by the Turkish president. The WC in Samsun was suprisingly won by the veteran, who 5 years ago, also in his home country, won the European title.
On the rostrum, runner-up Erik Vijverberg merrily danced along to the tune of a rocksong. The 46-year old Tukker (nickname for someone from the province of Twente) who won the Dutch title in 2010, had spectacularly beaten the main contender for the title on his way to the final: home crowd favorite Haci Arap Yaman, who bit the dust 3 – 0 in the semifinal.
Sander Jonen had earlier lost this throne as world champion by losing to Belgian Erik Daelman. Another ex-champion, Jean Reverchon, did not meet the expectations. The Frenchman did not survive the qualification stage, and complained about the tables and the humidity in the room.
Serdar Gümüs, a likable champion, was not bothered by the criticism, and was hugged by everybody who had witnessed the final, long after it had been played. The Turkish chairman Ugur Kurugüllü could not get enough of all the outbursts of joy in the hall. Before the tournament, he had told Kozoom how much artistic biliards is on the rise in his country. The gold of the new champion and the bronze of Yaman were comfirmation enough.
Serdar Gümüs dominated his final against Erik Vijverberg from the start. He won the first set 52-30, was pegged back to 1 – 1 by the smallest possible margin (28 – 27), but grapped the third set 49-21. The fourth set, in hindsight the decisive one, was decided to Turkish advantage with a long draw shot over the length of the table, made by Gümüs and missed by Vijverberg. The championship shot was a bankshot over three cushions.