GARLASCO - Two Turks, one Frenchman and one German of Turkish origin play for the top prize in the CEB LongoniGrand Prix 3 cushion in Garlasco, Italy, tomorrow, Sunday. Big favorite Burak Hashas, who captured the world three-cushion title for players under 24 in the Netherlands last year, will play Ali Iraimov of Germany at 10.30 in the semi-finals. Frenchman Nathan Duriez also faces Turkish opponent Seymen Özbas at 10.30. The two winners of those matches play the final at 2pm Sunday afternoon.
The four group winners and the four numbers two from the groups met in the quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon/evening. Burak Hashas, Nathan Duriez and Seymen Özbas were comfortable winners. Ali Ibraimov decided the match against Nikolaus Kogelbauer at the finish line after a thrilling fight: 35-34 in 50 innings.
The two Turks and the Frenchman demonstrated that they are the big contenders for the final win in this CEB tournament. 16-year-old Burak Hashas beat Dane Daniel Kristiansen 35-12 in 26 innings (1.346), his 18-year-old compatriot Seymen Özbas won against the third Turk, Yigit Baran Kara, 35-18 in 37 innings and Nathan Duriez finished his match against the Greek Christos Falangas at 35-16 in 27 innings. The fourth quarter final was marked by a lot of tension, but in the end Ali Ibraimov took the win.
The CEB Grand Prix started with 17 players divided into four groups. Burak Hashas was the best group winner on average (1.470), Seymen Özbas won Group B with 1.351, Nathan Duriez with 0.806 and Nicolaus Kogelbauer with 0.909.
Players' standings in the pre rounds:
1 Burak Hashas 6-1,470-5
2 Seymen Özbas 4-1,351-5
3 Nikolaus Kogelbauer 4-0.909-5
4 Nathan Duriez 4-0.806-5
5 Ali Ibraimov 2-1,065-6
6 Daniel Kristiansen 2-0.836-4
7 Christos Falangas 6-0.797-7
8 Yigit Baran Kara 2-0.789-4
9 Amir Ibraimov 4-0.864-7
10 Selahattin Ozkul 2-0.704-5
11 Joris van 't Zelfden 2-0.606-4
12 Tangui Duriez 2-0.453-4
13 Lukas Mortensen 0-0.737-6
14 Luca Philipoom 0-0.614-4
15 Paolo Turla 0-0.400-3
16 Giuliano Di Gabriele 0-0.301-3
17 Joeri Wilkowski 0-0.383-3.
Turkish star player Burak Hashas the best on average
Ali Ibraimov, the German in the last 4
Nathan Duriez is facing Turkish Seymen Özbas
The match averages in the quarter-finalists:
1 Burak Hashas 2-1.346-5
2 Nathan Duriez 2-1,296-5
3 Seymen Özbas 2-0.945-4
4 Ali Ibraimov 2-0.686-3
5 Nikolaus Kogelbauer 0-0.680-4
6 Christos Falangas 0-0.592-3
7 Yigit Baran Kara 0-0.486-3
8 Daniel Kristiansen 0-0.480-2.
All matches will be broadcast live by Kozoom.tv