ANKARA - The world champion Phuong Vinh Bao had a brilliant part in his performance (17 and 14 runs in his three matches), Haeng Jik Kim had a fantastic finish (12 and 11) and the averages after the first day of the main draw were sky high. The World Cup in Ankara seems to be one that will go down in history with high record scores. The best players in match points and average in the first round with 32 are Phuong Vinh Bao (three wins, 2,307), Jung Han Heo (6 points, 1,690), Peter Ceulemans (6 points, 1,666), Nikos Polychronopoulos (5, 1,538) , Tayfun Tasdemir (4, 2,269), Quyet Chien Tran (4, 2,078) and Sameh Sidhom (5, 1,690) and as numbers two Marco Zanetti (3, 2,153) and Dick Jaspers (3, 2,074).
Dick Jaspers reaches the next round with 3 match points and 2,074 and Marco Zanetti with 3 points and 2,153 after an escape in the very last part of his match due to Kokkoris' draw against Orak. The top players in the world rankings who do not advance are Torbjörn Blomdahl (2 points, 1,486), Myung Woo Cho (2 points, 1,567), Jérémy Bury (3 points, 1,513), Eddy Merckx (0, 1.521), Jun Tae Kim (2 points, 1,500). ).
The first knock-our round with sixteen players for Friday:
Phuong Vinh Bao-Tolgahan Kiraz
Omer Karakurt-Haeng Jik Kim
Nikos Polychronopoulos-Berkay Karakurt
Sameh Sidhom-Hong Chiem Thai
Peter Ceulemans-Marco Zanetti
Tayfun Tasdemir-Martin Horn
Quyet Chien Tran-Thanh Luc Tran
Dick Jaspers-Jung Han Heo.
The overviews of the 8 groups of 4, of which the best two go to the last 16:
Group A:
Two draws in the first four games keep the tension going until the end. Glenn Hofman, not in the form of his previous World Cups, has already been eliminated after two losses. Dick Jaspers and Nikos Polychronopoulos have three match points out of 2 games, Ruben Legazpi has 1 match point less and gets another chance to qualify. Poly and Legazpi share the win (40-40 in 28) and Jaspers does the same with Legazpi (40-40 in 16). Jaspers has 2,424 over two games. The Dutch number 1 surprisingly loses his last match against Polychronopoulos 40-32 in 21, but because Glenn Hofman wins against Legazpi (40-37 in 30), Jaspers goes with the Greek to the knock-outs.
The standings in Group A:
1 Nikos Polychronopoulos 5-1.538-11
2 Dick Jaspers 3-2,074-12
3 Glenn Hofman 2-1.421-7
4 Ruben Legazpi 2-1,581-12
Group B:
Jérémy Bury and Tolgahan Kiraz lead the foursome after two rounds with 3 match points, Quyet Chien Tran still needs a final sprint against Bury. It is still between three players for two places, because Sam van Etten is eliminated with 2 losses and 1,150. The draw by Bury and Kiraz (40-40 in 31) influences the further course and Kiraz's win against Tran is also surprising (40-26 in 17, run 11). Tran still finishes as group winner after winning against Bury (40-35 in 13) and takes Tolgahan Kiraz (despite losing to Sam van Etten and with minimal difference over Bury) as number 2.
Standings in Group B:
1 Quyet Chien Tran 4-2.078-10
2 Tolgahan Kiraz 3-1.573-11
3 Jérémy Bury 3-1.513-10
4 Sam van Etten 2-1.262-5
Group C:
Jung Han Heo is safe after two games, because he wins against Berkay Karakurt (40-30 in 37) and against Myung Woo Cho (40-29 in 22). Heo's average is not too high, but the match points already speak in his favor after two rounds. For second place it is between Cho and Karakurt, of whom Myung Woo is the best in average (1,642 after 2 games). Jung Han Heo ends with the maximum 6 match points and 1,690, Berkay Karakurt beats Myung Woo Cho 40-36 in 25 and goes as runner-up.
Standings Group C:
1 Jung Han Heo 6-1,690-10
2 Berkay Karakurt 4-1.325-12
3 Myung Woo Cho 2-1,567-12
4 Chang Hoon SEO 0-1,547-8
Group D:
Torbjörn Blomdahl, favorite to win the group, opens against Hong Chiem Thai with a solid win (40-24 in 22) and Omer Karakurt beats Myeong Jong Cha (40-27 in 26). The Swede makes a mistake in the next round against Karakurt (40-31 in 23), so that the battle is completely open again. Blomdahl and Karakurt are almost equal in average for the final round. The Korean Cha and Vietnamese Thai win the last matches, which leads to a surprising ranking. Omer Karakurt and Hong Chiem Thai qualify with 4 match points ahead of Blomdahl and Cha with 2.
Standings in Group D:
1 Omer Karakurt 4-1.414-9
2 Hong Chiem Thai 4-1,209-9
3 Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-1.486-7
4 Myeong Jong Cha 2-1,238-10
Group E:
Phuong Vinh Bao, the world champion, starts his round with four players with a highlight so far in the World Cup. In his match against Thanh Luc Tran, a fellow countryman, he starts a wonderful attack at 18-11 behind with a run of 17. He launches his World Cup with that high run and a little later Bao finishes with 8: 40-29 in 17. That is not far from his last trick, because in his next match against Gökhan Salman, Bao breaks away with 14. He wins that match 40-25 in 16 and leads with impressive figures after 2 matches: 4 match points, 2,424 and runs of 17 and 14. Thanh Luc Tran plays Merckx to his second loss. And finally, Bao also beat Merckx (40-35 in 19), making him undefeated with 2,307. Tran is number 2 after winning against Salman 40-31 in 25.
Standings in Group E:
1 Phuong Vinh Bao 6-2.307-17
2 Thanh Luc Tran 4-1.758-7
3 Gökhan Salman 2-1.352-9
4 Eddy Merckx 0-1,521-7
Group F:
Peter Ceulemans fully lives up to his fame as Belgian champion and is soon assured of qualifying for the knock-outs with 16. He beats two leaders from the circuit: first Martin Horn 40-30 in 27 and then even the number 1 of the Players Ranking, Korean Jun Tae Kim 40-37 in 22. Denizcan Akkoca, the last opponent for Ceulemans, is out of the tournament, Jun Tae Kim and Martin Horn are playing for second place in this group. Ceulemans gets the maximum match points (6, 1,666), Martin Horn wins his match against Jun Tae Kim 40-31 in 21 and finishes as runner-up.
Standings in Group F:
1 Peter Ceulemans 6-1,666-10
2 Martin Horn 4-1,617-11
3 Jun Tae Kim 2-1,500-7
4 Denizcan Akkoca 0-1,250-6
Group G:
Haeng Jik Kim and Tayfun Tasdemir fight an exciting match, which is tailor-made for Tasdemir, but has an unexpectedly sensational ending. Haeng Jik Kim, who is behind 38-19, finishes fantastic with 12 and 11 for 40-38 in 16 innings. After 2 rounds, Tayfun has 2,437 and 2 match points, Haeng Jik Kim 4 points and 1,904. Three players finish with 4 match points, as Haeng Jik Kim loses his last against Volkan Cimentepe (from the first day in the tournament). Tayfun Tasdemir becomes group winner with 4 points and 2,269.
The standings in Group G:
1 Tayfun Tasdemir 4-2,269-12
2 Haeng Jik Kim 4-1,803-12
3 Volkan Cimentepe 4-1.555-9
4 Muammer Rahmet 0-1.013-5
Group H:
Marco Zanetti and Kostas Kokkoris, with averages of 2.322 and 2.055 after two rounds, are both 2 match points behind Sameh Sidhom. The Egyptian starts with a win against Orak (40-24 in 29) and then against Kokkoris (40-34 in 21). With 1,600 he still needs to at least draw against Zanetti to be completely sure. The last group of the day ends miraculously. Zanetti and Sidhom play a draw (40-40 in 21), Kokkoris has the win and the qualification up for grabs, but misses twice in the final phase. Kokkoris and Orak draw (40-40 in 37), allowing Marco Zanetti to escape with second place behind Sameh Sidhom.
Standings in Group H:
1 Sameh Sidhom 5-1,690-11
2 Marco Zanetti 3-2,153-10
3 Kostas Kokkoris 3-1.561-10
4 Turgay Orak 1-0.987-4
Peter Ceulemans, one of the players with the maximum wins
Dick Jaspers escapes with 3 matchpoints
Tayfun Tasdemir, one of 4 Turks in the last 16