3-Cushion
LIMA - The third day of the World championship is D-day for the players, it's the day that decides who will go to the main tournament after the preliminaries and who can step on the plane to go home. The sixteen groups are going to fight for the main prize. The top sixteen of the ranking wil meet the winners of the first matches today.
How is the situation before the deciding round?
Group A: Dani Sánchez and Pedro Piedrabuena both won there match against Paulo Andrade. The winner of the match between the Spanish world champion and the American champion goes to the knockout stages with the best sixteen players.
Group B: Dick Jaspers defeated Fabian Oliveto (3-0), the Vietnamese Ma Xuan Cuong 3-2, but the set wins in this case are not important. The winner of Jaspers-Ma continues the tournament.
Group C: The black sheep Ihab El Messery couldn't threaten Antonio Ortiz and Eddy Merckx. The Spanish champion and the Belgian champion fight for the ticket in the main event.
Group D: Kyung-Roul Kim and Jean Paul de Bruijn face each other with two match points, the Czech Radek Novak is finished and can go home.
Group E: Frédéric Caudron and Sergio Jimenez are the stars in the scenario of this group, both defeated Michael Kang in their first performance.
Group F: Two Vikings meet in this group. Jean van Erp only had some winning chances in his first game against Tonny Carlsen. Torbjörn Blomdahl has to beat the unpredictable Carlsen for qualifying.
Group G: Youichirou Mori survived after trailing 2-0 in sets against Ramon Rodriguez, Sung-Won Choi wasted only one set against the Peruvian. The Asian duel between Choi and Mori is decisive.
Group H: Sameh Sidhom has still a long way to go in his role as talent: the Egyptian lost two matches and ended 0977. Martin Horn however needed a strong final to beat Sidhom 3-2. The German plays against the Asian champion Chung-Bok Lee for a place in the final round.
Group I: The Mexican Javier Vera is one of the two South Americans with opportunities for the main tournament. He plays against Jérémy Bury, with thirty years one of the youngest players in top of the ranking. Both players defeated in their first match Gerhard Kostistansky.
Group J: Even if Jae Ho Cho loses 3-2 against Tayfun Tasdemir, he enters the final round. The Turk needs at least a 3-1 win, then the average will decide over qualification.
Group K: Marco Zanetti against Dong Gung Kang is the match of the truth in this group, after both players had a walkover against Maximo Aguirre.
Group L: Roland Forthomme and Javier Palazón both defeated Harry Reyes, the Colombian who has finished his tournament. The two winners meet each other in a direct clash now for sharing themselves among the best sixteen.
Group M: The Belgian Eddy Leppens made a superb impression, like he did in his last world championship in Sluiskil. He defeated Erick Tellez of Costa Rica. Kouji Funaki is Leppens' opponent in the deciding match.
Group N: Lütfi Cenet had a great opening match against Rafal Noya, Raimond Burgman also beat this opponent in straight sets. Cenet-Burgman decides over group victory.
Group O: Jung Han Heo and Raymundo Munoz meet in a clash of two cultures. Javier Teran, the Pan-American champion, was sent home without any chance. He played 0.724 average, a disgrace for such a champion.
Group P: Murat Naci Coklu has the best chance to survive after his 3-1 win against Carlos Campino, who later recovered with a 3-2 victory over Ryuuji Umeda. Coklu's playing against Ryuuji Umeda for qualifying, the Turk is seeded even if he loses 3-2. Umeda needs a 3-1 win to qualify.