HURGHADA - How long has it been since Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Merckx played the final of a World Cup? The two Belgians meet several times a year, usually with varying success, but at the international level, in a battle for the main prizes, it's been a few years ago. The two high fliers in the Hurghada World Cup so far, with fast and brilliant wins, don't want to jump the gun before the final day. Tomorrow (Saturday, 11.00), they're facing two opponents, both from world class level and with international experience: the Korean Sung-Won Choi and Tayfun Tasdemir from Turkey.
Who wants to disrupt the Belgian party, must be made of the right stuff. Sung-Won Choi, the never-say-die player, seems well able with strong performances in the previous rounds. Tonight, in the quarter-finals, he could't show his piercing jump.
The victory over Vietnamese outsider Quiet Tran Chien took blood, sweat and tears in the final phase when Choi struggled for the last points (40-37 in 28 innings).
Tayfun Tasdemir is the man from highs and lows in this tournament with his peak in the match against Murat Tüzül in the previous round (17 innings). The follow-up was not that strong. The other Vietnamese quarterfinalist, Vinh Ly The, who's making the most strange movements with his hands when tension is growing, struggled for his life and balanced until the 30th carom, but eventually surrender (40-34 in 27).
Frédéric Caudron ruled supreme, like he did last year when he won this World Cup. He is the top favorite after his undeniable race in two recent tournaments, the World championships in Antwerp and the World Cup in Medellin. Three wins in the World Cup in Hurghada bring his total to fourteen in a row with impressive averages... and almost without any resistance.
His two opponents today, Kasidokostas and Hwang, couldn't lit up the sky and were far behind with 20 and 27 points in 14 and 22 innings. Tomorrow, Caudron meets Tayfun Tasdemir in the semifinals (13.00).
Eddy Merckx has set the hurdles fairly high in this World Cup: ,,I must score to stay in the top twelve'', he realized already in the first days. And we all know: when Merckx is under pressure and when it really matters, he plays billiards on his very best. The second Belgian on the ranking is with 2.450 average even the best of four semi-finalists.
For his win against Cenet, who was Caudron's final opponent last year in the battle for gold, Merckx needed 21 innings to lift the score in his favor: 40-18.
The semi-finals:
11.00:
Eddy Merckx-Sung-Won Choi
Frédéric Caudron-Tayfun Tasdemir.