3-Cushion
LUXOR - The stands filled with Kimchi players watched the fight between two recent champions until the end. The Sonesta hotel, where the Luxor World Cup is played, was close to the final stage of qualifications. Jae-Guen Kim, the world champion teams (with Sung-Won Choi) knocked out last week's Asian champion Nguyen Quoc Nguyen. The Vietnamese was handed his second loss, after Birol Uymaz in the first match. Roland Forthomme played with fire against Can Capak, just before the lights went out. The Belgian couldn't finish on time and was thrown out. When the arena awaited the draw, there was only hope for the best runners-up. Three Koreans (Jae-Guen Kim, Choong-Bok Lee and Dong-Koong Kang) grabbed the bonus. Not only Roland Forthomme, also Murat Tüzül and Duong Ahn Vu were just out of the top three.
Twelve winners of the final qualifying stage went along to the main draw in the stronghold near the Nile. Sung-Won Choi was the best of the bunch with his 2.580 average and a run of fifteen. The Turks Tayfun Tasdemir and Semih Sayginer and young Myung-Woo Cho were in the spotlights and Birol Uymaz survived in a tough group with Jae Guen Kim and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen.
Murat Tüzül missed the break for a thousand euro bonus and a spot in the main tournament. Roland Forthomme also made an expensive mistake and stumbled with the finish line in sight. Adnan Yüksel and Eddy Leppens could escape with strong performances in the second session of the day.
The draw coupled Torbjörn Blomdahl and Semih Sayginer for the third time in two World Cup years. They face each other, as they did in Hurghada and Bursa last year and Porto in 2014. The Swede was victorious in all those meetings.
Other matches to look forward to:
Eddy Merckx-Myung-Woo Cho
Nikos Polychronopoulos-Dong-Koong Kang
Murat Naci Coklu-Adnan Yüksel
Frédéric Caudron-Eddy Leppens.
The group summaries:
Group A:
Tayfun Tasdemir has a great start against Hesham Zaghloul (40-10 in 13) and has to beat the Greek Kostas Papakonstantinou in his second. Tayfun dominates and wins 40-28 in 27, topping the group with 2.000.
Group B:
Sung-Won Choi is even more impressive in his matches against Ahmet Alp and Kostas Kokkoris. The Korean apparently has managed to keep his form from the World championship in Viersen and shines with wins in 17 and 14 innings and a 15 run against Ahmet Alp. That brings him a nice 2.580 as a result.
Group C:
The unsuccessful pursuit of Eddy Leppens against Duong Anh Vu (29-9 down in ten innings, 36-32 after 16 and eventually 40-35 loss in eighteen), inspires the Belgian to a strong second showing. Young Jung Ju Shin, who beat Duong, has the qualification in his own hands, but can't deal with the pressure and runs into a strong Leppens: 40-31 in 27.
Group D:
Regay Henry, the amiable Egyptian, plays a shadow role in the triptych with Semih Sayginer and Jose Maria Mas. The two leaders battle it out in the final round. Sayginer wins unthreatened 40-19 in 19 innings and is close to two average over two games.
Group E:
The Korean brother match between Hyung Bum Hwang and Dong-Koong Kang opens the camp in which Ngo Dinh Nai is out of chance. Hwang beats Kang (40-35) and both go smoothly along. Ngo, the Vietnamese, last week on the stage at the Asian championship ahead of all Koreans, is remarkably tame for his opponent in Luxor with 0.950.
Group F:
Lütfi Cenet is not the fighter he usually is in World Cups. Both he and Xuan Cuong Ma deal with Arnim Kahofer, Ma is slightly better in the decider with Cenet: 40-35 in 39.
Group G:
Can Capak is not on his best against Mohsen Fouda (40-38) and not unlucky at the end of the match against Roland Forthomme. The Belgian, under pressure, fails to finish, Capak grabs his last chances and wins 40-39 30.
Group H:
Birol Uymaz and Jae Guen Kim fire up the tension in the first match with a draw. The Turk then jumps as first over Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (40-27 in 24), the Korean needs some more innings, but gets his a ticket for the main draw as the best runner-up.
Group I:
The equalizer of Murat Tüzül, at the end of his match against Ma Minh Cam, is a shot for a thousand euros. The Turkish club owner misses the main event, when a draw had been enough. Tüzül, at 40-38, missea the lucrative run-up to the knockout stage. Ma is the lucky winner.
Group J:
The junior in this field with three Koreans towers above the routine players. Myung-Woo Cho is a bridge too far for Ji Hun Ahn (40-30 in 20) and Choong-Bok Lee (40-31 in 22). The world's junior champion shows again his progression in in Luxor with a place in the main draw.
Group K:
Adnan Yüksel's brilliant finish brings him on top of the group after a loss in his first match. The Turk beats Hyung Kon Kim 40-8 in 15 innings and is the winner by a better average.
Group L:
Jean Paul de Bruijn starts with the best chances in the match against Javier Palazón, after his win over Chi Yeon Cho in 27 innings. The Korean defeats Palazón and De Bruijn even can afford a loss in his last with a small margin. Palazón indeed takes the win, but 40-36 in 29 is not sufficient. De Bruijn is the number one by average.
Sung-Won Choi, the best in average and high run
The final ranking after the last qualification:
1 Sung-Won Choi 4-2.580-15
2 Tayfun Tasdemir 4-2.000-10
3 Semih Sayginer 4-1.951-11
4 Myung Woo Cho 4-1.904-7
5 Hyung Bum Hwang 4-1.481-12
6 Minh Cam Ma 4-1.379-9
7 Xuan Cuong Ma 4-1.355-10
8 Can Capak 4-1.355-10
9 Birol Uymaz 3-1.568-10
10 Eddy Leppens 2-1.666-10
11 Adnan Yüksel 2-1.396-8
12 Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1.357-10
Runners-up:
1 Jae Guen Kim 3-1.333-12
2-Dong Koong Kang 2-1.500-12
3-Choong Bok Lee 2-1.448-8.
The draw for the main tournament:
Thursday:
12.00:
Jaspers-Uymaz
Choi-Ma Xuan Cuong
Sidhom-Kim Jae Guen
Kim Haeng-Jik-Ma Minh Cam
14.00:
Tran De Bruijn
Merckx Cho Myung-Woo
Cho Jae-Ho-Capak
Blomdahl-Sayginer
16.00:
Sánchez-Nady
Coklu-Yüksel
Polychronopoulos Kang Dong-Koong
Heo-El Messery
18.00:
Zanetti-Tellez
Bury-Hwang
Tasdemir-Lee Choong-Bok
Caudron-Leppens.
Hwang (on his chair) bested Kang in the qualifications
Talking about billiards and business in the stands: Murat Naci Coklu, Mehmet Goren, Semih Sayginer, Adnan Yüksel and Dani Sánchez