ANKARA - On the day that Frédéric Caudron had to leave the stage after two glorious days in the Ankara World Cup, 32-year-old German Lukas Stamm was the day’s hero and the young Turk Denizcan Akkoca and former classic specialist Pierre Soumagne were the best winners. This World Cup Tuesday was a day of sensation, of course mainly because Caudron was beaten by German Stamm and therefore could not win his group. The Belgian who returned this year, after making a better comeback in Ho Chi Minh, was now unable to reach the final qualifications. In a tough battle to the finish, Caudron was sensationally and brutally defeated by Lukas Stamm, a promising German, who made a 15 run in his previous match, survived a match point against Caudron and finished at 34-20 by 6: 35-34 in 23 .
The young, two-time European junior champion Denizcan Akkoca (22) topped the rankings of winners on this third day with the same match points and average as Pierre Soumagne (1,590). Caudron was the best two days so far, on the third day he had to turn his back to the World Cup stage.
Pierre Soumagne, a remarkable player in the top three, went to the final qualifying rounds on Tuesday afternoon with two solid victories as one of the first winners of the day. The 37-year-old, multiple European champion in the balk-line disciplines, once again makes clear in the Turkish capital that this is in many ways his best year ever. The Frenchman from Soissons became French champion with his three-cushion team last week, won the Dutch Cup with his team this year and shines in the World Cups. His best performance so far: reached the best 16 in the World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh in 2024.
These wonderful results, unfortunately, are not rewarded by the federation in France. Pierre Soumagne is in conflict with the federation for some time after a clash with leading men. Pierre was never respected for his short adventure in the PBA in Korea. "I have been punished harshly and, despite my high ranking, I will never be allowed to play in the World Championships or European Championships. No matter how many times we've talked about that, it seems like that punishment never ends. I am the number 2 in France after Jérémy Bury, but other players with a lower ranking get paid and are sent to big tournaments. I have to pay myself, but I still want to play all the World Cups again this year."
Pierre Soumagne, married to Valentine and father of two daughters (9 and 8), with plans to open a café/restaurant in his hometown Soissons after the summer, is not letting this conflict disrupt his career. The glorious year with successes in the French team competition, the Netherlands and Belgium, have strengthened self-confidence. The technically gifted player, formerly a fantastic balk-line player, has mapped out his route, no matter how much he is ignored by the French.
For his first performance in Ankara, Soumagne faced two Turks on Tuesday: he defeated Bas 35-24 in 22 and Altuntas 35-24 in 22 innings, good for an average of 1,590. This made him joint first in rank of the 16 group winners.
Denizcan Akkoca and Lukas Stamm were two other notable players at the top of the rankings. Akkoca is one of the best juniors of his generation and one of the players who, together with Burak Hashas, can give Turkish billiards two more world top players. Lukas Stamm, nicknamed 'Baum Stamm', from Neuköln, Berlin, is a not very well-known German billiards player. He is 32 and was twice on the podium at a German championship in Bad Wildungen: in 2018 and 2019, once after Martin Horn and Ronny Lindemann, the other time after Karaka and Celik. His reaction after the win against Caudron: "This is completely crazy, I only now realize what I did today: a run of 15 and win against Caudron, I'm so happy." And how great for Germany, that also the very youthful Amir Ibraimov is in the last qualifications.
Six Turks were among the sixteen group winners, three French, two Germans and two Koreans. Furthermore, 1 Greek, 1 Colombian, and 1 Austrian.
Tuesday's sixteen group winners in Ankara:
- Deniscan Akkoca (Turkey) 4-1.590-9
- Pierre Soumagne (France) 4-1.590-5
- Muammer Rahmet (Turkey) 4-1.555-9
- Lukas Stamm (Germany) 4-1,521-15
- Kostas Kokkoris (Greece) 4-1,489-11
- Volkan Cimentepe (Turkey) 4-1.428-12
- Daniel Moreno (Colombia) 4-1,428-10
- Yes In Kang (Korea) 3-1.228-9
- Herbert Szivacz (Austria) 4-1.206-11
- Seymen Ozbas (Turkey) 4-1.186-9
- Amir Ibraimov (Germany) 4-1,166-9
- Burhan Genc (Turkey) 4-1,147-5
- Jon Hyuk Son (Korea) 4-1,060-8
- Kévin Vasseur (France) 4-1.044-8
- Maxime Panaia (France) 4-0.795-5
- Turgay Orak (Turkey) 3-1,400-10
The last groups in the qualifications:
Group A: Jérémy Bury, Kévin Vasseur, Jun Hyuk Sun
Group B: Maxime Panaia, Burhan Genc, Nikos Polychronopoulos
Group C: Turgay Orak, Chang Hoon Seo, Amir Ibraimov
Group D: Ja In Kang, Seymen Ozbas, Hong Chiem Thai
Group E: Mashhour Abu Tayeh, Peter Ceulemans, Herbert Szivacz
Group F: Omer Karakurt, Daniel Moreno, Ruben Legazpi
Group G: Tarik Yavuz, Volkan Cimentepe, Gerhard Kostistansky
Group H: Sam van Etten, Kostas Kokkoris, Roland Forthomme
Group I: Gökhan Salman, Glenn Hofman, Lukas Stamm
Group J: Rui Manuel Costa, Bong Joo Hwang, Muammer Rahmet
Group K: Jean Paul de Bruijn, Pierre Soumagne, Thanh Luc Tran
Group L: Burak Hashas, Jeffrey Jorissen, Denzcan Akkoca.
Frédéric Caudron says farewell to the World Cup in Ankara: a loss against Lukas Stamm
Denizcan Akkoca, two times European junior champion, the best in the day ranking
Pierre Soumagne, best year so far, great form in the World Cup