World Cup starts with Jaspers-Caudron clash

VEGHEL - The draw for the real World Cup in Veghel, the final tournament with 32 players, has delivered an absolute top match. On the first, important day, the tournament will be dominated by the clash between Dick Jaspers and Frédéric Caudron, who, together with Mohamed Abdin and Gwendal Maréchal are in a group of four of whom the best two pass on. Glenn Hofman, one of the two other Dutchmen, faces a tough mission with three Vietnamese in his group: Quyet Chien Tran, Thanh Luc Tran and Thanh Tien Le. The world top player Quyet Chien Tran plays Hofman early on 10.00. Other matches to look forward to are Myung Woo Cho-Jeffrey Jorissen, Haeng Jik Kim-Jun Tae Kim, Eddy Merckx-Torbjörn Blomdahl, Marco Zanetti-Martin Horn, Tayfun Tasdemir-Peter Ceulemans and Phuong Vinh Bao-Sameh Sidhom among all the big matches.

European billiards and the world's top players are getting acquainted with a new Vietnamese star this year. Thanh Luc Tran defeated Dick Jaspers in the semi-finals at the last World championship threecushion, but was then without any chance in the final against Korean Myung Woo Cho. On his first day at the World Cup in Veghel, the 34-year-old Asian also showed his high class on Wednesday. Thanh Luc Tran was day winner on the final qualifying day with four match points and 3.076 on average in games against TT Le, also from Vietnam, and Kostistanski with 40-25 in 14 and 40-16 in 12. The world's top players have been warned for the new Vietnamese in great form.

The Belgians came out after a glorious day when three were qualified for the main draw, in which Eddy Merckx is among the automatically seeded players. Frédéric Caudron and Roland Forthomme became the strong numbers two and three in the day's ranking after Thanh Luc Tran with 2,424 and 1,632. Peter Ceulemans was the third Belgian to move on.

Thanh Luc Tran is part of the Vietnamese armada that has been assailing the top of three-court for a few years and shining in the major tournaments. Six of those players played a role in Wednesday's qualifier, which played for places in the main tournament. Thanh Luc Tran, in a true group of death, was the best of those six. Glenn Hofman, one of the two Dutch wildcards, has to deal with it in the first final rounds: the Hague player is divided with three of those Vietnamese. 

Frédéric Caudron was not far behind the Vietnamese leader in scoring and thus on average. The Belgian played superior matches as well in the run-up to the main tournament. Spaniard Ruben Legazpi attacked for the lead in the evening, stranded within sight of the finish (40-24 in 14), but became an outstanding runner-up in his groupthanks to victory over Knudsen (40-16 in 16).

The overview of the 12 groups:

Group A:

Greek Nick Polychronopoulos faced an all-or-nothing effort after losing in his first game against Tom Löwe. The mission was simple: win with a high average vs Frenchman Maxime Panaia. The Greek was superior, taking a lead in the 14th inning by a run of 11 to be on the safe side and winning 40-20 in 15. That made him leader in the standings with three players of 2 match points.

The standings in Group A:

Nick Polychronopoulos 2-1,945-11

Maxime Panaia 2-1.463-8

Tom Löwe 2-1,354-8

Nick Polychronopoulos

Group B:

Berkay Karakurt fought back from a plight (39-32 behind) in his first game against Dimitrios Seleventas, almost won the game yet, but missed the match ball and shared the match points with the young Greek talent: 40-40 in 36.

The standings in Group B:

Berkay Karakurt 3-1.739-14

Ja In Kang 2-1,173-5

Dimitrios Seleventas 1-0.916-7

Berkay Karakurt

Group C:

Hoan Tat Nguyen, another feared Vietnamese, signed for the elimination of Jérémy Bury, the Frenchman dropped from the high ranks. Trying to return soon, he won against Belgian De Backer, but was floored by Nguyen 40-26 in 25. The Vietnamese won the group, the Frenchman, with his average (1.404), did not compete for a best second position.

The standings in Group C:

Hoan Tat Nguyen 4-1,403-11

Jérémy Bury 2-1.404-9

Peter De Backer 0-1,259-

Group D:

Already fairly well known from the last World Cups, he came through the last qualification here too. TTT Nguyen (in full Tran Thanh Tu) beat Japan's Takeshima O, once Dick Jaspers' conqueror at a World Cup. That match TTT-O was decisive: TTT won 40-25 in 22

The standings in Group D:

TTT Nguyen 4-1.538-11

Takeshima O 2-1,300-6

Herbert Szivacz 0-1,034-8

Group E:

Myeong Jong Cha faced Gwendal Maréchal for the group win and gave the Frenchman few chances to get into the match. Cha distanced himself with a quick 8, later another 8 and a 7 for a 40-23 win in 17 innings. Serdal Bas was left empty-handed.

The standings in Group E:

Myeong Jong Cha 4-1,428-8

Gwendal Maréchal 2-1,657-11

Serdal Bas 0-1,066-6

Group F:

The group of death made a big impression in the stands. Thanh Luc Tran and Thanh Tien Le made a true triumph race of the group. Tran won the mutual battle 40-25 in 14 (2,857 and 1,786), but did even better in the last game against Austrian Kostistansky (40-16 in 12). The averages of the three players were impressive.

The standings in Group F:

Thanh Luc Tran 4-3,076-8

Thanh Tien Le 2-2,096-13

Gerhard Kostistandky 0-1.586-9

The excellent Thanh Luc Tran on top of the day

Group G:

Caudron's speed once again surpassed all other games in the final evening round. As against Brian Knudsen, the Belgian was also the fastest to finish against Ruben Legazpi. With 40 in 19 and 40 in 14, he was the first Belgian group winner of the day and played his way into the top three of the day's ranking.

The standings in Group G:

Frédéric Caudron 4-2,424-8

Ruben Legazpi 2-2,166-2

Brian Knudsen 0-1,400-7

Frédéric Caudron

Group H

What Jean Paul de Bruijn failed to do earlier in the day, Peter Ceulemans did in the final evening round. The Belgian, with many fans in the stands, beat one of the Vietnamese for qualification. On a score of 35-35, Ceulemans slipped past the Asian in the last two innings by 1 and 4, beating the Vietnamese who had also struggled to finish against De Bruijn. Peter Ceulemans, who beat Jeepee 40-27 in 24, is the second Belgian after Caudron to advance to the main tournament.

The standings in Group H:

Peter Ceulemans 4-1,428-10

Nguyen Chi Long 2-2-1.327-8

Jean Paul de Bruijn 0-1,120-8

Peter Ceulemans

Group I:

Roland Forthomme threw in another of his highlights (run 12) to decide the match against Chang Hoon Seo in his favor. The third Belgian in this round to advance (after Caudron and Ceulemans) won his group ahead of Ahmet Alp and Seo with an excellent average. Alp was also virtually hopeless against Forthomme on the early day with 40-30 in 24.

The standings in Group I:

Roland Forthomme 4-1.600-12

Ahmet Alp 2-1,206-5

Chang Hoon Seo 0-1.067-6

Roland Forthomme

Group J

Turgay Orak emerged victorious from the duel with Duc Minh Tran in the group where Sam van Etten was allowed to return home with two losses. The Turkish group winner defeated Duc Minh Tran 40-33 in 30.

The standings in Group J:

Turgay Orak 4-1,428-6

Duc Minh Tran 2-1,327-7

Sam van Etten 0-1,235-8

Group K:

Three players with two match points were also evenly matched in average. The leading position was eventually for Gökhan Salman, who lost his last game to Pierre Soumagne 40-34 in 33, just above Omer Karakurt in average. Salman was the best starter in the group with a win over Karakurt (40-28 in 25), which helped him qualify later.

The standings in Group K:

Gökhan Salman 2-1,275-5

Omer Karakurt 2-1,259-8

Pierre Soumagne 2-1,112-5

Group L:

The Koreans got a compatriot in the main table with Bong Joo Hwang from the last group. The Asian was the better of Manuel Rui Costa in the match for the groupwin. Hwang won 40-24 in 29 thanks in part to a run of 10. Raymon Groot, the number last, said goodbye to a wonderful tournament, in which he showed his class to the Dutch audience and the home front in New York.

The standings in Group L:

Bong Hoo Hwang 4-1,481-10

Rui Costa 2-1,185-7

Raymon Groot 0-1,400-9

The draw for the eight groups of four on Thursday from 10am in the main tournament (best two advance to the round of 16):

Group A: Dick Jaspers, Gwendal Maréchal, Frédéric Caudron, Mohamed Abdin

Group B: Quyet Chien Tran, Thanh Luc Tran, Glenn Hofman, Than Tien Le

Group C: Myung Woo Cho, Tolgahan Kiraz, Jeffrey Jorissen Ruben Legazpy

Group D: Jun Tae Kim, Roland Forthomme, Gökhan Salman, Haeng Jik Kim

Group E: Eddy Merckx, Torbjörn Blomdahl, TTT Nguyen, Nick Polychronopoulos

Group F: Martin Horn, Marco Zanetti, Bong Joo Hwang, Berkay Karakurt

Group G: Tayfun Tasdemir, Jung han Heo, Peter Ceulemans, Hoan Tat Nguyen

Group H: Phuong Vinh Bao, Sameh Sidhom, Myeong Jong Cha, Turgay Orak.