Caudron has another phenomenal start in Sharm

SHARM EL SHEIKH - The best of the last qualification was the again inimitable Frédéric Caudron with his 3,478 on average over two games, still ahead of Phuong Vinh Bao, the former world champion. For 12 group winners in the qualifiers, the door to the finals of the World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh opened this Wednesday. With the top three runners-up, these 12 winners will join the total field for the main tournament, which moves to its climax with 32 players on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The schedule on the first day features top matches such as Myung Woo Cho-Frédéric Caudron, Merckx-Bao, Jun Tae Kim-Haeng Jik Kim (with Peter Ceulemans in the same group), Blomdahl-Horn, Heo-Zanetti (with Hofman in the same group) and Tasdemir-Sidhom (in the group with Forthomme).

The best winner from the last qualifiers was of course Caudron, most of the spectacle came from Phuong Vinh Bao, the Vietnamese former world champion, who finished with 18 in his match against Jose Maria Mas in the 13th inning.

Rarely will the qualifying day leading up to the main tournament in a World Cup have seen such high averages and magnificent matches. The most striking games came from Birol Uymaz (40 in 10), the Turkish player who had lost his first match. Frédéric Caudron shone with 40 in 13 first and then with 40 in 12. The Belgian leader showed again that he is all the way back in the frontline, after reaching the final in Veghel and skipping the previous World Cup in Seoul for private reasons. By the way, don’t forget that the Belgians came out of the final qualifiers with no fewer than three players as winners: Frédéric Caudron (1st), Peter Ceulemans (4th) and Roland Forthomme (8th). For the Netherlands, Glenn Hofman was number 9 on that winners' list. Huub Wilkowski (17), Sam van Etten (20), Jean Paul de Bruijn (27) and Jeffrey Jorissen (33) were eliminated. 

Phuong Vinh Bao had a sensational finish with 18 against Jose Maria Mas, whom he beat 40-18 in 13. Wednesday's top three consisted of Caudron, Duc Minh Tran and Phuong Vinh Bao, the best averages were played by Caudron with 3,478, Hofman with 2,111, Duc Minh Tran and Roland Forthomme with 2,000.

Frédéric Caudron, paired with Myung Woo Cho, Birol Uymaz and Samer Kamal in a fascinating group in the draw for the group phase of the main tournament, started his mission with a win over Gwendal Maréchal 40-15 in 12 (start with 8, finish with 6, 5 and 1) and did a little better still against Myeong Jong Cha with 40-9 in 11 (start with 9 and finish with 9). 

Jérémy Bury was first to finish even after three misses for his last point in the session from which the first six winners emerged. The Frenchman beat Huub Wilkowski in a very solid match 40-27 in 23. Ruben Legazpi not only had to win against Kostistansky, but also close a gap in average. He more than did that by winning 40-15 in 19, staying ahead of Panaia and Kostistansky.

Roland Forthomme had the best starting position when the score was 35-30, but he saw his opponent, Vietnamese Hong Chiem Tahi, play out with 10. The Belgian showed his mental strength and withstood the pressure: he scored the 5 from the equalizer and continued as group winner. Jean Paul de Bruijn showed a totally different face after the loss 40-13 in 24 against Riad Nady (0.542 average) when the Dutchman faced Berkay Karakurt a few hours later. Then he suddenly did play with the flair of the Dutch champion and it became 40-24 in 20 (2,000 average). That was not  enough to erase that first sweep: as Karakurt placed out of that group after his victory over Nady by a small difference in average.

Glenn Hofman again played two formidable matches and finished over 2 average. The Dutchman only had a tough opponent to Pierre Soumagne, who came back strongly after 23-10 down to win 40-36, with 30 points by the Frenchman in the second part against 13 points by Glenn Hofman. Hofman's revenge was ruthless: in his second game, he beat Salman 40-23 in 18, good for 2.111 average over two games.

The 12 group winners and three runners up: 

1. Frédéric Caudron 4-3.478-0
2. Duc Minh Tran 4-2.000-8
3. Phuong Vinh Bao 4-1.818-18
4. Peter Ceulemans 4-1.538-8
5. Jérémy Bury 4-1,598-7
6. Nguyen Chi Long 4-1.509-6
7. Hyuk Son Jun 4-1.212-8
8. Roland Forthomme 3-2.000-9
9. Glenn Hofman 2-2.111-7
10. Ruben Legazpi 2-1.775-9
11. Ja In Kang 2-1.571-8
12. Berkay Karakurt 2-1.56-8

Best 3 numbers 2:

Pierre Soumagne 2-1.714-7

Birol Uymaz 2-1.695-10

Hong Chiem Thai 2-1.666-13

Phuong Vinh Bao, a magic finish with 18

Glenn Hofman, an excellent come-back, second on average of the day

Roland Forthomme, a finish with 5 for the qualification

The group formats for the first group phase with 8x4: total of 32 players:

Group A: Dick Jaspers, Duc Minh Tran, Hong Chiem Thai, Javier Vera

Group B: Myung Woo Cho, Frédéric Caudron, Birol Uymaz, Samer Kamal

Group C: Quyet Chien Tran, Thanh Luc Tran, Mahmoud Ayman, Pierre Soumagne

Group D: Eddy Merckx, Phuong Vinh Bao, Tolgahan Kiraz, Berkay Karakurt

Group E: Jun Tae Kim, Haeng Jik Kim, Peter Ceulemans, Ja In Kang

Group F: Martin Horn, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Jérémy Bury, Ruben Legazpi

Group G: Jung Han Heo, Glenn Hofman, Marco Zanetti Nguyen Chi Long

Group H: Sameh Sidhom, Roland Forthomme, Tayfun Tasdemir, Hyuk Son Jun

The final standings in the 12 groups on Wednesday:

Group A:

1 Roland Forthomme 3-2.000-9

2 Hong Chiem Thai 2-1.666-13

3 Serdal Bas 10-1.277-11

Group B:

1 Phuong Vinh Bao 4-1.818-18

2 Jose Maria Mas 2-1.145-8

3 Arnim Kahofer 0-1.000-6

Group C:

1 Jérémy Bury 4-1.509-7

2 Huub Wilkowski 2-1.416-10

3 Lukas Mortensen 0-0.909-6

Group D:

1 Jun Hyuk Son 4-1.212-8

2 Birol Uymaz 2-1.695-10

3 Nick Polychronopoulos 0-1.150-10

Group E:

1 Berkay Karakurt 2-1.560-8

2 Riad Nady 2-1.533-11

3 Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1.204-11

Group F:

1 Ruben Legazpi 2-1.775-9

2 Maxime Panaia 2-1.377-7

3 Gerhard Kostistansky 2-1.279-6

Group G:

1 Peter Ceulemans 4-1.538-8

2 Emrullah Basegmez 2-0.828-6

3 Jeffrey Jorissen 0-1.000-6

Group H:

1 Frédéric Caudron 4-3.478-9

2 Gwendal Maréchal 2-1.410-8

3 Myeong Jong Cha 0-1.105-6

Group I:

1 Ja In Kang 2-1.571-8

2 Sam van Etten 2-1.285-6

3 Chang Hoon Seo 2-1.163-7

Group J:

1 Glenn Hofman 2-2.111-7

2 Pierre Soumagne 2-1.714-7

3 Gökhan Salman 2-1.500-8

Group K:

1 Duc Minh Tran 4-2.000-8

2 Adrien Tachoire 2-1.187-8

3 Omer Karakurt 0-1.217-7

Group L:

1 Nguyen Chi Long 4-1.509-6

2 Manuel Rui Costa 2-1.200-6

3 Bong Joo Hwang 0-0.842-10