LINT – The final qualifying rounds for the World Cup in Lint, Belgium, where Pedro Gonzalez was the day's best winner on Wednesday, will host at least two world champions on Thursday. Torbjörn Blomdahl, back from a serious foot injury, is one of the biggest billiards players in history with his five world titles and 46 World Cup victories. The Swede will play in Thursday's rounds to qualify and begin his journey back to the world's top. The other champion in this final preliminary round is Phuong Vinh Bao, the 2023 Vietnamese world champion, who is looking to quickly reverse his decline in the rankings. These are two of the top players on a mission leading up to the main tournament. Other known names in Thursday's final preliminary round: Ruben Legazpi, Nick Polychronopoulos, Hong Chiem Thai, Glenn Hofman, and TTT Nguyen.
The World Cup is approaching its two-day run, with the world's elite appearing in the arena. The Belgian crowd, in the exceptionally atmospheric arena, is eagerly anticipating the highest-level competition. Starting Friday, the home nation will be seeking success with Eddy Merckx, Frédéric Caudron, Peter Ceulemans, and Roland Forthomme. There's a chance another Belgian will join them, as Peter De Backer has been among the winners in the preliminary rounds for several days. Koreans, Vietnamese, and several South Americans are gradually emerging in the top positions, but Wednesday evening saw a strong contingent of winners from various countries.
Colombian Pedro Gonzalez, a three-time Pan American champion in 2018, 2019, and 2022, is one of three Colombians also competing in the World Championships next week. The World Cup test is already putting Gonzalez firmly in the spotlight. The 49-year-old Colombian needed to beat former PBA player Birol Uymaz in his second match on Wednesday to advance to the next round. He turned it into a high-quality match, scoring an 11 in the final innings, 35-24 in 13. This made him one of the top winners in the Wednesday round with an average of 1.707.
Peter De Backer (58), two-times on the podium in a World Championship three-cushion, started the day sensationally against Gwendal Maréchal, winning 35-13 in 14 (2.500 average). He was almost certain of qualifying and later defeated Mehmet Goren, but his average dropped significantly due to the match, which lasted 37 innings.
Dimitrios Seleventas, the young Greek, also had a brilliant match in 14 innings against Pinard (35-10) after a rather lackluster opening in 36.
After his brilliant start against Maurer (35-17 in 16, 2.188), Jean Paul de Bruijn needed a little luck to advance. Vietnamese Quoc Thuan Pham, a bag of nerves at the table, had the win within reach in two match points and could have eliminated the Dutchman. The Asian missed twice, after which De Bruijn escaped with 35-35. The second Dutchman, Huub Wilkowski, played two solid matches against Lukas Mortensen (35-21 in 25) and Muammer Rahmet (35-24 in 25). Tom Löwe surprised Vietnamese player Viet Hoang Minh Thon in the final game, 35-33, and also proved to be a strong finisher against Jose Miguel Soares, also 35-33.
The ranking with sixteen daily winners (2 Colombians, 2 Spaniards, 2 Koreans, 2 Dutch, 1 Turkish, 1 Vietnamese, 1 Greek, 1 Belgian, 1 German, 1 Austrian, 1 French, 1 Swede).
- Pedro Gonzalez 4-1,707-11
- Tarik Yavuz 4-1.590-9
- From Tai Nguyen 4-1.555-8
- Do Hyun Kim 4-1,428-6
- Dimitrios Seleventas 4-1,400-11
- Arnim Kahofer 4-1,400-7
- Huub Wilkowski 4-1,400-7
- Huberney Cataño 4-1,400-6
- Peter De Backer 4-1.372-9
- Maxime Panaia 4-1.372-7
- Daniel Sainz-Pardo 4-1.346-7
- Joseba Escribino 4-1.272-7
- David Pennör 4-1.186-7
- Tom Lowe 4-1.129-9
- Jean Paul de Bruijn 3-1,750-11
- Beom Yeol Lee 3-1.346-7
The day winner Pedro Gonzalez
Peter De Backer, the multi survivor
The referees for the World Cup
