Hyung Bum Hwang from the penalty spot

MEDELLIN - He is known as the player with the best controle over his nerves and the best focus of all the Korean top players. Sung Won Choi showed his class once more in a match which he seemed to lose in the first session of the main tournament. His opponent: Colombian Henri Diaz.

Hyung Bum Hwang and Heriberto Aristizabal faced in a high tension match, which was decided in the last caroms from the spots. The match ended 40-40 in 35 innings. The Colombian missed the break shot in the penaltie race, the Korean, who advanced as fourth reserve to the main event, needed only one carom (1-0) for the win and will show up in the eight finals.

The Korean number seven of the world, Sung Won Choi, needed a little miracle to escape, when his Colombian opponent Henry Diaz already had missed the matchbal. Choi was trailing 39-36 and stepped to the table facing an impossible position.

He scored his 37th carom with an incredible precision and at high speed and then made the two winning points for 40-39.

Torbjörn Blomdahl didn’t even need a strong showing for his first win against Alejandro Piza, who impressed in the preliminary rounds, but could not threaten his Swedish opponent: 40-30 in 33 innings.

Jae Ho Cho excited the crowd with a great start and finished 23 caroms ahead of Tayfun Tasdemir (40-17 in 20), in a match that was important for the top 12   positions on the ranking.