“Terrifying Thursday” lived up to its name in Lier. The final qualifying round, the Q round, decided the last places for the Main Draw: players had to win their group or finish among the three best runners-up. Everyone else was out.
And the level was extraordinary. The 12 group winners combined for a remarkable 1.694 general average, a figure rarely seen even in a World Cup Main Draw. Even more impressive, none of the seeded players had entered the competition yet.
Salman leads an exceptional field
Gökhan Salman produced the best performance of the day, winning his group with 4 match points and a 1.904 general average.
He was closely followed by fellow Turk Birol Uymaz, who finished at 1.860 after a hard-fought battle with Dutchman Jeffrey Jorissen.
Greece's Nikos Polychronopoulos continued the country's strong week with 1.739, while Sweden's legendary Torbjörn Blomdahl and Turkey's Ömer Karakurt both finished at 1.702.
Spain also had another excellent day, with Ruben Legazpi qualifying at 1.666.
The other group winners were Mikaël Devogelaere (FRA) and Haeng Jik Kim (KOR), both at 1.600, Vietnam's Phuong Vinh Bao (1.568), Colombia's Huberney Catano (1.860), Korea's Wan Young Choi (1.795) and Korea's Ye Sung Jeong (1.413).
Devogelaere makes it through
One of the most important results for France came from Mikaël Devogelaere, who secured his place in the Main Draw with a 1.600 general average.
After starting his journey several days ago, Devogelaere has now completed the entire qualification route and earned a place among the world's top 32 in Lier.
His reward is a very tough Group H, where he will face Vietnam's Thanh Luc Tran, Korea's Haeng Jik Kim and Egypt's Sameh Sidhom.
Soumagne misses out despite an excellent level
For Pierre Soumagne, the story was very different.
After winning his PQ group on Wednesday with a strong 1.347 average, the Frenchman produced another excellent performance in the Q round but failed to secure one of the qualifying spots.
With the standard of play so high, even an excellent average was not enough without a group victory or one of the three best runner-up positions.
Soumagne therefore leaves Lier just short of the Main Draw, despite having demonstrated throughout the qualifying stages that he was capable of competing at this level.
Blomdahl survives a spectacular battle
One of the highlights of the day came in the match between Torbjörn Blomdahl and José María Más.
The Spanish player produced the highest run of the tournament so far: 17. Despite that spectacular attack from Más, Blomdahl managed to win his group and book his place in the Main Draw.
It was another reminder of just how unpredictable the Q round can be: even a run of 17 does not necessarily guarantee victory.
Three best runners-up also advance
Three players who did not win their groups nevertheless earned their places in the Main Draw thanks to their performances.
Bong Joo Hwang qualified with 3 match points and a 1.632 average, while Vietnam's Dinh Quoc Nguyen advanced with 2 points and 1.620.
The final qualifying spot went to Korea's Myeong Jong Cha, who recorded 1.560.
Another player who deserves special mention is Ye Sung Jeong. The Korean has been present since the very first qualifying round and continues his remarkable journey in Lier. Despite finishing with only two match points in the Q round, his 1.413 average was enough to put him through as a group winner.
The 32-player Main Draw is set
The qualifying marathon is now over, and the Main Draw is ready.
Group A
Myung Woo Cho – Myeong Jong Cha – Birol Uymaz – Hong Chiem Thai
Group B
Dick Jaspers – Dinh Quoc Nguyen – Gökhan Salman – Peter Ceulemans
Group C
Eddy Merckx – Roland Forthomme – Glenn Hofman – Bong Joo Hwang
Group D
Marco Zanetti – Nikos Polychronopoulos – Jung Han Heo – Ye Sung Jeong
Group E
Frédéric Caudron – Wan Young Choi – Quyet Chien Tran – Torbjörn Blomdahl
Group F
Tayfun Tasdemir – Ömer Karakurt – Jérémy Bury – Huberney Catano
Group G
Martin Horn – Phuong Vinh Bao – Berkay Karakurt – Ruben Legazpi
Group H
Thanh Luc Tran – Haeng Jik Kim – Sameh Sidhom – Mikaël Devogelaere
The Main Draw starts Friday at 10:00 AM local time.
After three days of qualifying and an extraordinary Q round, the world's leading players finally enter the competition. And with several qualifiers arriving in the Main Draw with averages normally associated with the world's elite, Lier promises a fascinating battle from the very first break shot.