The Lier World Cup entered its decisive phase on Saturday with a packed schedule: eight Round of 16 matches followed by four quarter-finals. By the end of the day, only four players remained in contention for the title.
Phuong Vinh Bao, Myung Woo Cho, Dick Jaspers and Berkay Karakurt will contest the semi-finals today.
Eight players, eight different stories
The Round of 16 immediately delivered high-quality billiards.
Marco Zanetti, the dominant player of the group stage with a 2.307 general average, continued his impressive form against Colombia's Huberney Catano, winning 50-28 in 24 innings (2.083).
Belgian favourite Eddy Merckx was then involved in a fascinating battle with Vietnam's Phuong Vinh Bao. Bao eventually prevailed 50-48 in 28 innings, despite Merckx producing 1.777. Bao's average was 1.785, but even more impressive was his high run of 17.
Myung Woo Cho also advanced, defeating fellow Korean Myeong Jong Cha? No — Cho's Round of 16 opponent was Thanh Luc Tran, whom he beat 50-43 in 25 innings, averaging 1.923.
Hofman produces a spectacular performance
One of the biggest surprises of the Round of 16 came from Glenn Hofman.
The Dutchman eliminated France's Jérémy Bury, who had gone unbeaten in the group stage. Hofman produced an astonishing 50 points in only 15 innings, for a remarkable 3.333 average and a run of 11. Bury finished on 21 points at 1.400.
It brought an end to Bury's perfect run, after the Frenchman had won all three of his group matches.
Jaspers and the Belgian challenge
Dick Jaspers continued his impressive tournament with a convincing victory over Vietnam's Hong Chiem Thai, winning 50-28 in 27 innings (1.851).
For the home crowd, Frédéric Caudron was also through to the quarter-finals after a difficult battle with Quyet Chien Tran. The Vietnamese won 50-41 in 23 innings, producing an excellent 2.173 average.
That meant Caudron, despite entering the knockout phase after a strong group stage, was eliminated before the last eight.
Karakurt and Ceulemans
Turkey's Berkay Karakurt continued his remarkable week by defeating Korea's Jung Han Heo, 50-34 in 32 innings.
Karakurt had already averaged an extraordinary 2.400 during the group stage, and although his Round of 16 average dropped to 1.562, he did exactly what mattered most: he won.
The final Round of 16 match saw Peter Ceulemans produce an excellent result in front of the home crowd. The Belgian defeated Egyptian star Sameh Sidhom 50-34 in 31 innings, averaging 1.612.
Ceulemans therefore became the last Belgian standing in the competition.
The quarter-finals: four big clashes
The quarter-finals offered four very different stories.
Bao knocks out Zanetti
After eliminating Merckx, Phuong Vinh Bao faced the tournament's number one player, Marco Zanetti.
The Vietnamese produced another outstanding performance, winning 50-38 in just 20 innings for a huge 2.500 average, with a high run of 15.
Zanetti finished at 2.000, but his remarkable tournament came to an end.
After topping the group stage with 2.307, the Italian leaves Lier just one match short of the semi-finals.
Cho controls the battle with Hofman
Myung Woo Cho advanced at the expense of Glenn Hofman.
After Hofman's spectacular 3.333 performance in the Round of 16, the Dutchman could not reproduce that level against the Korean. Cho won 50-44 in 31 innings, averaging 1.612, while Hofman finished at 1.466.
Cho now has a place in the last four.
Jaspers destroys the Tran challenge
Dick Jaspers produced perhaps the most impressive quarter-final of the day.
The Dutch legend defeated Quyet Chien Tran 50-37 in only 19 innings, averaging an extraordinary 2.631. Tran nevertheless played at an excellent 1.947.
Jaspers had already looked formidable in the group stage, where he won all three matches at 2.033. He now enters the semi-final as one of the major favourites for the title.
Karakurt ends Ceulemans' run
The Belgian challenge finally came to an end with Peter Ceulemans facing Berkay Karakurt.
The Turkish player won 50-42 in 26 innings, averaging 1.923, while Ceulemans finished at 1.680.
For Karakurt, it is another important step in what has become one of the stories of this Lier World Cup.
Four players, four nations
The semi-final line-up is now complete:
?? Phuong Vinh Bao
?? Myung Woo Cho
?? Dick Jaspers
?? Berkay Karakurt
It is a remarkable final four, representing four different countries.
The first semi-final will see Phuong Vinh Bao face Myung Woo Cho, after Bao eliminated the number one seedless player of the tournament, Zanetti, while Cho came through against Hofman.
The second will feature Dick Jaspers against Berkay Karakurt — experience and consistency against one of the most explosive young performers of the week.
The numbers are impressive across the board. Bao reached the semi-finals after averaging 2.500 in his quarter-final, while Jaspers produced 2.631. Karakurt added 1.923, and Cho controlled his quarter-final at 1.612.
And perhaps the most striking statistic of all is what happened to Marco Zanetti: after finishing the group stage with 2.307, he is already out.
Four players remain. Two semi-finals stand between them and Sunday's World Cup final in Lier.