The second day of the Lier 3-Cushion World Cup, featuring the Pre-Pre-Qualification (PPQ) round, came to an end on Tuesday in Belgium. The 48 players were divided into 16 groups, with the group winners advancing to the next stage.
And on home soil, Belgium had plenty to celebrate, with four Belgian players winning their groups and securing their place in the next round.
Kokkoris and Más set the pace
After an impressive opening day, Kostantinos Kokkoris raised the bar even higher in the PPQ.
The Greek won Group N with 30 points in just 12 innings, producing an extraordinary 2.500 average in his match, including a high run of 9. He finished top of the overall ranking of the 16 group winners with a 2.400 general average.
Spain's José María Más was not far behind. He won Group D with 60 points in 28 innings, for a superb 2.142 general average, with high runs of 8 and 7.
Vietnam's Dinh Quoc Nguyen and Korea's Son Jun Hyuk followed at 1.500, while Belgium's Peter De Backer completed the top five with an excellent 1.395.
Belgium strong on home soil
With the World Cup taking place in Lier, the Belgian players were naturally under the spotlight — and they delivered.
Peter De Backer was the first Belgian to make his mark, winning Group M with 60 points in 43 innings, for a 1.395 general average.
Jozef Philipoom also topped his group, winning Group E with 60 points in 46 innings and a 1.304 average.
In Group J, Bart Ceulemans secured first place with 30 points in 29 innings, recording a 1.034 general average. His Belgian teammate Dany Boutet finished second at 1.000.
The fourth Belgian group winner was Ronny Brants, who took Group K with 30 points in 32 innings (0.937). Paul Wallerand finished second in the same group.
Belgium also had two more players finishing second in their groups: Davy Van Havere in Group F, with 0.823, and Paul Wallerand with 0.826.
The only Belgian to miss out was Marco Janssen, who finished third in Group L behind Nguyen Dinh Quoc and France's Samir Derradji.
So, of the eight Belgians competing in the PPQ, seven remain in contention — four group winners and three runners-up.
A difficult day for the French
For France, it was a much tougher day.
Jean Haby finished second behind Spain's Marcos Morales, with 49 points in 49 innings and a 1.000 general average.
Samir Derradji also advanced after finishing second in Group L. He produced a strong 1.428 average, scoring 30 points in 21 innings.
However, Patrice Pinard, Tangui Duriez and Nathan Duriez all finished third in their respective groups and were eliminated.
Cédric Melnytschenko had a positive day despite missing out on the group win, finishing second behind Spain's Carlos Crespo with 59 points in 60 innings and a 0.983 average.
The Koreans remain dangerous
Korea continues to have a strong presence at the top of the tournament.
Park Su Yeong won Group O with 1.500, while Jeong Ye Sung, the outstanding performer of Monday's opening round, finished second in Group P with 1.250, behind American Raymon Groot.
Therese Klompenhouwer also advanced from Group I. The Dutch champion finished first with 30 points in 26 innings and a 1.153 average, ahead of Son Jun Hyuk.
It was another strong performance from Klompenhouwer, coming just after her victory at the CEB Grand Prix in Herstal.
At the end of the PPQ round, 16 players have secured their places in the next stage. Kokkoris leads the ranking with 2.400, followed by Más at 2.142, while Nguyen Dinh Quoc and Son Jun Hyuk are both at 1.500.
But for the home crowd in Lier, the most important number may well be seven: seven Belgian players are still alive in the competition after the second qualifying day.
With the World Cup being held in the heart of one of Belgium's great billiards regions, the local fans will have plenty of reasons to keep cheering.
The road to the main draw continues in Lier, with the next qualification stage bringing the tournament one step closer to the world's best.
Kokkoris 4 – 2.400
Mas 4 – 2.142
D.Q. Nguyen 4 – 1.500
J.H. Son 4 – 1.500
De Backer 4 – 1.395
S.Y. Park 4 – 1.363
J. Philipoom 4 – 1.304
Y.S. Jeong 4 – 1.250
Crespo 4 – 1.111
Prassas 4 – 1.090
Brants 4 – 1.071
B. Ceulemans 4 – 1.016
Uluda 4 – 1.000
Yildiz 4 – 0.937
M. Morales 2 – 1.075
Christoforou 2 – 0.951