LINT/ANTWERP – Cheers filled the entire World Cup arena at the start of a wonderful evening. Peter Ceulemans, the home player and thus the home crowd's favorite, just qualified between two major champions. The 45-year-old Belgian rising star from the Ceulemans stronghold defeated Torbjörn Blomdahl, lost to Myung Woo Cho, the current world champion, and will now play in the final stage of the 16-player World Cup on Saturday, where the finals are played by knockout. Ceulemans will face Dutchman Glenn Hofman (14.30). The tension in the most of all Belgian entourage was palpable this Friday, but Peter Ceulemans proved to be cool, determined, and mentally strong. The victory over Torbjörn Blomdahl was necessary for qualification after the narrow loss to Myung Woo Cho. The score was 40-28 after runs of 6, 11, and 4 to finish. "I'm enjoying it very much with all the fans, who cheer on the Belgians just a little bit more than other players."
He only heard later that Dick Jaspers had been eliminated, that Caudron and Merckx had lost twice, but that Caudron would advance anyway. ’’That just makes him even more dangerous in this World Cup, because losing twice isn't something Caudron will experience very often." In the late evening session, the tournament also ended for Jérémy Bury with 1.905 and a run of 14, Berkay and Omer Karakurt, Jung Han Heo, Roland Forthomme, and Pedro Gonzalez. Peter Ceulemans's opinion of his three matches was: "I had unexpected chances against Cho in the first, the second against Pennör had a rough start, and against Blomdahl I made 11 in the right moment to win the match."
The World Cup went from 32 players to 16 on Friday, heading into the knockouts on Saturday. The elimination of Dick Jaspers and Eddy Merckx, the world's No. 1 and No. 4 players, was particularly surprising. Glenn Hofman won the group ahead of Haeng Jik Kim, with Jaspers in third place. Myung Woo Cho finished ahead of Ceulemans and Blomdahl. The group winners with the maximum 6 match points were Myung Woo Cho (2,033), Bong Joo Hwang (1,818), Tayfun Tasdemir (2,053), and Sameh Sidhom (1,690).
Group overview:
Group A:
The verdict on Dick Jaspers was only reached in the final session. The standings after two rounds in Group A already indicated a remarkable score. Dick Jaspers led with 3 match points, ahead of Nick Polychronopoulos and Glenn Hofman with 2. Haeng Jik Kim was in fourth place with 1 match point, but with the best average of the four: 1.810. The final round could have gone either way. And so it did. Jaspers lost the battle with Haeng Jik Kim 40-30 in 15 innings, while Glenn Hofman seized his chance to become the group winner by beating Polychronopoulos 40-31 in 24 innings. Jaspers tied on match points with HJ Kim, but fell short on average. Two players who have been friends for years, dating back to their junior years, took control.
Standings in Group A:
1. Glenn Hofman 4-1,647-9
2. Haeng Jik Kim 3-2,057-8
3. Dick Jaspers 3-1,571-8
4. Nick Polychronopoulos 2-1,541-9
Group B:
The home crowd cheered Peter Ceulemans's qualification, defeating Torbjörn Blomdahl in the final match. Myung Woo Cho had a flawless start and secured his qualification after just two rounds. The Korean world champion narrowly edged Peter Ceulemans 40-38 in 23 matches in the first round and then made short work of Blomdahl with a comfortable 40-21 in 15. Peter Ceulemans maintained his chances with a win against David Pennör (40-20 in 32), but needed at least a draw against Blomdahl for the second spot. To the delight of the home crowd, Ceulemans even won with a comfortable score: 40-28 in 22.
The standings in Group B:
1. Myung Woo Cho 6-2,033-10
2. Peter Ceulemans 4-1,532-11
3. Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-1,328-6
4. David Pennör 0-1,012-7
Group C:
Quyet Chien Tran had the best start, Martin Horn had the best final sprint. Tran took the lead with double victories over TTT Nguyen (40-22 in 29) and Roland Forthomme (40-37 in 28 s). Forthomme's excellent win against Horn (40-29 in 18) and TTT Nguyen’s poor average kept three players in contention for the final round. Martin Horn even took the lead with a win against Quyet Chien Tran (40-29 in 16), while Forthomme lost his chances by losing to TTT Nguyen 40-22 in 18.
The standings in Group C:
1. Martin Horn 4-1,816-10
2. Quyet Chien Tran 4-1,493-13
3. Roland Forthomme 2-1,546-9
4. TTT Nguyen 2-1,123-13
Group D:
Two Belgians with two losses, Caudron advances, Merckx goes home. The Belgian clash between the two, Eddy Merckx and Frédéric Caudron, was won by Caudron, who defeated his rival 40-31 in 20 innings. Bong Joo Hwang made a splash with a win against Myeong Jong Cha. The tide turned in the second round, as Caudron lost to Hwang 40-32 in 18 innings and Merckx defeated Cha 40-30 in 32 innings. The Belgian/Korean doubleheader was to decide the match, with Hwang as the top contender. Caudron lost to Cha 40-33 in 22 innings, and Merckx to Hwang 40-35 in 25 innings, giving the Korean the maximum score and Caudron qualification by average.
Standings in Group D:
1. Bong Joo Hwang 6-1,816-10
2. Frédéric Caudron 2-1,750-9
3. Eddy Merckx 2-1,472-7
4. Myeong Jong Cha 2-1,182-11
Group E:
The spectacular start was thanks to Marco Zanetti, who, after a missed match point by Gökhan Salman, played out brilliantly with 11, after which Salman equalized in 17 innings. In that first session, Berkay Karakurt defeated his brother Omer 40-36 in 27 innings, Salman defeated Omer, and Zanetti drew with Berkay. Three players averaged around 2 after two sessions: Salman and Berkay Karakurt with 3 match points, Zanetti with 2, and Omer eliminated. Marco Zanetti achieves a unique score after two draws, equalizing in his third match against Omer Karakurt too. Gökhan Salman remains undefeated with 5 match points, while Berkay Karakurt finishes with Zanetti on 3, but Zanetti has the better average.
The standings in Group E:
1 Gökhan Salman 5-2,068-11
2 Marco Zanetti 3-1,714-11
3 Berkay Karakurt 3-1,492-6
4 Omer Karakurt 1-1,407-9
Group F:
Phuong Vinh Bao first defeats Thanh Luc Tran (40-17 in 22) and in his second match, Tolgahan Kiraz 40-31 in 31. This should secure the top spot with one final match against Ruben Legazpi. The Spaniard, however, proved to be the better of Bao in the final round, winning 40-34 in 27 and thus becomes the group winner. Bao finished second with a narrow average difference.
The standings in Group F:
1. Ruben Legazpi 4-1.487-7
2. Phuong Vinh Bao 4-1.425-6
3. Tolgahan Kiraz 2-1.197-12
4. Than Luc Tran 2-1.177-9
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Group G:
Tayfun Tasdemir's position was almost unassailable after two rounds and two wins. The current Turkish leader led by 4, ahead of Jérémy Bury and Hong Chiem Thai by 2. These two players will meet again, with Bury having the best chance due to his average of 1.828. Tasdemir maintains his maximum score with a 40-33 victory over Gonzalez in 18. Hong Chiem Thai wins the match against Bury for second place and the qualification for the tournament with a 40-37 victory in 18.
The standings in Group G:
1. Tayfun Tasdemir 6-2,142-10
2. Hong Chiem Thai 4-1,586-10
3. Jérémy Bury 2-1,905-14
4. Pedro Gonzalez 0-1,402-12
Group H:
The best player appears to be Sameh Sidhom, who defeated Sergio Jimenez (40-27 in 24 matches) and Huberney Cataño (40-18 in 24 matches) in his first two matches. The other three candidates lag behind on average and will have to fight it out to see who will be in second place. Cataño closed with a win against Jimenez (40-32 in 26 matches) and joins Sidhom in the knockouts. Jung Han Heo is forced to leave after losing to Sidhom.
The standings in Group H:
1. Sameh Sidhom 6-1,690-9
2. Huberney Cataño 4-1,240-8
3. Jung Han Heo 2-1,363-12
4. Sergio Jimenez 0-1,200-6
The knockouts:
Saturday 12:00 PM:
Tasdemir-Caudron
Legazpi-Thai
Bao-Salman
Sidhom-Cataño
2:30 PM:
Hwang-HJ Kim
Horn-Tran
Hofman-Ceulemans
Zanetti-Cho