SHARM EL SHEIKH - The imposing name on top is Sam van Etten, he's one of the best classical players in the world and has devised a Master plan to find his way to the top of three-cushion. The 26-year-old Dutchman started Monday's World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh with two resounding victories: two 30 matches in 17 innings. Therefore, he led the rankings ahead of one Vietnamese and three Turks after the second day, still two long days away from what this tournament is all about. The opposition is getting stronger by day, with players like Tolgahan Kiraz, Robinson Morales, Jean Paul de Bruijn Peter De Backer and Berkay Karakurt already appearing in the World Cup arena on the Red Sea this Wednesday. Sam van Etten is paired with two routine players: Turk Turgay Orak and Vietnamese Xuan Cuong Ma.
The long tall Dutchman (1meter 99) has had his baptism of fire in World Cup tournaments for a while now and wants to progress step by step. The two victories over Spaniard Daniel Sainz Pardo and Dane Nalle Olsson in Sharm El Sheikh showed his steady form. ''I still felt that I got a lot of nice, unmissable positions in my first match,'' oversaw Sam van Etten at the end of the day. ''My second game gave me much more confidence: I played well and could have finished against the Dane four, five innings earlier. Those games give me lots of confidence. We are focused on a plan to improve in three-cushion. And we do that with three people around me: two trainers, Raimond Burgman and Frans van Kuyk. And a mental coach, Bart Boogaard. That way, we want to work on my future step by step.''
He is not the only young promise to shine on these first days of the World Cup. Burak Hashas (17), the Turkish world junior champion, has even survived two days already. He was among the seven Turks in the 16 group winners of whom Omer Karakurt and Ahmet Alp are the best known. Ali Gulbay, who played the best game of the day (40 in 12) but lost his second game, closed the line of winners with two match points. The most notable group winners were Egyptians Mohsen Fouda and Mahmoud Ayman.
The younger of those two home players, Mahmoud Ayman, started with a loss against Lukas Mortensen (30-29), but had a strong final shot with a win over Yavuz Gungordu: 30-12 in 18 innings. Mohsen Fouda eliminated Sunday's day winner, Dane Allen Schröder, 30-28 in 34 in a real thrilling match. Two other Danish routine men also unexpectedly disappeared from the tournament: Thomas Andersen lost to Serdal Bas (30-24 in 20), Tonny Carlsen was floored by Turk Inci Cihan.
For Tuesday, the following groups of three were formed, among others:
Group B: Peter De Backer, Volkan Cetin, Sung Kyu Oh
Group C: Tolgahan Kiraz, Pierre Soumagne, Arnim Kahofer
Group E: Robinson Morales, Mahmoud Ayman, Ja In Kang
Group H: Jean Paul de Bruijn, Kostas Kokkoris, Mohsen Fouda
Group K: Berkay Karakurt, Jan Ales, Ahmed Abdallah
Group P: Sam van Etten, Turgay Orak, Xuan Cuong Ma.
Monday's 16 group winners:
1 Sam van Etten (Netherlands) 4-1,764-8
2 Phuong Vinh Bao (Vietnam) 4-1,395-6
3 Burak Hashas (Turkey) 4-1,276-7
4 Omer Karakurt (Turkey) 4-1,224-7
5 Serdal Bas (Turkey) 4-1,200-7
6 Jan Ales (Czech Republic) 4-1,052-9
7 Ahmet Alp (Turkey) 4-1,034-5
8 Muammer Rahmet (Turkey) 4-1,016-6
9 Mohsen Fouda (Egypt) 4-0.909-4
10 Mario Mercader (Spain) 4-0.645-3
11 Thomas Kerl (Germany) 4-0.612-4
12 Mahmoud Ayman (Egypt) 2-1.404-8
13 Savas Gungor (Turkey) 2-1,393-6
14 Pierre Soumagne (France) 2-1,390-5
15 Sung Kyu Oh (South Korea) 2-1,300-8
16 Ali Gulbay (Turkey) 2-1,214-8
Pierre Soumagne, the French player for the next round