VIERSEN - The World three cushion championships for national teams, to be played in Viersen (9-12 March) shortly after the World Cup in Las Vegas, will kick-off with a strong line-up. The Turkish defending champion comes with a top team (Tayfun Tasdemir and Semih Sayginer) and the South Koreans, Swedes, Dutch, Spanish and Vietnamese will also play the global title match with famous players.
The draw for the groups and the compositions of the teams were announced by the UMB this week. The Swedish tandem and record holder plays with Torbjörn Blomdahl and the new Swedish champion Michael Nilsson, the South Koreans with Haeng Jik Kim and Jung Han Heo, Vietnam with Quyet Chien Tran and Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, the Spaniards with Dani Sánchez and Ruben Legazpi and the Netherlands with Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn.
The format:
Group A:
Turkey, Japan, Greece, USA
Group B:
South Korea, Germany, Egypt, Mexico
Group C:
Netherlands, France, Spain, Jordan
Group D:
Belgium, Austria, Vietnam, Sweden.
The teams:
Turkey: Semih Sayginer, Tayfun Tasdemir
Germany: Martin Horn, Cengiz Karaca
Sweden: Torbjörn Blomdahl, Michael Nilsson
Spain: Dani Sánchez, Ruben Legazpi
Belgium: Peter De Backer, Wesley de Jaeger
Greece: Nikos Polychronopoulos, Kostas Antonatos
Austria: Arnim Kahofer, Claus Maurer
Netherlands: Dick Jaspers, Jean Paul de Bruijn
France: Mikael Devogelaere, Jérôme Barbeillon
USA: Hugo Patino, Carlos Villegas
Mexico: Christian Hernandez, Javier Vera
Vietnam: Quyet Chien Tran, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen
Japan: Ryuuji Umeda Takao Miyashita
South Korea: Haeng Jik Kim, Jung Han Heo
Egypt: Sameh Sidhom, Riad Nady
Jordan: Mashhour Abu Tayeh, Naser Awwad.