3-Cushion
EL GOUNA - The most striking survivor after three days is Bernard Baudoin, a Frenchman with a big Kozoom heart, one of the main sponsors in billiards and really a good player in his better days. Also to admire on the third day of the World Cup in El Gouna: a great Danish dynamite fighter with a speed stroke, a Dutchman who's both able to score brilliantly and miss helplessly in one and the same match. A growth brilliant from the Turkish army of billiard players, who shone with a lethal sprint, a German fighting machine with a never-give-up mentality and one of the Spanish youngsters in Dani Sánchez' shadow.
Jean Paul de Bruijn, Tonny Carlsen, Birol Uymaz, Juan David Zapata and Ronny Lindemann were five of the main stars on the second last qualifying day. The image is different than in most World Cups: on the third day, twelve Europeans took the group wins in a hard battle and four Koreans. Jean Paul de Bruijn was the day winner with 4 match points and 1.764 followed by Gökhan Salman, Juan David Zapata, Tonny Carlsen and Murat Celik.
Bernard Baudoin, more known in his billiard career as a one cushion-player, is a striking appearance in the select field. The 58-year-old Frenchman was one of the pioneers when Kozoom made his entrance in the international billiard world and is still one of the main sponsors, for example during the recent two world championships in Bordeaux. Baudoin is already three days among the group winners in El Gouna, partly due to a victory over the Dutchman Barry van Beers. On the third day, Baudoin first defeated the Egyptian Ahmed Abdallah (30-19 in 23) and in a tough fight also the Greek Dionisis Tsokantas 30-27 in 27.
Jean Paul de Bruijn was the player who took the spotlights on this day. The victory over Therese Klompenhouwer was more or less predictable, although not with a big score, because Thererse was a tough opponent (30-26 in 18). The second appearance of the Dutchman, against the Korean Seo, was brilliant in the opening stage: with a run of twelve in the sixth inning and six in the seventh inning, the score board pointed 26-6 after 7 innings. But the setback in one and the same match is almost typical for the Dutch one cushion specialist in the World Cup cycle. For his last four caroms (after 26 in 7), Jeepee needed 9 innings to finish 30-21 in sixteen (1.875).
The Dane Tonny Carlsen, recently in the spotlights by launching his own system, had two walk-overs against the Turk Ümit Demircan (30-14 in 23) and the Korean Wan Young Choi (30-7 in 16). Ronny Lindemann wasn't facing an easy job in his group with Murat Tüzül and the junior world champion Carlos Anguita as opponents. The German fighting machine was on his best in the final stages when he stroke against Anguita 30-28 in 25 and Tüzül 30-27 in 18. Dustin Jäschke, the younger German, who's investing, like Lindemann, in his future as a World Cup player, was eliminated by Gökhan Salman 30-19 in 18.
Birol Uymaz balanced on the brink of the abyss, when he faced a big gap against Sung Il Jeong, but found his killer instinct in the final part with a run of seven: 30-27 in 21.
The exciting fights promise great spectacle for the last qualifying day;
The group layouts:
Group A: Jae-Ho Cho, William Oh, Thomas Andersen
Group B: Sung-Won Choi, Jan Hudak, Omer Karakurt
Group C: Tayfun Tasdemir, Seung-Jin Lee, Bernard Baudoin
Group D: Arnim Kahofer, Birol Uymaz, Eddy Leppens
Group E: Semih Sayginer, Adnan Yüksel, Ronny Lindemann
Group F: Dong-Koong Kang, David Martinez, Kwang Yeol Park
Group G: Myung-Woo Cho, Dinh Nai Ngo, Young-Hoon Lee
Group H: Lütfi Cenet, Roland Forthomme, Murat Celik
Group I: Minh Cam Ma, Can Capak, Tonny Carlsen
Group J: Anh Vu Duong, Hyung Kon Kim, Juan David Zapata
Group K: Riad Nady, Xuan Cuong Ma, Gökhan Salman
Group L: Jae-Guen Kim, Javier Palazón, Jean Paul de Bruijn.
The final ranking on the third day:
1 Jean Paul de Bruijn 4-1.764-12
2 Gökhan Salman 4-1.714-6
3 Juan David Zapata 4-1.621-10
4 Tonny Carlsen 4-1.538-9
5 Murat Celik 4-1.428-10
6 Young Hoon Lee 4-1.395-10
7 Kwang Yeol Park 4-1.395-8
8 Ronny Lindemann 4-1.395-7
9 Birol Uymaz 4-1,304-7
10 Bernard Baudoin 4-1.200-7
11 Omer Karakurt 4-1.176-7
12 Thomas Andersen 4-1.153-5
13 Sung Kyu Oh 4-1.111-5
14 Jan Hudak 4-0.869-6
15 Seung Jin Lee 2-1.230-11
16 Arnim Kahofer 2-1.133-8.
Jean Paul de Bruijn, best winner on the third day
Danish dynamit at the table: Tonny Carlsen with two walk-overs in the last qualifications
Ronny Lindemann, great German fighter