3-Cushion
The challenge was almost imposible for Dick Jaspers, but at these moments the Dutch number one in the world, is at his best. The elimination for the Agipi finals was near after last night, but with a masterful match against Jérémy Bury, which he won 50-20 in twelve innings, Jaspers was empyreal this afternoon. He also equaled the record of the Agipi Masters, finishing in twelve innings like the Greek Filipos Kasidokostas last year.
Breaking the record was not his main task for the match: the strategy of Jaspers before his performance was that he first had to win, he had to play a very high average and then see what Jung Han Heo was doing on the other table. The Dutchman had a backlog of five innngs in the average, so he had to play at least five innings better than Heo.
He showed from the start of his match that the great shape was there again. Jaspers missed in his first runnings a few unfortunate balls, but then sprinted away irresistible with a run of ten in the fifth inning to a 27-17 lead in the seventh and later on with runs of seven and fourteen in the tenth and eleventh to the deciding gap of 50-20 at the end.
,,I had from the beginning an incredible concentration'', Jaspers said later. Jeremy Bury: ,,There are just a few players in the world who can do what Jasper has done.''
The Dutchman often has a patent on this little miracles, as he did in the Agipi Masters two years ago, also against Bury, when he catched up in the final an impossible situation and finished with a run of 22.
,,It's nice that I can keep Dutch honor high here in Agipi'', Jaspers beamed with happiness. He had already left the room when his rival on the other table, Jung Han Heo, ended up his match against Pierre Soumagne with a run of sixteen, the highest of this qualification round. Heo won 50-30 in 29 innings.
,,He only did it when the pressure was already off, when I had finished and it was sure he could not reach the final round anymore'', said Jaspers.
Jérémy Bury finished in the Group D with the highest average (2.394), before Dick Jaspers (2.312) and Jung Han Heo (1.977). Heo made the highest run tonight (16), Kyung-Roul Kim, which didn't win any match, made a run of fifteen, Jaspers fourteen and Bury thirteen.
The overall average of the group was 1.913.