3-Cushion
ZUNDERT - The final days at the Christmas tournament in Zundert, with four players in the final rounds, turn into a four-nations battle. The successor to Eddy Merckx as the winner of 2016 comes from four players who have never been on the highest podium in Zundert. The Dutchman Gerwin Valentijn and the German Martin Horn were the numbers one and two on the first day, Peter Ceulemans and Murat Naci Coklu took the group win on the second day and advance to the final rounds of the traditional year-end tournament.
The fight on the second day turned into a battle with three players, because Roland Forthomme didn't manage to win a match. Peter Ceulemans, with two victories out of three matches, was the group winner with four match points, 1.628 average and a run of 8. Murat Naci Coklu finished second with 4 points and 1.468, run 8. Barry van Beers was the unlucky third after a flawless start. The home player in Zundert first defeated surprisingly Roland Forthomme, 4-3, then beat Peter Ceulemans 4-2, but lost the last and deciding match 4-3 to Murat Naci Coklu. Van Beers started with 3-0 in sets (9-7 in 5, 9-4 in 2, 9-5 in 9). In the chase after the break, Coklu levelled the score to 3-3 (9-6 in 9, 9-2 in 6, 9-1 in 4). The 7th set was an exciting fight, in which Coklu took the final win at 8-8 with 9-8 in 8 innings.
Barry van Beers was left out when Peter Ceulemans beat Roland Forthomme 4-2 in the match between two teammates in the Dutch league at the end of the day. That brought three players (Ceulemans, Coklu and Van Beers) to four match points. Ceulemans was the winner with set points (3), Coklu and Van Beers had a positive set score of 2. As a result the average had to decide: 1.468 for Coklu, 1.354 for Van Beers.
Barry van Beers was half way the revelation on the second day with wins over Roland Forthomme and Peter Ceulemans. Forthomme was not in his best form. The Belgian leader of the Zundert team later stated: ,,I always give my best when I play, sometimes that's enough, but not this time, unfortunately.''
The results of the second day lead up to the semi-finals with Gerwin Valentijn-Murat Naci Coklu and Peter Ceulemans-Martin Horn. Those matches, broadcast live by Kozoom, are at 14.00 and 19.00.
The final ranking of the second group (match points, set balance, average, runs):
1 Peter Ceulemans 4-3-1.628-8
2 Murat Naci Coklu 4-2-1.468-8
3 Barry van Beers 4-2-1.354-7
4 Roland Forthomme 0--7-1.209-6.
Murat Naci Coklu, the runner-up on the second day in Zundert