3-Cushion
Two Koreans, born in the same city, this afternoon are the first players who will duel in Group D of the penultimate rounds in the Agipi Masters. Kyung-Roul Kim as the number two of the world is the big favorite in this group along with Dick Jaspers. Kim plays against Jung Han Heo in his first match and later in these sessions against Jaspers, Jérémy Bury and Pierre Soumagne.
The Korean collision between Kim and Heo can be crucial for the chances of both players. The winner will play an important role in the further course, the loser has to beat at least Jaspers or Bury to keep his chances for the final round.
Kyung-Roul Kim, 31 since two days, and Jung Han Heo (33) know each other very well. They duel in the ten tournaments which are played yearly in their country, which decides at the end of the year who is the Korean champion.
The system resembles that of the UMB: the players get ranking points for each tournament, the highest in the ranking is the champion. Last year it was Sung-Won Choi, however Kyung-Roul Kim is the current number two on the world ranking.
That shows the quality of players in South Korea, where are 550 professional billiard players, who mainly participate in the league in Seoul.
Kyung-Roul Kim and Jung Han Heo are both from Pusan, Korea's second largest city in the south of the country. Kim moved ten years ago to the capital city and lives there with his parents. Heo has married on December 19 last year to Moon-Young Jung, a player who belongs to the top of the women in Korea. They still live in Pusan.