3-Cushion
NEW YORK - The undefeated status of Semih Sayginer was disturbed by Dani Sanchez after five rounds at the McCreery tournament in New York. Two rounds later, the Turk also lost his leading position by a loss against Sung-Won Choi. The battle for the top-four positions is far from decided, because at least ten players go to the climax will real chances with four rounds to go. The top positions of Sayginer and Caudron seemed reasonably stable, but after two losses, the pressure is on in the two last days of the 64 matches marathon. Caudron took over the leading position again in the run-up to the final rounds with ten match points equal to Jaspers, Sayginer and Merckx. Dani Sánchez and Pedro Piedrabuena are only two match points down.
The chance that Semih Sayginer remained on full swing in such a strong field was almost impossible. The last two players who won all matches at a World championship, played with twelve players as in McCreery, were two not by coincidence two Belgian stars. Raymond Ceulemans won with the maximum of 22 points in Las Vegas 1978 and Buenos Aires 1980. Ludo Dielis was the last unbeaten champion in Cairo, where Ceulemans had cancelled his participation.
Semih Sayginer was unbeaten in New York for five rounds with an impressive series of matches. The Spaniard Dani Sánchez, one of his best friends in the billiard circuit, outplayed Sayginer with a quick knockout: 22-6 at the break, 30-9 and eventually 40-15 (16) at the finish. The miss of the frontrunner raised the tension on top. Sayginer first reacted stoic: ,,I knew this could happen in a match where I lost my feelings and ran into a strong Sánchez.'' In the last day session, Sayginer also lost his second match in a hard fight with Choi. After a twelve-run, things looked really well for Sayginer (36-12), reaching the end of the match, the odds turned in Korean's favour: 40-38 in 22.
The Belgian clash between Caudron and Merckx caused even more balance in the top. The number one and two of the world played with the hand brake on a mostly tactical game. Merckx, with two recent tournament wins in the winning mood, dictated the match without taking a big lead and saw Caudron come alongside at 36-35. The final part, with some unexpected misses under pressure, rolled into Merckx' way with 40-37 in 28. Merckx later defeated HaengJik Kim 40-29 in 20 and joined the leaders Caudron, Jaspers and Sayginer.
Dick Jaspers, who is growing to his best form, caught Sayginer and Caudron in matchpoint in the second last day The flying Dutchman also defeated Sung-Won Choi in the best match of the day 40-29 in 14 innings. Marco Zanetti made a stunning come-back on the ranking with three straight victories after a start with four losses. The prestigious fight with Torbjörn Blomdahl, who's in trouble all the way, ended in a final win: 40-24 in 27. Therefore Zanetti has nestled in the shadow of the leaders. Dani Sánchez also started the chase beating Sayginer and is the main attacker for the top four with 8 points and 1.833 of average.
The only certainty after four days is that Raymond Ceulemans may allow himself a tour of honour in his last matches and watch the battle for the main prizes from the side lines. It might by historically for his career and not improbably the international farewell to the emperor of three-cushion. The statistics in the McCreery room made it all clear when Ceulemans appeared in the arena. For those who still doubt the record of the Belgian legend: Ceulemans won 23 world titles in three cushion in his career. His opponents in the pretentious New York event all together won 21 global titles. The respect for the all time champion is still noticeable, however he finds himself in the shadow of the much younger generation at this world stage with one win out of seven. Torbjörn Blomdahl shares the last position on the ranking with Ceulemans.
The ranking after seven rounds:
1 Frédéric Caudron 10-1.970-18
2 Dick Jaspers 10-1.867-16
3 Semih Sayginer 10-1.721-13
4 Eddy Merckx 10-1,570-8
5 Dani Sánchez 8-1.833-12
6 Pedro Piedrabuena 8-1.546-9
7 Sung-Won Choi 6-1,784-12
8 HaengJik Kim 6-1,560-8
9 Marco Zanetti 6-1.456-12
10 Hugo Patiño 6-1.445-15
11 Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-1.523-14.
12 Raymond Ceulemans 2-1.090-7.Matches for today, Thursday (West European time)
16.00:
Jaspers-Sánchez, Merckx-Sayginer, Caudron-Piedrabuena.
18.00: Blomdahl-Kim, Zanetti-Patiño, Choi-Ceulemans.
Schedule continues at 21.00 and 23.00.
Frédéic Caudron took the lead again in McCreery
Dick Jaspers, growing to his best form, is in top three
Eddy Merckx won the Belgian clash with Caudron and climbed up to top four
Pedro Piedrabuena, the best American, still in the race for the finals