3-Cushion
SEOUL - The warming up of Torbjörn Blomdahl in the Korean billiard arena took only six minutes and five innings. The Swedish killer had to get used to the table and then won the hearts and minds of the home crowd on the opening day of the LGU + Cup in Seoul. The huge victory over the Asian champion and coming man Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (40-5 in eight innings) gave was the highlight at the impressive opening day in Seoul. But not only Blomdahl (54) glorified, also the other player in his fifties, Marco Zanetti (55) had a terrific opening: 40 in 10.
The first European firings in the Korean bastion has set the tone for a high class and exciting tournament. Torbjörn Blomdahl after his magical start: ,,We play under perfect conditions: a nice match hall, good tables, an intimate arena, for a few hundred spectators and with a strong field of players.'' The Swede himself had the Ideal start, he said in his analysis: ,,I could warm up with a few good positions and then I felt perfect to the end.'' The last three innings (with 7, 9 and 18 in the final run) left the Vietnamese public player Nguyen far behind. The big smile afterwards camouflaged the disappointment: 40-5 (in 8) must be one of the most painful losses since his fast climb to the world top.
Marco Zanetti finished close in the foot steps of the best player of his generation. The Italian even had a better start than Blomdahl against Sung-Won Choi (13 and 6 for 19-0 in two innings), slowed down a little, but finished it off with a fourth in the eighth inning with eleven in his final, tenth: 40 -7 in 10 (4.000/0.700). And also for Sung-Won Choi, the former world champion, it was a bitter start. He is already balancing on the edge of elimination after the sensitive loss.
Two heavyweights in European three cushion, Dani Sánchez and Frédéric Caudron, couldn't share in the first successes. The Spanish world champion was mastered by Jae-Ho Cho, New York's recent winner. The opening with 20-11 (11 innings) at the break was a forerunner for one of Sánchez's lesser performances. The Korean won 40-30 in 26, the Spaniard even missed the break shot in the equalizer. ,,I just had a bad feeling on the table and on the balls'', Sánchez apologized after the match.
Frédéric Caudron had the same excuse after the lost match Jin Pyo Hong, one of the Korean sub top players. The Belgian's start was not spectacular, despite a 10-run, 20-14 down in ten. The regularly scoring Hong maintained the margin and finished 40-18 in 18.
Dick Jaspers launched himself as one of the contenders with a strong victory over Jung-Han Heo: 40-27 in 16. ,,I could well adapt to the atmosphere and the tables'', the Dutch man insured in front of the Korean cameras. He hardly made high runs, but showed his regular rhythm with 18 in 7 innings and 27 in 11, leading to a comfortable win.
Nikos Polychronopoulos topped his group after a victory over Dong-Koong Kang, first winner of the LGU + tournament. The Greek quickly ran out with ten and smoothly won 40-24 in 25. Jérémy Bury beat Seun-Jin Lee with 40-30 in 34. Choong-Bok Lee, the title defender, defeated an illustrious countryman, Haeng-Jik Kim: 40-22 in 21.
The rankings after one day of preliminary rounds:
Group A:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-5.000-18
2 Choong-Bok Lee 2-1.905-4
3 Haeng-Jik Kim 0-1.190-7
4 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 0-0.625-3
Group B:
1 Jin Pyo Hong 2-2.222-7
2 Jérémy Bury 2-1.176-7
3 Frédéric Caudron 0-1.000-10
4 Seung-Jin Lee 0-0.882-5
Group C:
1 Nikos Polychronopoulos 2-1.600-10
2 Jae-Ho Cho 2-1.1538-7
3 Dani Sánchez 0-1.154-5
4 Dong-Koong Kang 0-0.960-5
Group D:
1 Marco Zanetti 2-4.000-13
2 Dick Jaspers 2-2.500-6
3 Jung-Han Heo 0-1.688-7
4 Sung-Won Choi 0-0.700-3.
The matches for Wednesday:
Group A (European time, 7.00):
Torbjörn Blomdahl-Haeng-Jik Kim
Choong-Bok Lee-Nguyen Quoc Nguyen
Group B (9.00):
Frédéric Caudron-Seung-Jin Lee
Jérémy Bury-Jin-Pyo Hong
Group C (11.00):
Dani Sánchez-Dong-Koong Kang
Nikos Polychronopoulos-Jae-Ho Cho
Group D (13.00):
Dick Jaspers-Sung-Won Choi
Marco Zanetti-Jung-Han Heo.
Torbjörn Blomdahl, brilliant start with 40 in 8 innings
Marco Zanetti, showing his stunning form: 40 in 10
Dick Jaspers launched himself as one of the favourites by a win over Jung-Han Heo
New Yorks winner Jae-Ho Cho defeated the world champion Dani Sánchez
Jin-Pyo Hong, splendid win against Caudron
Jérémy Bury, triumph with a strong end rush
Nikos Polychronopoulos bested former winner Kang
