3-Cushion
ISTANBUL - The first selection in the Survival Masters in Istanbul was launched by three Turkish winners in the first three rounds. Semih Sayginer, Tayfun Tasdemir and Turgay Orak started the tournament, in which five players scored over 100, on the first day with group wins. Korean Myung-Woo Cho was the best of all with a 149 score in his match. Eddy Merckx and Sung-Won Choi were the two last group winners.
Twelve players, the numbers one and two from the groups, move up directly to the last sixteen on Friday and Saturday, the four winners in the second-chance matches to join the finals, with the twelve numbers three and four from Wednesday, play today, Thursday, in three groups of four for 4 more places.
Wednesday's group overview:
Group A:
Semih Sayginer, leading player in the Turkish squad, has the best start with a six, takes the lead before the break with little scores and is the best from start to finish. Lütfi Cenet leaves from Frenchman Jérémy Bury and Korean Jung-Han Heo behind with 6 and 5 just before the break. The gaps stabilized in the last part, in which Sayginer is the generous winner with 2,266 on average in fifteen innings.
The ranking in A:
1 Sayginer 102-2.266-6
2 Cenet 72-1.666-6
3 Bury 35-1,066-5
4 Heo 31-0.928-5
Group B:
Tayfun Tasdemir and Roland Forthomme top the field at the stop when the Turk starts the match with 5 and 5 and the Belgian scores an eight just before the break. Tasdemir, in an uphill match, runs eleven after the stop maintains the lead with a wide margin. Torbjörn Blomdahl and Roland Forthomme compete until the last carom. Forthomme has a better finish and is one point ahead of his rival. HaengJik Kim ends up scoreless at the bottom.
The ranking in B:
1 Tasdemir 105-2.235-11
2 Forthomme 68-1.705-8
3 Blomdahl 67-1.647-4
4 Kim 0-0.272-1
Group C:
Turgay Orak, the Turkish wildcard, surprises three well kown opponents after a strong finish with 6 and 5, passing Quyet Chien Tran and Jae-Ho Cho on the line. Nguyen Quoc Nguyen plays no role in the match, Quyet Chien Tran takes the second qualifying place, because Cho ends with three misses. Nguyen couldn't pick himself up again.
The ranking in C:
1 Orak 88-1.41-6
2 Tran 68-1.647-6
3 Cho 64-1.588-8
4 Nguyen 20-0,941-5
Group D:
Myung-Woo Cho's stunning show is impressive and is the day's thick of the action. Dick Jaspers is the best for the break with a run of 8, to lead Cho by 50-34. The Korean up and coming man is superior after the break with runs of 10 in the fifth and 15 for the final run to power to victory. Jaspers is joining him to the next round, Murat Naci Coklu and Tolgahan Kiraz are far behind.
The ranking D:
1 Cho 149-3.333-15
2 Jaspers 77-2.133-7
3 Coklu 9-1,000-3
4 Kiraz 5-0,933-4
Group E:
The leading role is for Sung-Won Choi and Dion Nelin, who end up ahead of Martin Horn and Marco Zanetti. The Korean starts his attack before the break with 9, Nelin then leads with an 58 score. Choi, with a rock solid win, is the better finisher with 7 and twice 5 after the break.
The final ranking in E:
1 Choi 107-2,411-9
2 Nelin 101-2,411-10
3 Horn 25-1.176-5
4 Zanetti 7-0.687-5
Group F:
Three players compete for the two qualifications, Eddy Merckx and Dani Sánchez are the winners, Sameh Sidhom gets a second chance. Poker faced Merckx has the best start with 4, 6 and 9 for the break. The Belgian is just ahead of his two competitors. Sanchez and Sidhom are in a neck and neck to the finish line. The Spaniard beat his rival to the punc after a 5-3-2-4 series, Sidhom ends with two times 5, but is short of one carom.
The ranking in F:
1 Merckx 85-2.058-9
2 Sanchez 79-1.941-5
3 Sidhom 78-2.058-8
4 Capak 0-0,600-4.
The group format for the second chance matches, today (Turkish time) for four places:
14.00: Sidhom-Horn-Nguyen-Capak
16.00: Blomdahl-Heo-Coklu-Kim
18.00: Cho-Bury-Zanetti-Kiraz.
All players before the start of the Survival Masters