3-Cushion
HURGHADA - The Turkish billiard player Adnan Yüksel has achieved his first great success in a World Cup in the year before he will turn fifty years old. In the sweltering, crowded room of the Sunrise Beach Garden Hotel in Hurghada, he felt as if he was floating over the Red Sea after his win in the final against Jérémy Bury: 3-2.
The victory was historic for Turkey: Adnan Yüksel was only the second player after the Turkish magic man Semih Sayginer who ever won a UMB World Cup for his country. Yilmaz Özcan won a CEB Cup in Italy in 1997 in a final against Martin Horn.
The final was an exciting battle between two players fighting for each carom. The Frenchman Bury won the first set (15-13 in 7), Yüksel came back with 15-6 in the second, then again Bury took the lead (15-12 in 7) and in the fourth set Yüksel put the match in balance: 15-7 in 10 innings).
The decision was to fall in the fifth set, in which Yüksel was the strongest. He showed his nerves of steel, impressed his opponent with small runs and won 15-4 in 9 innings.
The Turk welcomed the standing ovation from the audience and his Turkish supporters with a big smile. ,,Yes, it is by far the highlight in my career'', said Yüksel, who is the owner of a billiard center with six tables not so far from the airport in Istanbul.
,,The final match was nog the toughest in the tournament'', he concluded. ,,That was my match against Torbjörn Blomdahl, which I won in five sets and 15-14 in the deciding set.'' In the next session Yüksel showed again his fighting spirit when he defeated Martin Horn, again with 15-14 in the fifth set.
Jérémy Bury was in his thirtieth year close to his first victory in a World Cup. He confessed after the final that he had not felt very fit, because he had stomach problems already for several days. That's why he had to interrupt the final. Nevertheless, Bury was a good loser. ,,I've fought for the win, but Yüksel was stronger at the end of the match when I felt a little tired.''
Bury can look back on a great year despite the loss in the final. He won with Jérôme Barbeillon the European championships for teams earlier this year and played the final of the Agipi Masters.
The second youngest player in the top ten in the world (after Filipos Kasidokostas) increases with the silver medal in Hurghada to fourth place in the world. He passes Eddy Merckx, Filipos Kasidokostas and Dani Sanchez.
The final tournament was not the best of the five which were played this year. The Suwon World Cup will be remembered with the best tournament average. The qualification round ended with 1.178, the general average in the main tournament was 1.475. It was an absolute highlight in the circuit.
Eddy Merckx won the first World Cup in Trabzon in the final against Kyung Roul Kim. Dani Sáanchez defeated Frédéric Caudron in Matosinhos. Torbjörn Blomdahl won the final against Jae Ho Cho in Suwon and Frédéric Caudron took the victory in Vienna with a world record average (2.420). He defeated Blomdahl in the final. Adnan Yüksel was the last who could lift the trophee in Hurghada this afternoon.
Torbjörn Blomdahl is the overall winner over five tournaments with 214 points, Frédéric Caudron is second with 184, Dani Sánchez has 160, Jérémy Bury 132, Dick Jaspers and Kyung Roul Kim 124, and Eddy Merckx and Jae Ho Cho 120 points.
Jérémy Bury climbs up to the fourth place in the world ranking. He passes Eddy Merckx, Filipos Kasidokostas and Dani Sánchez in the rank.