3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - It has happened only once that Torbjörn Blomdahl lost a match against Dong Koong Kang, who may be seen as one of the top five players in Korea. All the other times the Swede was the winner: last year he beat his opponent in the World Cup in Vienna (3-0) and in Suwon (3-1), this afternoon he met him in the group matches of the Agipi Masters.
,,I think it's almost psychologically with him,'' said Blomdahl after he had beaten his opponent in a match over fifty points this time: 50-41 in 27 innings. Both players had a flawless launch: 23 even for Kang in 6 innings (3.833). But apparently the Korean could not restrain his angstgegner to make a comeback.
Blomdahl had a strong start as well, with 7 and 6 in the third and fourth inning, later on with three times four, but at the end of the game, he didn't have an impressive finish: 3, 1, 1, 0, 3, 1 and 2. In contrast, Kang had a lot misses: five in his last seven innings.
Tayfun Tasdemir set the tone in that group in his match against Javier Palazón for a strong tournament. The start was not great for the Turk, who had a hectic week after his World Cup performance in Antalya. But he finished stylish with a run of eleven, the first top ten run today.
Tasdemir dominated the whole match: 12-8 after eight innings, 26-15 after fourteen, 39-22 in 21 and after three misses in the final stage he ran out with eleven: 50-29 in 25 innings.