3-Cushion
WONJU - The last day of the first qualifying round will decide the sixteen players to enter the next phase of the World 3Cushion Grand Prix in Korea. Dick Jaspers, Nikos Polychronopoulos, Eddy Merckx and Myeong Jong Cha are topping the four groups of eight players. Korean player Cha is shining with a main role in the group with Tasdemir, Sánchez, Cenet and Choi. The players who already secured the qualification are Jaspers, Polychronopoulos, Merckx, JunTae Kim, Tran, Heo and Cha.
Murat Naci Coklu and Torbjörn Blomdahl fired up in an excellent match in Group B, where Polychronopoulos is the leader going into the final day, Coklu is second with equal match points to HaengJik Kim and Blomdahl. Coklu beat Blomdahl 2-0 with a run of 14: the set scores were 17-14 and 19-16, the averages, Coklu 2,769, Blomdahl 2,307. The frontrunner Polychronopoulos won on this matchday against Coklu 2-1: averages 2,285/2,150.
Other notable matches on this day:
Semih Sayginer beats Dion Nelin 2-1
Dick Jaspers beats Semih Sayginer 2-1
Dick Jaspers defeats Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 2-0
HaengJik Kim defeats Roland Forthomme by 2-0
Quyet Chien Tran beats Jung Han Heo by 2-0
Chi Yeon Cho beats Tran 2-0
Myeong Jong Cha defeats Chang Hoon Seo with 2-1
Dani Sánchez defeats Choi with 2-0
Lütfi Cenet defeats Tayfun Tasdemir by 2-1
Seo beats Sánchez by 2-1.
The situation to enter the final day of this round:
Group A:
Dick Jaspers leads the field of 8 with 15 match points and 2,160 on average, ahead of Nguyen Quoc Nguyen with 11 points and 1,460. Three players are fighting for the two other positions that bring them to qualification: Semih Sayginer, Sameh Sidhom and Wan Young Choi, each with 9 match points.
The matches on the last day:
Dion Nelin-Choong Bok Lee, Wan Young Choi-Nguyen, Sayginer-Ji Eun Han, Jaspers-Sidhom.
Group B:
Nikos Polychronopoulos is unreachable and leads sovereignly with 15 match points ahead of Murat Naci Coklu, HaengJik Kim and Torbjörn Blomdahl with 12 points. Bong Joo Hwang can also come to 12 points when he beats Poly, but has a lesser average.
The matches for the final day:
Polychronopoulos-Hwang, Forthomme-Ahn, Coklu-Jin Ah Kim, Blomdahl-HaengJik Kim.
Group C:
The decisions on the top four in this group have been made. Eddy Merckx leads with 16 points ahead of JunTae Kim with 15, followed by Quyet Chien Tran and Jung Han Heo with 12 match points. The number five Chi Yeon Cho gathered 6 match points and cannot catch up with the top four.
The matches for the final day:
Antonio Montes-Cho, Heo-JunTae Kim, Kang-Degener, Merckx-Tran.
Group D:
Most tension is palpable in this Group D, where Myeong Jong Cha is the surprising leader, followed by two players with 12 match points (Tayfun Tasdemir and Chang Hoon Seo) and two with 10 match points (Dani Sánchez and Lütfi Cenet). Sung-won Choi, with 9 match points, has not been eliminated yet either.
The matches for the final day:
Dong Hoon Kim-Seo, Cha-Choi, Cenet-Klompenhouwer, Sánchez-Tasdemir.
The rankings:
Group A:
1 Dick Jaspers 15-2,260-20
2 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 11-1,460-10
3 Semih Sayginer 9-1,569-13
4 Sameh Sidhom 9-1,375-14
5 Wan Young Choi 9-1,762-12
6 Dion Nelin 7-1,463-14
7 Choong Bok Lee 7-1,375-7
8 Ji Eun Han 3-0,932-7
Grou B:
1 Nikos Polychronopoulos 15-2,048-12
2 Murat Naci Coklu 12-2,247-14
3 HaengJik Kim 12-2,041-14
4 Torbjörn Blomdahl 12-1,669-10
5 Bong Joo Hwang 9-1,458-10
6 Ji Hun Ahn 6-1,263-8
7 Roland Forthomme 3-1,314-7
8 Jin Ah Kim 3-0,935-10
Group C:
1 Eddy Merckx 16-1,968-20
2 JunTae Kim 15-1,606-14
3 Quyet Chien Tran 12-1,870-10
4 Jung Han Heo 12-1,773-9
5 Chi Yeon Cho 6-1,426-9
6 Antonio Montes 6-1,342-8
7 Gülsen Degener 3-0,594-4
8 Ja In Kang 1-1,414-9
Group D:
1 Myeong Jong Cha 15-1,610-18
2 Tayfun Tasdemir 12-2,210-11
3 Chang Hoon Seo 12-1,677-12
4 Dani Sánchez 10-2,196-15
5 Lütfi Cenet 10-1,585-9
6 Sung-won Choi 9-1,517-12
7 Dong Hoon Kim 3-1,276-17
8 Therese Klompenhouwer 0-0,940-8.
The best players on average:
Dick Jaspers 2,260
Murat Naci Coklu 2,247
Tayfun Tasdemir 2,210
Nikos Polychronopoulos 2,048
HaengJik Kim 2,041
Of the four ladies in the field, Ji Eun Han, Jin Ah Kim and Gülsen Degener have won one match each, the world champion Therese Klompenhouwer is still without match points with one match to play against Lütfi Cenet. The Dutchwoman has the highest moyenne of the four ladies: 0.940 against Jin Ah Kim 0.935 and a highest series of 10, Ji Eun Han 0.932 and Gülsen Degener 0.594.
Nikos Polychronopoulos, topping his group after a victory over Coklu
Korean Myeong Jong Cha surprising leader in the group with Tasdemir, Sánchez, Choi and Cenet