3-Cushion
ISTANBUL - All the top players of Turkish three cushion made a bid for the trophy and the 5000 Turkish liras (1650 euros) first prize at this weekend's Grand Prix in Ginza Bilardo Club in Istanbul. The 30-year-old Gökhan Salman, one of the players in the new team of Gaziantespor, defeated Adnan Yüksel in the final 40-33 in 29 innings. The tournament was played by 126 participants.
The final phase was launched with all Turkish players who regularly are shining in the World Cups and other international tournaments. Tayfun Tasdemir, the winner of the World Cup in Vietnam, was among the favorites, but lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner Gökhan Salman: 40-38 in 22.
Murat Naci Coklu played the best match in the quarterfinals against Birol Uymaz Birol, who was severly punished by his opponent: 40-16 in 14 innings. In the semi-finals Coklu was outplayed by Adnan Yüksel: 40-37 in 23 innings.
In the quarterfinals Tasdemir glanced to one of the better players in the last few months: Savas Bulut was defeated by 40-36 in 25. Gökhan Salman outsprinted Ahmet Alp 40-26 in 23, Adnan Yüksel, leader of the Turkish ranking, dealt with Lütfi Cenet 40-29 in 28.
Gökhan Salman finished with 1.558 general average.