3-Cushion
WONJU - On the first days at the World 3Cushion Grand Prix in Wonju, Korea, there were lots of high runs and high averages. Dick Jaspers and Eddy Merckx shone with runs of 20, the Korean Myeong Jong Cha made an 18, Dong Hoon Kim a 17 and Jaspers a second highest run of 16. The leaders in the four groups, halfway the third day, are four Europeans: Dick Jaspers, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx and Tayfun Tasdemir. Jaspers currently has the best average of the entire field: 2,356, followed by Tayfun Tasdemir 2,243 and HaengJik Kim 2,218. Eddy Merckx, who won in his last match against Jung Han Heo, is the only player with the maximum match points. The Belgian was the best in his first five matches and recorded 15 out of 5 with a 1,943 average. Dick Jaspers lost his only one of 5 matches to Choong Bok Lee.
The rather radically changed format shows on the one hand the expected world class sets and high runs, on the other hand also is marked by surprises that could not have been foreseen. The tournament in this phase is played to two sets won, not on caroms, but on time. Four players from the four groups of 8 players qualify for the next tournament phase.
Dick Jaspers made the run of 20 in the match against Wan Young Choi, which he won 2-0, averaging 3,769. The Dutchman scored a 16 against Ji Eun Han. Eddy Merckx made the run of 20 against Antonio Montes.
On this third day, Dick Jaspers won the battle for the leading position against Nguyen Quock Nguyen 2-0 (13-6 in 10, 19-9 in 9). Eddy Merckx defeated Jung-Han Heo to stay in the lead, Tayfun Tasdemir won an important match against Sung-won Choi 2-0 (21-9 in 8, 21-7 in 7, 2,800 on average). Dion Nelin played a top match against Wan Young Choi, which he won 2-0: 18-15 in 6, 26-16 in 5, good for 4,000 average, for his opponent 2,818.
Dani Sánchez, who won his last match against Therese Klompenhouwer 2-0 (32-4 in 7, 23-5 in 10, 3,235 on average) played one of the most remarkable matches so far. The Spaniard faced Korean Myeong Jong Cha, who won the first set 14-8 in 11 innings. Then struck the hour (or better 25 minutes) of the Spaniard. The four-time former world champion excelled and scored no less than 35 points in six innings (5,833). He won that set 35-4, but bizarrely, Sánchez then lost the third set and the match: 10-7 after 15 minutes.
The overview:
Group A:
Dick Jaspers is topping ahead of Sameh Sidhom, Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and Semih Sayginer, but Choong-Bok Lee and Dion Nelin are feared opponents to threaten Sayginer for the fourth qualification spot. The first of four ladies in the tournament, Ji Eun Han, won one match and is in last position with a 0,897 average.
Group A:
1 Dick Jaspers 5-12-2,356-20/16
2 Sameh Sidhom 4-9-1,536-14
3 Nguyen Quoc Nguyen 5-8-1,424-10
4 Semih Sayginer 4-6-1,516-13
5 Choong Bok Lee 4-4-1,291-7
6 Dion Nelin 4-4-1,443-14
7 Wan Young Choi 4-3-1,718-12
8 Ji Eun Han 4-3-0,897-7
Dick Jaspers is topping his group with the best average of the entire field
Group B:
Roland Forthomme almost lost his last chance to compete for the top four positions in a remarkable match against Torbjörn Blomdahl. The Belgian won the first set 28-5 in 13 innings, but lost the next two sets 15-10 in 10 and 11-7 in 6. Forthomme lost 2-1, but had a much better average than Blomdahl: 1.551 against 1.068. Murat Naci Coklu with 9 match points out of 4 games is a main contender for the top four, just like Nikos Polychronopoulos and HaengJik Kim, both also with 9 out of 4. HaengJik Kim has the best average in this group.
The ranking in Group B:
1 Torbjörn Blomdahl 5-12-1,592-10
2 Murat Naci Coklu 4-9-2,190-9
3 Nikos Polychronopoulos 4-9-2,035-12
4 Haeng Jik Kim 4-9-2,218-14
5 Roland Forthomme 5-3-1,306-7
6 Ji Hun Ahn 4-3-1,370-8
7 Bong Joo Hwang 4-3-1,074-9
8 Jin Ah Kim 4-4-0,882-4
Murat Naci Coklu, is chasing Torbjörn Blomdahl: three points less, one match more to play
Roland Forthomme enters the Korean arena: the Belgian is too far down after his loss against Blomdahl
Group C:
Eddy Merckx is making a huge impression in Group C and has already secured qualification for the next round by his 2-0 victory over Jung Han Heo (18-7 in 10, 18-11 in 9). Koreans Jung Han Heo and Jun Tae Kim and Vietnamese Quyet Chien Tran have the best chances of advancing with Merckx to the second stage. Gülsen Degener is in sixth place with one win over Chi Yeon Cho, but dropped somewhat in average after the chanceless 2-0 against Tran in her last appearance today (2-6 in 10, 18-5 in 11) Antonio Montes is still without a win.
Ranking in Group C:
1 Eddy Merckx 5-15-1,943-20/10
2 Jung Han Heo 5-12-2,011-9
3 Jun Tae Kim 4-9-1,709-14
4 Quyet Chien Tran 4-9-1,800-10
5 Chi Yeon Cho 4-3-1,296-9
6 Gülsen Degener 4-3-0,612-4
7 Ja In Kang 4-0-1,321-9
8 Antonio Montes 4-0-1,204-7
Eddy Merckx, the only player in the field with the maximum score in match points
Gülsen Degener, one win so far, here in her match with Vietnamese Tran
Group D:
Tayfun Tasdemir climbed over Chang Hoon Seo after his convincing win over Sung-won Choi today: 21-9 in 8, 21-7 in 7 (2,800 on average). Dani Sánchez is still in fifth place after the win over Klompenhouwer and is two points behind Seo, Choi and Cha. Lütfi Cenet needs an exceptional final sprint to still have a chance. Therese Klompenhouwer lost her four matches and plays below her normal level with 0,858 on average.
The ranking in Group D:
1 Tayfun Tasdemir 5-12-2,243-11
2 Chang Hoon Seo 4-9-1,670-12/12
3 Sung Won Choi 5-9-1,583-12
4 Myeong Jong Cha 4-9-1,558-18
5 Dani Sánchez 4-7-2,192-15
6 Lütfi Cenet 4-4-1,461-6
7 Dong Hoon Kim 4-0-1,238-17
8 Therese Klompenhouwer 4-0-0,858-7.
Tayfun Tasdemir, on top of his group on the way to qualification
Dani Sánchez in his last match against Therese Klompenhouwer: still some work to do for the 4-time world champion