Jose Maria Mas enjoys his days in Bursa

02/08/2017

Published by frits bakker

The Spaniard Jose Maria Mas, the star of the third day in Bursa

BURSA - He played with the flair of a Spanish toreador, relaxed but focused, and with the highest average of the third day of play. 35-year old Jose Maria Mas, known as 'Mia' to his close friends, had a slow start in the Bursa World Cup but then found his best form. With two matches in 15 innings (2.000), the Spaniard was the star of the day. He topped the day chart, ahead of three Turks: a surprisingly strong Turgay Orak (1.621), Hakan Incekara (1.428), Birol Uymaz (1.428) and Vietnamese Duc Anh Chien Nguyen (1.428). The Turks and Koreans both had five players in the top sixteen, but the flag at the top was Spanish, in honor of Jose Maria Mas.

The best-known names that were sent to the losers flight: Tolgahan Kiraz (1.806), Dinh Nai Ngo (1.515), Savas Bulut (1.307), Tae Kwan Kim (1.333), Carlos Crespo (1.200) and Ahmet Alp (1.057).

It has been silent around Jose Maria Mas for a few months. Early last year he won the Spanish GP in Murcia, which helped him end second on the national ranking for the season. ,,I have been searching for my best form ever since'', he said after his splendid performance today. ,,It has been an important year for me, because me and my girlfriend Ana moved in together. I am really happy now in my private life, and can freely focus on billiards. I enjoy it every day.''

It showed in his first match of the day in Bursa, when he got the better of Carlos Crespo. ,,It was not an easy match, because nothing is easy on the third day of a World Cup. I could finish well, with a run of ten, when Carlos stopped scoring. That turned the day around for me, and I enjoyed it to the full.''

He has modest expectations for this World Cup. Jose: ,,I try to enjoy every point, every match, and see how far it gets me. And I certainly hope I can show my best in the days ahead.''

An overview of the groups on Wednesday:

Group A:
The young Korean talent Jung Ju Shin, second and third at the most recent junior world championships, shows his class in this group with two seasoned opponents. Selim Özden, the number one on yesterday's day list, comes up just short in the first match, Kostas Papakonstantinou is then set aside with a margin: 30-14 in 16. Özden plays a great second match, winning in 13 innings, Jung Jun Shin goes on to beat a surprisingly tame Papakonstantinou, 30-14 in 16.

Group B:
Sung Il Jeong makes a bid for the lead in the group when he beats Vinh Ly The (30-14 in 23). The Vietnamese regroups against Arnim Kahofer (30-22 in 25). The Korean wins the group in a draw against Kahofer (who equalizes from the spots), despite his low average of 1.052.

Group C:
A quick start by Dinh Nai Ngo, who has a walkover match against Ronald van Geyt (30-9 in 12 innings), means he only needs to deal with Seung Jin Lee. The Korean is too much for Ngo (30-20 in 21) and he qualifies with 1.304, ahead of Ngo with 1.515.

Group D:
Hakan Incekara is the favorite here, Muharrem Peker is deus ex machina when he beats Quang Hao Truong 30-11 in 15. The deserved group win goes to Incekara after his 30-20 in 19 against Truong.

Group E:

Two Turks battle for the qualification: Ahmet Alp and Furkan Senel. The third Turk, Gunaydin All Kemal, is an also-ran twice over. The pivotal match ends in favor of Furkan Senel, the qualification winner who beats seeded Alp: 30-25 in 19.

Group F:
Sang Ku Kang en Khaled Salem, in 30 and 40 innings, don't make much of an impression in their first matches against Bastunali. They meet in the decider, and the Korean ends as the winner with a 0.967 general average.

Group G:
Jose Maria Mas is lord and master in this flight, beating his countryman Carlos Crespo 30-18 in 15, and then Japanese Atsushi Kiyota, also in 15. The Spanish toreador tops the day chart with 2.000 average.

Group H:
Birol Uymaz shows his home crowd what his intentions are. The Turkish player, active in the Dutch league every week, first deals with Salih Tekkeli, then with Dane Thomas Andersen. Uymaz wins 30-20 in 19 without breaking a sweat, and records 1.428 average.

Group I:
Savas Bulut slightly disappoints in his first match against Savas Gungor (30-21 loss in 23) but gets his revenge in his second match, against Jin Pyo Hong (30-23 in 16). It does not stop his countryman Gungor from winning the flight, because Gungor also beats Hong (30-27 in 23). The Turk is one of the surprises of the day.

Group J:
Tae Kwan Kim and Hideaki Kobayashi both deal with Emrullah Basegmez, who has lost his fine form of two seasons ago. The young junior world champion and the son of billiard legend Nabuaki Kobayashi play for the win, and the Japanese player comes out on top: 30-22 in 19.

Group K:
Turk Ümit Demircan, one of the best players earlier in the week, needs to get past former world junior champion Jose Juan Garcia from Colombia, after he and Jose have both beaten Mehmet Goren. The South American player stays for at least another day: he beats Demircan 30-23 in 20.

Group L:
Tolgahan Kiraz runs a 13 in his first match, but it's not enough to get past Turgay Orak (30-26 in 18). He then tries for his last chance against Dionisis Tsokantas (30-25 in 13), but loses out in the chair, when Orak also beats Tsokantas: 30-27 in 19.

Group M:
Things look good for Duc Anh Chien Nguyen after his opening win over Dustin Jäschke (30-20 in 16). It gets better when the German beats Gökhan Salman (30-28 in 25). Nguyen is not at his best against Salman (30-27 in 26), but the win does give him the right to come back tomorrow.

Group N:
Trung Hau Do Nguyen and Kwang Yeol Park both beat Omer Karakurt, the Vietnamese doing it with the smallest possible margin: 30-29 in 23. The Asian encounter ends in a win for Park, who gets there from behind: 30-26 in 20.

Group O:
Tension is high in the first two matches: Therese Klompenhouwer and Volkan Cetin are level when Cetin equalizes with a 4 (30-30 in 27). Kostas Kokkoris, one of the best Greeks, beats Cetin by a single point, in 32 innings. That offers chances to Therese Klompenhouwer but she does not use them and loses to Kokkoris: 30-22 in 27.

Group P:
Korean Ji Hun Ahn is granted no fewer than 40 innings by his opponent Ahmed Eman. Ahmed Bayatli makes a better impression, with a win in 28. The roles are reversed in the last match. Bayatli is not as effective as his opponent, who wins 30-19 in 19.

The ranking for Wednesday:
1 Jose Maria Mas 4-2.000-10
2 Turgay Orak 4-1.621-6
3 Hakan Incekara 4-1.428-11
4 Birol Uymaz 4-1.428-8
5 Duc Anh Chien Nguyen 4-1.428-6
6 Jung Ju Shin 4-1.333-9
7 Hideaki Kobayashi 4-1.333-6
8 Savas Gungor 4-1.304-9
9 Seung Jin Lee 4-1.304-5
10 Furkan Senel 4-1.250-6
11 Jose Juan Garcia 4-1.224-6
12 Kwang Yeol Park 4-1.153-6
13 Ji Hun Anh 4-1.016-6
14 Kostas Kokkoris 4-1.016-5
15 Sang Ku Kang 4-0.967-5
16 Sung Il Jeong 3-1.052-9.

The groups for tomorrow, the final day of qualifying:

Group A:
Quyet Chien Tran, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, Birol Uymaz

Group B:
Jung-Han Heo, Jung Ju Shin, Hakan Incekara

Group C:
Turgay Orak, Hideaki Kobayashi, Eddy Leppens

Group D:
Lütfi Cenet, Savas Gungor, Jose Maria Mas

Group E:
Quoc Nguyen Nguyen, Anh Vu Duong, Seung Jin Lee

Group F:
Sung-Won Choi, Regay Henry, Turkan Senel

Group G:
Dong Koong Kang, Jean Paul de Bruijn, Jose Juan Garcia
Group H:
Minh Cam Ma, Myung Woo Cho, Kwang Yeol Park

Group I:
Jae Guen Kim, Ji Hu Anh, Choong-Bok Lee

Group J:
Hung Bum Hwang, Kostas Kokkoris, Riad Nady

Group K:
Chi Yeon Cho, Murat Tüzül, Sang Ku Kang

Group L:
Hyung Kon Kim, Adnan Yüksel, Sung Il Jeong.