3-Cushion
PELOPONNESOS – As the last matches of the day had been played, joy and sadness sang a strange duet. The Turkish contingent rejoiced in the miracolous flight victory of Savas Bulut and mourned the unlucky loss of Ahmet Alp against Dong Koong Kang, the winner of the World Cup in Korea, a fortnight ago.
Savas Bulut recorded two draws, against Vietnamese players Xuan Cuong Ma and Vinh Ly The, who had also played an undecided match against each other. The average made Bulut into the flight winner, who told his story: ,,I had to equalize twice with a run of two, and both times I hit the breakoff but with a bad folllow-up. I could finish off anyway, and that feels good. Sometimes you need a little luck.’’
The evening was tension filled, and rife with high quality 3-cushion, as the qualification stage came to a close.
Jean Paul de Bruijn’s cue, lost during the flight to Athens, finally showed up. Dinh Nai Ngo, the revelation of the World Cup in Korea, was defeated twice and sent home. Greek Nikos Polychronopoulos, who had hoped for a wildcard in his own backyard, but instead had to qualify, was over the moon with his place in the main draw (friday). And then there was this unique flight result: three matches all ending in a draw.
Twelve nrs. 1 in each flight and the four best nrs. 2 were added to the list that already held the twelve seeds and four wildcards. Savas Bulut was the last one to claim one of the coveted slots, none was happier than Nikos Polychronopoulos who wants to shine in front of his home crowd.
The new format, introduced at the start of this season, made sure the excitement lasted to the last minute. Roland Forthomme for instance, had lost his second match against Jung Han Heo. Given the formidable average from his first encounter (40 in 15), he was still a favorite to get in through the back door.
This proved to be true, with Nikos Polychronopoulos, Jae Guen Kim and Jin Pyo Hong, he formed the quartet of second finishers.
Tayfun Tasdemir, dropped out of the top 12 this year, has every intention of making up for lost ground. Two forceful performances put him at the top of the qualifying list, with 19 and 21 innings, and the high run so far: 15.
Dave Christiani was in a group with Murat Naci Coklu and ended first, but he travelled a rocky road. The Dutchman knew he could afford to lose by two points against Coklu. Having reached 39-39, his concentration slipped and he missed a sitter. ,,Unforgiveable, to miss that little short-angle, but I was relieved to have made it through to the main draw.’’
And yet, after he had equalized, he said: ,,Too bad, with four points I would have been better placed in the draw.’’
Top twelve player Coklu, not yet an automatic seed in this tournament, recorded a loss and a draw; his tournament was over.
Flight B unfolded in a strange fashion: Dinh Nai Ngo and Jae Guen Kim played an exciting scoring game, won by Guen, averaging 2.500 where Ngo averaged 2.150. Adnan Yüksel chose the only winning tactic. He played a smart game, and won both his matches in 31 innings.
Choong Bok Lee started off with a loss against Jin Pyo Hong, but still won his flight because the surprising Korean lost his second match to Barry van Beers. Jung Han Heo was undefeated in the group where Roland Forthomme was second with 1.875 finishte, sending two players into Friday. Eddy Leppens advancement was never in doubt, he won in 23 and 18 innings.
The Belgian secretly hoped for a spot in Thursday’s top 4: ,,That way I’ll avoid the nrs. 1-4 of the ranking, which means that for once I don’t draw against Caudron in my first match.’’
Ahmet Alp missed out on qualifying by a single point, missing his match ball against Dong Koong Kang, the Korean World Cup winner, to lose 40-39.
Anh Vu Duong qualified at the expense of Christian Rudolph. The German, runner-up to Marco Zanetti in the recent EC, lost his matches 40-39 and 40-34. Surprising was the quick exit of Glenn Hofman, nr. 3 in both the EC and the World Games. Glenn was steamrolled by Javier Palazón: 40-22 in 17 innings.
Jean Paul de Bruijn in his final match encountered a strong Ruben Legazpi, who made sure of his qualification and sent the Dutch champion home.
Raimond Burgman and Nikos Polychronopoulos were responsible for a sensational closing of the evening session. The Greek, who at one point had held a 25 point lead, could not seal the deal and finished in the 26th inning. Burgman had produced a formidable comeback, and needed just a point to equalize and win the flight.