3-Cushion
SEOUL - The first separations in the PBA Final Tour have been made after two rounds. Frédéric Caudron and Juan David Zapata are the only two players with the maximum score in set wins and already secured a place in the best sixteen for the knock-out phase. The Belgian and the Spaniard each won their two matches 3-0 and are equal on average: 2.143. This Monday, the final rounds in the group stage is played and 16 players of 32 will remain. Two other Europeans fort he knock-out are Filippos Kasidokostas and Glenn Hofman and almost certainly Belgian Eddy Leppens. Robinson Morales, Savas Bulut and Pedro Piedrabuena missed the start and lost view on qualification after two losses.
The battle is still open in all pre-round groups in the last round with 16 matches. The eight groups are led by players with four match points, three of them Koreans and five European players: Filipppos Kasidokostas, Frédéric Caudron, Juan David Zapata, Glenn Hofman and Eddy Leppens. The three Korean frontrunners are Tae-jun Oh, Jong-won Kim and Bong-chul Kim. The final part of these qualifications turn into a fight on the edge in the early Korean hours on Monday.
The short overviews in the eight groups:
Group A:
Filippos Kasidokostas leads with 4 match points, 1,790 on average and the maximum high run 15, which he made in the second round against Ho-suk Jung: after a 2-0 deficit, the Greek won 3-2. Kasidokostas will play Jung-ju Shin in the last match, who is without match points and has no chance to qualify. Ho-suk Jung and Dong-woo Han battle it out for second place in this group. Kasidokostas did not receive the 15.000 euro premium for his maximum 15 run, which Savas Bulut did receive the day before. The premium was only for the first player to score the 'perfect cue'.
Group B:
Frédéric Caudron took his second 3-0 win facing Jun-suk Jung (15-6, 15-14, 15-3), so he now leads his group with 4 points, 2,143 on average and a high run of 10. Jung-suk Jung and Seong-won Mun meet each other for the second place, In-ho Kim is out of the game.
Group C:
With four Koreans, the battle is not over yet. It can still go either way, because Jong-won Kim, the leader with 4 points, has to play Sang-pil Eom, who is without points, but can still threaten the numbers two and three by winning his third match. The winner in the match Hyun-min Seo against Jae-guen Kim is guaranteed a place in the top sixteen.
Group D:
Bong-chul Kim is the leader with 4 match points, but not yet sure of a place in the finals. He still plays Seong-uk Oh, who is with two points the better on average. Dong-Koong Kang meets Robinson Morales, but is much better on average: 1,655 against 1,051. The Colombian needs a little miracle to qualify.
Group E:
Spaniard Juan David Zapata is playing an excellent final phase so far. With two victories and just like Caudron 2,143, Zapata has already qualified for the best sixteen. The Spaniard still has to play Jin-pyo Hong and can help his Spanish compatriot Javier Palazón by winning his match. Palazón's qualification is not yet certain: he needs a win against Hyun-woo Kim.
Group F:
Two strong performances have put Eddy Leppens on the verge of qualification. The Belgian with 1,859 on average has a big lead over the two players who can still overtake him in match points: Min-gu Kang and Jun-hyuk Im. Savas Bulut needs to beat Dong-Koong Kang, but then has to pass his opponent in the third game on average, an almost impossible mission: 1,452 for Kang, 1,177 for Bulut.
Group G:
Glenn Hofman showed his excellent form in the match against Birol Uymaz with a brilliant closing run. When the regular match was at 2-2, the two Europeans had to play a decider to 11 points. The Dutchman started from the spots, scored the 11 points in this first inning and didn't allow the Turk a chance to equalize. Hofman leads with 4 points and secured qualification with 1,594 on average. He still plays Pedro Piedrabuena. The American has no match points and only 1.000 on average. Uymaz and Jeong play each other: only the winner can level in match points to Hofman, who will therefore certainly be first or second in his group.
Group H:
Tae-jun Oh, the leader, is sure to qualify, Ki-hyok Kim with 0 match points and 1,683 is out of the race. The two other players will battle it out for the second place: Minh Cam Ma and Sam-il Seo.