3-Cushion
Two players with the maximum score, two of the eight participants still without a win. The second day of the UMB Challenge has brought a preliminary selection, but not yet a final decision for four places in the semi-finals. Eddy Merckx and Tayfun Tasdemir remained unbeaten in two rounds. Both leaders in the two groups happen to have the same average: 100 caroms in 27 innings, which makes 3,703 average. Semih Sayginer excelled in his match against Dick Jaspers with the highest run: 16. That match with a 50-42 score in only 10 innings was the best in two days of qualification rounds. Dick Jaspers and Quyet Chien Tran were left without a win in two rounds.
Tayfun Tasdemir closed the second day of qualifications with a slightly better final sprint than Dani Sánchez. Eddy Merckx did the same in his match against Myung-Woo Cho. The two leaders with the maximum four match points are almost certain to move up to the semi-finals, but theoretically nothing is known before the last day.
The overview of the second day:
Group A:
Sayginer-Jaspers 50-42 (10)
The sixth match from the series of twelve in the preliminaries shows for the first time the high level of two players. Semih Sayginer and Dick Jaspers enjoy the spectators with a demonstration in the second group phase. Sayginer shines especially in his second last inning with a top run of sixteen. That brings the Turkish magician to the finish with only three points left. The best match ends in the tenth inning, in which Jaspers shows up for his last inning with a 12 run. The result for the ranking is that Sayginer is still in the race with two match points and Jaspers must hope for a little miracle after his second loss. Sayginer, who, like Tayfun Tasdemir, plays in the Billardo Max club (Platin table) later says: ''When I had finished my match, I sat on my chair admiring Jaspers' equaliser. I really had the feeling that he would equal with twenty." The Dutch world champion showed his high class, but later commented: "I missed too many times after one point from the break, that's not enough to win the match. ''
Tasdemir-Sánchez 50-48 (12)
The two players remained in balance until the last innings of the game. The Turk had a better start and led 30-23 after six innings with the better run of Tasdemir (11). After a 39-27 intermediate score, Tayfun had the best chances to finish, but Sánchez came back into the match and even led 48-47 towards the end, after what turned out to be his last chance in the twelfth inning. Tasdemir went to the table for his final break shot and finished the game with the winning run of three. He confessed that his opponent had been not so lucky in the positions. "But Tayfun has earned the win," Sanchez admitted honestly.
The ranking after two rounds in Group A:
1 Tayfun Tasdemir 4-3,703-11
2 Semih Sayginer 2-3,600-16
3 Dani Sánchez 2-3,500-8
4 Dick Jaspers 0-3,384-12
The final matches in Group A for Friday:
10.30: Sayginer-Sánchez
15.30: Tasdemir-Jaspers
Group B:
Blomdahl-Tran 50-44 (16)
The match in which Torbjörn maintains his chances means almost surely the elimination for Tran. The Vietnamese remains without a win after two matches. The Swede crowns his final attack with 20 points in his last five innings, where Tran only scores six in his last eight. Torbjörn says after the game: ''I made a lot of good points, but I also had too many misses.'' His most wonderful point is the famous ball (with a miraculous curve, twice the long rail), which he played in 2015 in Bordeaux to win the World champion final against Dong-Koong Kang. Quyet Chien Tran, who plays in his own billiard club, starts strong with 6-6-8, but then gets too little return from the break.
Merckx-Cho 50-42 in 13
The road to the top four is open to Eddy Merckx, after dealing with one of his feared rivals in this group. Myung-Woo Cho's quick start (5, 4, 3 for 12-3 in three innings) does not make the gap that impresses Merckx. The usually imperturbable Belgian later comments in one of his typical Merckxian analyses, that it is not the first innings that decide over win, but the last. He proves that with his final 12, 1 and 5 in the last three innings. Myung-Woo Cho has a strong final shot (with 7, 6 and 6), but it's not enough to threaten Merckx.
The ranking in Group B after two rounds:
1 Eddy Merckx 4-3,703-12
2 Myung-Woo Cho 2-3,172-10
3 Torbjörn Blomdahl 2-3,031-8
4 Quyet Chien Tran 0-2,900-9.
The final matches in Group B for Friday:
13.00: Cho-Tran
18.00: Merckx-Blomdahl
Eddy Merckx in his home location at the new billiard table
Semih Sayginer, best match and highest run in the Bilardo Max club