3-Cushion
PORTO – A novice spectator at a World Cup was wondering out loud what could happen to a world class player in a matter of hours. Jung-Han Heo, the Korean star of the Saturday morning (forty points in nine innings, 4.444) was a different person in the afternoon, he had changed into an amateur. In seventeen innings against Dick Jaspers, he was unable to make a run over two, and cruised at an average of 0.600. The scoreboard in the Dragao room showed the painful 40-12 to Jaspers, in twenty innings. The Korean, who had been in high spirits earlier, left with a sad face.
Three-cushion is such a strange game. How can world class and supreme form change into inexplicable impotency, on the same day? What happens to that player, is it mental, are these the mysterious forces in the sport?
Torbjörn Blomdahl, who won his quarterfinal against Birol Uymaz, but did not play as convincingly as in his earlier matches (40-24 in 23), looked for the best explanation when he said: ,,It is tough to comment if you have not seen the positions. But I see it this way: we can make some 35 points if we can start with 5 unmissable positions. If we start off with five extremely difficult ones, we could end up with zero points scored. That is quite a difference on the scoreboard.’’
Dick Jaspers knocked down the best man in the early hours, Jung-Han Heo
Dick Jaspers tried for a more psychological explanation of his match against Jung-Han Heo: ,,I have played him three times in the past, and three times he performed really poorly. I have never lost, so that may be a factor’’ These things can depend on confidence, on focus, and on the run of the ball, both top players agree about that.
,,I did not play a great match either’’, said Jaspers. ,,It came out two average, but that was partly due to the fact that I had no opposition. You have to stay on your toes, though. I am the kind of player who thinks a match can turn upside down if the other guy makes a run.’’
Torbjörn Blomdahl was not satisfied with his 40-24 in 23. ,,I had trouble getting into the match, I played with too much speed, misjudged some positions or made a bad choice. The good part was run of eight, which sealed the deal for me.’’ Jaspers and Heo never produced a high run for quite some time. The match had gone on for fifteen innings already, when Jaspers had made a three and Heo a four. Then Jaspers produced a six.
The player who is walking on water, Dani Sanchez, did not care. He looks to be on his way to threaten Blomdahl's world record grand average in a World Cup. The Swede broke Frédéric Caudron's record (Wenen, 2011) in Greece (Pelopponnese 2013) and set it at 2.739.
Dani Sánchez played his first two matches in 12 and 15 innings, giving him 2.962. Against Ruben Legazpi he had another good start, with runs of twelve and ten before the break (27-12 in 11). He looked to be on his way, but used a few too many innings in the second half of his match against Legazpi: 40-25 in 18.
Torbjörn Blomdahl in his match with Birol Uymaz.
It is touching to see how much support Dani gets from FC Porto’s chairman Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, himself a billiard aficionado. Sánchez gets a call after every match, with congratulations ,,He has been president of FC Porto for thirty years, and he is held in high esteem.
Sánchez explains his superior form by referring to a three day rest after the Spanish Grand Prix, which he won last Sunday. ,,I got into the car with a friend after the final, and we drove 800 km to Porto. He had to start playing on Monday, and I watched almost all the matches, which gave me a renewed thirst for billiards.’’
Hyung Bum Hwang in the semi-finals after a great rush at the end
The schedule for Sunday:
Semi-finals:
10.00: Jaspers-Blomdahl
13.00: Sánchez-Hwang.
Final at 17.00 (Portuguese time).