3-Cushion
NISTELRODE - The Duke Challenge started this Wednesday, January 20, 2021 under strict sanitary conditions, including two PCR tests in the space of three days for the players to show up there during these three days. The international competitions, approved by the UMB, have not been played for almost a year and only a few virtual competitions (each player at home or in his club on his own table) have come to live up a gloomy period. For the first time, the European elite are able to meet face-to-face, time, at one single Eureka table. The first day was rather busy with six non-stop matches.
Kozoom captured the images and the event was broadcast on the Ziggo Sport channel and on Kozoom via its Youtube platform, free of charge for everyone. The organization is entrusted to BEN (Biljarts Events Netherlands) represented by Harry Mathijssen and Ad Smout, the Jumbo supermarket chain, with its former director in the stands, is the main sponsor of the event.
The players' outfits are more sporty with the appearance of solid-coloured sneakers, solid-colored pants and polo shirts. The referees are the internationals Paul Brekelmans and Willem Hofman.
The tenors of the discipline passed this day without any problems except Semih Sayginer who was beaten by Belgian Peter Ceulemans. Otherwise, Marco Zanetti, Martin Horn, Tayfun Tasdemir, Eddy Merckx and Torbjörn Blomdahl qualified for the quarter finals. The story of this first day:
Marco Zanetti and Antonio Montes (31st in the world) had the honor to open the ball at 10 this morning. The hierarchy was respected with the victory 3 sets to 2 of the Italian, number 2 in the world. This tight score does not reflect the physiognomy of the match, because at no time the Spaniard seemed to be able to challenge the established order. Certainly lacking in points with this long truce, the two protagonists will be forgiven for the respective averages 1,270 for the winner and 0,805 for the loser. Zanetti wins the strip draw, important when playing in sets of 10 points and each player wins two sets on their stake: 10-4 and 10-2 for Zanetti, 10-8 and 10-9 for Montes. Despite his misfortune, Montes gets the opportunity to play one last set and thus to snatch an unlikely victory, but Zanetti secures its success 10-3 and thus qualifies for the quarterfinals.
The next match between Martin Horn (13th in the world) and Jean van Erp (85th in the world), wearing white sneakers, has similarities after the first one. The German, armed with his new Longoni carbon fibre cue, wins the draw played alternately by the players, COVID obliges. The first three innings of the game are won by the one who starts on the point of engagement and Horn thus leads 2 sets to 1 before the mid-match break: 10/3 in 6/5 innings, 3/10 in 1/2 and 10/5 in 3/2.
The fourth set is tied, 8/7 in 4 for Horn, but the German misses three times in a row and the Dutchman takes advantage to win the 4th set 10/8 in 7/6 innings. After 9 sets played, since this morning, no break was made, each player won his set, hence the importance of the draw... This 10th set is no exception to the rule, Martin Horn is exemplary by finishing the set on a set of 8 for a 10/0 score in 4/3, average of the German 2,050, average of the Dutch 1,473, Horn is qualified for the quarters.
Martin Horn: ''I'm lucky that my opponent makes a few mistakes towards the end. Jean is a very good player and if he played the World Cups, he would definitely be in the top 30. This victory heralds a great quarter-fight against Marco Zanetti, short distances are always unpredictable and Marco and I often have great duels.''
Third match of the day, Tayfun Tasdemir (5th in the world) against Jeffrey Jorissen (245th in the world): the Dutchman wins the draw. The Turk and his carbon Predator don't miss any detail during the first two rounds and the 10 points are made in 2 times each time (10/3 and 10/0). The 'typhoon' evolves to 5,000 on average over 20 points. Jorissen has only played 3 times and he is already with his back to the wall with the obligation to win the three remaining sets. Jorissen takes the 3rd set 10-7 in 7/6 innings. Tasdemir scores 4 and 5 in his first two innings and offers himself a match point to finish once again a set in 2 innings, one against him. That does not hold, it will be in 3 times on the score 10-2! Extraordinary, Tasdemir who wins 3 sets to 1 against Jorissen with an average of 2,846 or 37 points in 13 times, Jorissen displays 1,250 on this match.
Tayfun Tasdemir: ''I took three months off last summer following COVID and then I started training again at the end of the year. I quickly got back into the rhythm and I regularly played games with an average of 4 or 5 in my club. I'm very happy with the way I'm playing right now.''
Fourth part of the day, Semih Sayginer (11th in the world), his red sneakers and carbon cue facing Peter Ceulemans (49th in the world). The Belgian wins easily in the first two sets 10-5 in 5 times and 10-3 in 7/6 times. The Turkish magic man is not in the game at the beginning with 8 points in 11 times. He cannot make mistakes from then on. But it is not The Prince who wants to, because five minutes later, Sayginer made his ten points in a row and comes back to 1 set to 2 without letting his Belgian opponent play: 10/0 in 1/0 inning. But the Belgian doesn't let himself be fooled and in 3 times, he puts an end to the Turkish hopes on the score of 10-3. It is the first big surprise of this tournament. Unlike Martin Horn and Tayfun Tasdemir, Semih Sayginer will not have managed to leave his carbon footprint on this first day despite a flying set that was certainly unsatisfactory for him. 1,875 for Peter Ceulemans, 1,400 for Semih Sayginer.
For the 5th match, the first Frenchman of the tournament makes his entrance with a great challenge for Gwendal Maréchal: the world number 4 Eddy Merckx. The Lorient player starts well with 7 points in 3 innings while the Belgian only has 2 points in 2. But a retro sweep in the third, missed by a single shot, gives Merckx an opportunity to recover. The Belgian seizes the opportunity and asserts a series of 8 to take the lead, 1-0 on the score of 10/7 in 3 times. In the second set, Maréchal is present once again: 7-7 between the two players. Then Gwendal misses an affordable point on his 8th point attempt and Eddy Merckx wins 10-7 in 6/5 innings. Gwendal Maréchal does not let himself down and continues his effort on the third set. Leading 5-7, he paves his way to succeed a run of 5 and come back 1 set to 2 on the score of 10-7 in 7/6, just before the break of 4 minutes. The 4th set is one-way in favour of the Belgian: 10-2 in 4/3. Eddy Merckx wins 3 sets to 1 at an average of 1,947, Gwendal Maréchal played 1,444.
The last meeting of the day, the confrontation between Swedish world champion Torbjörn Blomdahl (Nr 3 in the world) and the young Dutch talent Joey de Kok. Despite a small scare at the entry point, Blomdahl lined up 7 and 3 to score a 10-0 in 2/1 shots. Then he jumps to a 10-5 in 4 times. With a superb reaction from Joey de Kok, who takes the 3rd set with two runs of 5, including a nice 10th point: 10-3 in 2 innings for the Dutchman who comes back to 1 set to 2 before the halftime break. The Swede finally wins 10-6 in 10 times in the 4th set and reaches the quarter finals with 1,833 against 1,294 for the young Dutchman.
Tomorrow, the two last matches in the first knock-out session with the meetings Jérémy Bury-Murat Naci Coklu at 10.00 and then Dick Jaspers-Roland Forthomme at 11.15. The quarterfinals are launched in the afternoon at 12.30, 13.45, 15.00 and 16.15.
Eddy Merckx is one of two Belgians in the next round where he meets Torbjörn Blomdahl, Roland Forthomme is facing Dick Jaspers on the second day