3-Cushion
The president of the world billiards federation, Mr. Farouk Barki from Cairo, is the first to admit that the 24-player Virtual Challenge is not the world-class event with thousands of 'online' spectators and huge prize money. He realizes that it is juar a nice alternative to the empty calendar in Corona time, in no way comparable to the appeal of the major international events. ''We want to offer players and the audience something to enjoy and have searched for the most attractive format of play'', assures the UMB boss. The result has been on display for two days now: Nikos Polychronopoulos, Sameh Sidhom and Dick Jaspers are the top three after two of three sessions with eight players in the OneCarom system.
The board of the World Federation, which has already cancelled all official championships for 2020, is preparing a decision on the first major events in January of 2021 within the next weeks. We can say that it's almost certain that the World Championships for men, women and juniors in Turkey also disappear from the calendar. ''The situation is worrying in Turkey like in so many countries. We cannot and do not want to put pressure on the organization,'' Barki emphasizes. ''I expect that we announce the final decision soon.''
One organization, apart from the Virtual Challenges, still has a chance of been able to organize. Mr. Barki: ''I sincerely hope that the Jumbo tournament in the Netherlands can continue, despite the stricter measures. And instead of the World Cup in Sharm El Sheik, we want to organize another Virtual UMB Challenge again in December 2020.''
The criticism towards the prize, says the UMB boss, is unreasonable. ''We can't just use a lot of UMB money to make the prize money much higher. In these hard times, it is impossible to attract big sponsors for these events. Let me say it again: we should see it as a modest alternative for the players and for those who want to see the world players in friendly matches.''
The players themselves are pretty enthusiastic in the comments on the new format style, with four at the same time in one session, each ten innings from the break and the player who scores the highest number of caroms as the winner. The stops in the match with four disrupt the rhythm and focus, which may be a reason for the level that is shown with few high runs. Polychronopoulos was the highest on the second day with 13, followed by Sidhom with 11 and Nelin with 7. Dick Jaspers, Duc Anh Chien Nguyen and Lütfi Cenet did not reach more than five, Quyet Chien Tran not even over three, like Estela Cardoso.
The ranking after the second day with one day of qualification left:
1 Polychronopoulos 68
2 Sameh Sidhom 62
3 Dick Jaspers 61
4 Dion Nelin 60
5 Duc Anh Chien Nguyen 52
6 Lütfi Cenet 51
7 Quyet Chien Tran 45
8 Estela Cardoso 26.
