3-Cushion
NEW YORK - The trophy and the main prize (2.500 dollars) were handed over to Therese Klompenhouwer again: the Dutch billiards star showed herself the best on the final day and won despite two mistakes in the preliminary rounds. The current world champion triumphed in the Jennifer Shim tournament in New York by a victory in the final over Sruong Pheavy from Cambodia: 30-12 in sixteen innings.
It was Therese's third victory in a row in New York: she defeated Orie Hida, who crossed her path now in the semi-finals, two times. Sruong Pheavy (25) was the revelation: she defeated Klompenhouwer in the preliminaries, came up to the final, but found her master in the world's best women's three-cushion player. The 32-year-old Dutch put her opponent in the final under pressure with small runs (9-5 and 13-7) and after 16-11 (12 innings), Pheavy only scored once in the last part of the match. That resulted in a comfortable win for Klompenhouwer.
Orie Hida grabbed third place by a big victory over Colombian Mercedes Gonzalez and Dutch Karina Jetten was fifth. Therese Klompenhouwer received the main prize for the winner: 2.500 US dollars.,,I peaked at the right time and my two losses on Sunday came right on time'', Therese looked back to the final days. ,,On the final day the feeling was very strong again. I was a bit uncertain in the first match against Karina, but finally I was super focused.''
The Jennifer Open, with a total of eighteen players at the start, did not reach the level that was expected. The only players with high averages were Therese Klompenhouwer, the current world champion and Orie Hida, the former triple world champion. The Japanese seemed a serious threat to her Dutch competitor, who she defeated on one carom in the preliminaries.
The eighteen players after the ceremony in New York
But the clash between the two eternal rivals in the semi-finals was an anti-climax, because Hida had one of her rare blackouts. The match only balanced until 8-8, in the next stage, the Dutch first ran out to 18-10 in thirteen, ten innings later to 27-11 and finally she outplayed her opponent in a superb style.
There were doubts about Therese's hegemony when the balance was made after the preliminaries. Two losses, against Sruong Pheavy (25-19 in 17) and Orie Hida (25-24 in 25) felt like a painful warning. But the confidence, the feeling and the fighting spirit were Klompenhouwer's main power in the final round.
The revelation in the Carom Cafe who played the final: 25-year old Sruong Pheavy
The 25-year-old Sruong Pheavy was the only obstacle at the end of the race. The young, 25-year old talent, born in Kampong Cham, Cambodia, married with a Korean an and currently living in Cheongju-si, is an unpolished diamond. She started three years ago playing billiards, spurred by her husband and is now living the life of a professional player.
Many experts and watchers on Kozoom discovered the natural talent in the Carom Cafe: a wonderful, straight stroke, a huge focus and beautiful solutions for difficult positions. The routine of course is still missing, but Therese Klompenhouwer had already seen that this talent will become a major competitor in the future.
For most of the other players, the Jennifer Shim Open was a tournament with highs and lows. Namiko Hayashi is one of the best Japanese players, she remained unbeaten in the preliminary rounds and then couldn't stop the capricious Mercedes Gonzalez in the quarterfinals (30-28 in 41).
Karina Jetten started her tournament with six winst, then the candle was blown out slowly. The Dutch number two lost in a poor match to Colombian Mercedes Gonzalez (13 in 41 innings), couldn't close it out against Hayashi (25-24 in 48) and was trumped by the superior Klompenhouwer on the final day: 30-7 in 29 innings.
The main questions after the tournament? How could Therese, unchallenged until then, suddenly lose two matches at the end of the group stage? ,,I played bad that night'', she simply explained. How could Orie Hida, normally an epitome of regularity, fail so emphatically in the match against Klompenhouwer when all the prestige was at stake?
And was it because of the tension of this great event that players like Helga Mitterböck (0.383), Josephine Nidy (0.105), Alina Shim (0.152) and Ruth Segura (0.215) played that bad averages?
The winner Therese Klompenhouwer with Michael Kang and the trophee
Therese Klompenhouwer, anyway, was on her best again on the final day. The world champion shone in all her grandeur in the battle for the overall victory. The queen of women's billiards remains proudly on her throne.
The top three in the Jennifer Shim Open: left to right Orie Hida, Therese Klompenhouwer and Sruong Pheavy