Bordeaux , December 16th 2018
Europe dominates first Ceulemans Cup
The old lion roared, and said to the cub: “Your time will come. But I’m still boss.“ In three days, the European 3-cushion team showed Asia that there is a gap yet to be closed. In a race to 600 points, the players from Korea and Vietnam were beaten 600 – 483. Asia averaged 1.472, Europe 1.829.
The tournament in Eysines near Bordeaux was a splendid success for organizers UMB and Kozoom, a collaboration that also brought us the 3CC and Survival events this year. Under the watchful eyes of legend Raymond Ceulemans, the eight highest ranked players from both continents played 24 small matches to 25 points. Eighteen times a European player won, five times an Asian, and there was one draw.
On the opening day, the tone was set by Caudron and Coklu who booked big wins over Kang and Nguyen (25 – 13 and 25 -11). On day two, Bury left Ma without a chance (25-6), Sánchez did the same to Cho (25-6) and again Coklu was valuable for Europe with a 25-10 win over Kang. On the final day, Blomdahl beat Cho 25-13 and Zanetti outscored Heo 25-14. Jaspers kept winning, but he could not create any margins.
Dong Koong Kang fought back well with a 49-25 victory over Bury, but the difference was too big. The unbeaten Merckx (against Nguyen) and again Caudron (against Kim) closed the deal and won the Cup for Europe. Dong Koong Kang had the tournament’s high run: 16. Merckx had the highest general average: 2.343. Coklu played the best match: 25 in 7. There was a reward of 5.000 dollars for the players of the losing team, and 15.000 dollars for the eight winners.
Dani Sánchez, Murat Naci Coklu, Marco Zanetti and Eddy Merckx were the players who won the most points for their team. With a positive score of 30, 27, 26 and 23 points, they created most of the final gap of 117 points at the finish line.
This meeting between the two powerhouses of 3-cushion will again take place in 2019, but Asia will host it. No doubt, it will be played in the same atmosphere of good-natured sportsmanship as this year.
Bordeaux , December 12nd 2018
The Ceulemans Cup: it’s Europe against Asia
Golf fans love the Ryder Cup, pool fans consider the Mosconi Cup the highlight of the year. Now, 3-cushion lovers can look forward to a similar event. In the first edition of the “Ceulemans Cup”, from 14 – 16 December, eight European players will compete with eight Asians. The location is Eysines near Bordeaux, France.
This initiative is another collaboration between the UMB and Kozoom, following the 3CC and Survival tournaments. All matches of the three-day event can be followed on Kozoom, live.
The format is simple: there will be a single table, with Europe and Asia playing to 600 points. As soon as a player has made 25 points, his place will be taken by another player of his team. If your team is in the lead, you can’t make more than 25 points. If your team is behind, you can. The teams were selected based on the final world ranking of 2017.
For Europe, the players are:
Caudron
Merckx
Jaspers
Zanetti
Blomdahl
Sánchez
Coklu
Bury.
For Asia, the eight players are:
Haeng Jik Kim
Nguyen Quoc Nguyen
Sung Won Choi
Jung Han Heo
Jae Ho Cho
Quyet Chien Tran
Minh Cam Ma
Dong Koong Kang
The starting match is Caudron – Kang, on Friday the 14th at 11.00 local time.
The players of the winning team will receive 15.000 dollars, the players of the losing team will receive 5.000. Total prize money: 160.000 dollars.