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Sharm El Sheikh. December 7th , 2024.
The final of the Sharm El Sheikh World Cup was played by two of the hardest-to-beat professionals in the world: Marco Zanetti and Eddy Merckx. In a strange, two-faced match the Italian had the last word: 50-46 in 28. The Belgian had been as good as handcuffed for the first twenty innings, which must have been frustrating. It was also a testament to Zanetti’s perfect defense. Merckx broke loose with a wonderful run of 15, to change 46-31 into 46-46. Zanetti instantly replied with a winning run of four, to win the fifth World Cup in his long career. The last time he won a WC, it was also in Sharm, in 2019. His five Cups put him eighth on the all-time list, now ahead of Sang Chun Lee.
Merckx was the favorite in many people’s eyes, because of his amazing resume in finals: he played 14, won 13. Zanetti, through the years, lost more World Cup finals and semifinals than he would care to remember. But on this day, before Merckx ran his 15, Zanetti was clearly the better player. He suffered through the fifteen on his chair, and played his closing four with authority. At 62, he’s still mentally fit. Merckx showed strength as well: he played perhaps the hardest match of his entire season and got close to winning it against the run of balls.
In a semifinal that was nervy and tense, Merckx had gotten past the tournament revelation, Hong Chiem Thai. The young Vietnamese (25) had made a name for himself with wins over Dick Jaspers and Myung Woo Cho. He had given a lot, and there wasn’t enough left in the tank to compete with Merckx. Final score: 50-39 in 31/30.
Marco Zanetti meanwhile, in the other semi, did to Torbjörn Blomdahl what Blomdahl had done to Berkay Karakurt a day earlier. In a perfect blend of productive and defensive play, he kept all the good positions for himself and left the Swede with garbage. Final score: 50 – 11 in 18/17.
The Sharm El Sheikh World Cup also decided about the 2024 Overall World Cup win. Dick Jaspers finished first, Quyet Chien Tran second, Tayfun Tasdemir third. Jaspers won the 30.000 Euro UMB bonus.
The best general average in Sharm was played by Sameh Sidhom: 2.384.
The high run was made by Marco Zanetti: 19.
The best match average was recorded by Birol Uymaz: 4.000 (40 in 10).
The tournament average (last 32) was 1.538.
Dick Jaspers remains firmly in the lead on the UMB Events Ranking.
The next World Cup will be played in Bogota, Colombia, starting on 24 February 2025.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 6th , 2024.
Europe’s finest still hanging on.
The field in Sharm El Sheikh was full of Asian and Turkish talent, with many eyes on Quyet Chien Tran, world champion Myung Woo Cho and brand-new world record holder Jun Tae Kim. But 3-cushion is the most unpredictable of games, and few people would have foreseen the semifinals we’re getting tomorrow.
The qualities of Hong Chiem Thai have been known for a few seasons now, but the breakthrough was yet to come. Maybe beating Jaspers and M.W. Cho on the same day gives him that extra nudge of confidence? Thai beat Jaspers 50-42 in 23/22, and he beat Cho 50 -28 in 31/30. Quite impressive, and the young fellow appears to have all the weapons. Chief among those, a cool attitude and a big toolbox of solutions on the table. His problem-solving is his best attribute.
Marco Zanetti is the oldest of the top pros, but he is not ready to retire. Why would he, if he can still cruise through World Cup group stages with 2 average and beat Caudron in a quarterfinal? The best player (by far) of the qualification event did not look solid in his bout with Zanetti, and the match turned into a feast of nerves. Zanetti came out on top for the second time, he beat Caudron 50-48 (34/33) and had eliminated Bury with the same score: 50-48 (30/29). The connoisseurs remain convinced that Caudron will start winning World Cups again, but that’ll have to wait until next season.
Eddy Merckx is going under the radar a bit, but he’s a title candidate in every event he is in. The Belgian was flawless against Tayfun Tasdemir (50-35 in 22) and that’s a hurdle everybody would be happy to get over. His quarterfinal opponent was the best player on Thursday: local hero Sameh Sidhom. In a quality match (50-47 in 22/21), the hard skull of the Belgian just trumped the fluency of the Egyptian.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of Friday was Torbjörn Blomdahl’s performance. His averages had been slipping all season and his ranking did the same thing. Jun Tae Kim sprinted ahead 18-0 and 26-6, but things dramatically changed in the second half: 50-39 in 24 to Blomdahl was the final score. The Swede added a ruthless match against Berkay Karakurt (50-9 in 21/20), who could only sit and watch. The Turk should not lose too much sleep over it, because these things happen in 3-cushion. All the greats have experienced this, when it was not their day.
The battle for the Overall World Cup of 2024 was won by Dick Jaspers, who will receive a 30.000 Euro bonus from the UMB. Runner-up Quyet Chien Tran will receive 15.000 Euro. It was Jaspers’ ninth overall win. Only Blomdahl has won more often: eleven times.
Tomorrow’s semifinals, starting 10.00 local time:
Merckx – Hong Chiem Thai
And 12.30:
Zanetti – Blomdahl.
The final is expected to start around 16.00.
N.B. The first ever World Cup encounter between Blomdahl and Zanetti was in Berlin in 1987, thirty-seven years ago!
Jaspers and Tran both still in the race.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 5th , 2024.
It’s an exhausting day for the players, and a wonderful feast for the spectators: group day. Eight flights of four need to be reduced to sixteen players for the K.O. stage, so only finishing first or second will do.
In extreme cases, a player could lose twice in the group and still advance, or win twice and finish third. Any draw between two players will make the math even more complicated, and most decisions fall in the final half hour of the day.
Quyet Chien Tran and Dick Jaspers are also battling for the Overall World Cup win of 2024, and a hefty bonus. He who lasts the longest in this tournament, wins.
Group A.
Three solid wins for Jaspers, who is still on track for the Overall World Cup win of 2024. Duc Minh Tran is looking for his Ho Chi Minh form, Hong Chiem Thai takes full advantage and advances to the K.O.
Group B.
Caudron, though less imperious than yesterday, dominates the group. World champion Myung Woo Cho looked vulnerable at times, but he does finish second and advances.
Group C.
An upset was in the making when Quyet Chien Tran lost his first and second matches. In the end, Thanh Luc Tran won the group and Quyet Chien Tran sneaked in a second, on average.
Group D.
Merckx wins the group, but the duel between Phuong Vinh Bao and Berkay Karakurt caught the most attention. They drew in their match, both ended on three points. Karakurt had the slightly better average.
Group E.
Peter Ceulemans crushes three strong Koreans to win the group undefeated. Haeng Jik Kim is running hot and cold, the steadier Jun Tae Kim grabs second place.
Group F.
The Blomdahl – Horn match was a coin toss, but the Swede won it 40-39 and he won the group. Bury and Horn both on three points, but Bury had the far better average.
Group G.
Marco Zanetti roars like an aging lion, wins group G with a 1.9 average. Hofman does well to beat Long and Heo, he is in the K.O. stage. Disappointing World Cup for the stylist Jung Han Heo.
Group H.
Can Sameh Sidhom win his first World Cup? It looks like it, because he was magnificent today. Three wins, 2.448 and he looks ready for more. Tayfun Tasdemir is second, he also advances.
Tomorrow’s matches:
Sameh Sidhom – Quyet Chien Tran
Eddy Merckx – Tayfun Tasdemir
Thanh Luc Tran – Myung Woo Cho
Dick Jaspers – Hong Chiem Thai
And in the second session:
Marco Zanetti – Jeremy Bury
Frédéric Caudron – Glenn Hofman
Torbjörn Blomdahl – Jun Tae Kim
Peter Ceulemans – Berkay Karakurt
All matches can be viewed on Soop (formerly Afreeca TV). Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
UMB
Caudron on full throttle in Sharm.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 4th , 2024.
It’s only two matches to 40 points, but still. Frédéric Caudron’s otherworldly average on day four of the Sharm El Sheikh World Cup (3.478) made quite an impression. He recorded wins in twelve and eleven innings, and a first UMB World Cup victory in his post-PBA years looks inevitable, if not this season then the next. The overall level of the day was superb: almost the entire field of group winners over 1.500. Phuong Vinh Bao produced the icing on the cake with a run of 18.
It was a tough day for the French quartet that was so successful yesterday: Tachoire, Panaia, Maréchal and Soumagne were technically all eliminated, with only Soumagne sneaking through as one of the best seconds. The Belgians were happier: Caudron, Ceulemans and Forthomme advanced. The big guy from Liege looks sharper than he has in a while, and the 2.000 he recorded will have done him good. South Korea saw Ja In Kang and Jun Hyuk Son advance, Vietnam cheered on Nguyen Chi Long, Phuong Vinh Bao, former world champion, and Duc Minh Tran, former World Cup winner in Ho Chi Minh.
Here are the day’s group winners:
Caudron 4 – 3.478
D.M. Tran 4 – 2.000
P.V. Bao 4 – 1.818
Ceulemans 4 – 1.538
Bury 4 – 1.509
N.C. Long 4 – 1.509
J.H. Son 4 – 1.212
Forthomme 3 – 2.000
Hofman 2 – 2.111
Legazpi 2 – 1.775
J.I, Kang 2 – 1.571
B. Karakurt 2 – 1.560
Best seconds: Soumagne and Uymaz.
The groups in the main draw, starting on Thursday:
A. Dick Jaspers, Javier Vera (wc), Duc Minh Tran, Hong Chiem Thai.
B. Myung Woo Cho, Frédéric Caudron, Samer Kamal (wc), Birol Uymaz
C. Quyet Chien Tran, Mahmoud Ayman (wc), Pierre Soumagne, Thanh Luc Tran.
D. Eddy Merckx, Tolgahan Kiraz, Berkay Karakurt, Phuong Vinh Bao.
E. Jun Tae Kim, Haeng Jik Kim, Peter Ceulemans, Ja In Kang.
F. Martin Horn, Ruben Legazpi, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Jeremy Bury.
G. Jung Han Heo, Marco Zanetti, Nguyen Chi Long, Glenn Hofman.
H. Sameh Sidhom, Tayfun Tasdemir, Hyuk Jun Son, Roland Forthomme.
It’s vive La France day in Sharm.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 3rd , 2024.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Chi Long was the day’s best winner, but France was the country in the spotlights. On Tuesday, the PQ round in the Sharm El Sheikh World Cup saw no fewer than four of their players advance: Tachoire, Soumagne, Maréchal and Panaia. It looks like captain Jeremy Bury has found a new group of talented lieutenants. Some established names, such as Jimenez, Tellez, Alp, Seleventas, TTT Nguyen, S.I. Jeong and others did not make it.
Match of the day was the encounter between Roland Forthomme and Sergio Jimenez. The Spaniard ran an early ten and equalized with 12! After that somewhat sensational 35-35 in 13, the Belgian had the last laugh: he won the group on average.
As experience has taught us to expect, the level went up again in Egypt. There were no cancellations, so all second- and third place finishers in the PQ were eliminated: no lucky seconds.
Here are the day’s group winners:
N.C. Long 4- 1.891
Tachoire 4 – 1.794
Soumagne 4 – 1.666
J.I. Kang 4 – 1.458
Maréchal 4 – 1.428
Basegmez 4 – 1.320
Panaia 4 – 1.228
Nady 4 – 1.206
Uymaz 4 – 1.147
Mortensen 4 – 1.129
Kahofer 4 – 1.029
Forthomme 3 – 1.842
Bas 3 – 0.985
Mas 2 – 1.454
Wilkowski 2 – 1.361
J.H. Son 2 – 1.166
Tomorrow is the last qualification round. Players like Bao, Karakurt, Hong Chiem Thai, Caudron, Polychronopoulos, Hofman, Seo and others will enter the arena.
All matches can be viewed on Soop (formerly Afreeca TV). Full match results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Birol Uymaz works on his comeback.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 2nd, 2024.
One of the bright stars of Turkish billiards has been out of the spotlight for a while. Birol Uymaz spent a few seasons in the Korean PBA, then returned to the UMB circuit but initially failed to make an impression. The Sharm El Sheikh World Cup could change that. Uymaz was yesterday’s best group winner on the PQ day, with two wins and 1.818. Tachoire (FRA) and Tellez (COR) did well and completed the top three of the day.
The averages jumped up on day two, with many group winners over 1.000 or close under it. The battle for the two “best seconds” spots was won by Jef Philipoom (BEL) and Jordi de Kruijff (NET). Rightly so, because both were undefeated after a win and a draw.
Here are the day’s group winners:
Uymaz 4 – 1.818
Tachoire 4 – 1.714
Tellez 4 – 1.428
N.C. Long 4 – 1.428
Panaia 4 – 1.333
Demming 4 – 1.224
Minaoglu 4 – 1.153
Abdin 4 – 0.952
Bas 4 – 0.909
Camberlin 4 – 0.800
Sabanci 4 – 0.779
Akkoca 4 – 0.750
Mortensen 3 – 1.538
Canbul 3 – 0.937
Oktorvaci 3 – 0.857
Ozbas 2 – 0.892
Best seconds:
J. Philipoom 3 – 1.111
De Kruijff 3 – 0.869
In tomorrow’s PQ round, players like Forthomme, Nady, In Won Kang, Soumagne and Kahofer will enter the tournament.
UMB
Sharm El Sheikh kicks off on a modest level.
Sharm El Sheikh. December 21st 2024.
Today was the first day of the last World Cup of the year: Sharm El Sheikh in sunny Egypt hosts the deciding tournament of 2024. The qualification event is not as grueling as it can often be in Korea, Vietnam or Turkiye, with their seemingly limitless supply of strong players. In Sharm, you may be able to survive a round with medium averages, as many did.
The two best players in round one were both seasoned quality players: Kostas Papakonstantinou and Jef Philipoom. Both have had a long and successful career already, the Belgian even more so than the Greek. Philipoom, you may remember, won the Belgian, European and World title in 1995.
The most exciting flight was probably Group D, where young Amir Ibraimov fought a hard battle with Aziz Kilicaslan for the group win. The Turk equalized against the German, giving them both three points. The junior had the better average, though.
Here are the days group winners:
Papakonstantinou 4 – 1.428
J. Philipoom 4 – 1.224
Yildiz 4 – 1.200
Orlando 4 – 1.000
Demming 4 – 0.882
Luan 4 – 0.882
Sabry 4 – 0.857
Olsson 4 – 0.833
Oktorvaci 4 – 0.800
Overmars 4 – 0.779
Al Ghabasheh 4 – 0.740
L. Philipoom 4 – 0.705
Khaled 4 – 0.612
Sousa 4 – 0.555
Ibraimov – 3 1.153
Cerkez 3 – 0.779
All matches can be viewed on Soop, formerly Afreeca TV. Full match results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Tomorrow, players like Tellez, Novak, DeVogelaere, Panaia and Uymaz will enter the arena.
Sharm El Sheikh. November 29th 2024.
Billiard players are getting used to some lovely sunshine in December, thanks to the recurring World Cup in the Sharm El Sheikh resort. The 2024 World Cup season will be completed in Egypt from 1-7 December, with two players still in the running to win the cycle: Dick Jaspers and Quyet Chien Tran. Both have already won two World Cups this year.
Sharm El Sheikh. November 29th 2024.
“Sharm” will be the 206th World Cup in history, and the 20th on Egyptian soil. The UMB has seeded the following players: Jaspers, M.W. Cho, Q.C. Tran, Merckx, J.T. Kim, Horn, J.H. Heo, Sidhom, Tasdemir, Zanetti, Blomdahl, H.J. Kim, Kiraz and T.L. Tran. The wildcards went to Samer Kamal and Ayman Mahmoud from Egypt (local) and Javier Vera (CPB/UMB).
Tran and Jaspers are also competing for the number one position on the world ranking list, the Dutchman currently well in the lead. A little below, many players are working hard to keep their seeded status, or to get into that elite group. Hofman, Caudron, Ceulemans, to name a few, look ready to break through or regain former status. The most recent winners in Sharm were Zanetti (2019), Sayginer (2021), M.W. Cho (2022) and Jaspers (2023).
Many Turkish, Korean, Dutch and Vietnamese names are in the qualification event, and of course the home country is strongly present. Only two ladies in the list, unfortunately: Katja Titze and Karina Jetten.
The tables in Sharm El Sheikh are Gabriels, the balls are Dynaspheres and the cloth is ClassOne B2 Black. The usual ranking points are at stake (80-54-36-26-18-10), and there is a 29.000 Euro UMB bonus for a run of 29.
All matches will be streamed by Soop (formerly AfreecaTV). Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
UMB.
PODIUM SHARM EL SHEIKH 2023