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Ankara. June 1
5th 2024.
It was an eight year wait, but worth it. Jung Han Heo from South Korea, one of the most stylish 3-cushion players on the circuit, followed his 2016 El Gouna win with a victory in Ankara in 2024, where he beat Phuong Vinh Bao from Vietnam in the final: 50 – 31 in 26/25.
The experienced Heo, known for his marvelous speed control and delicate solutions, struggled for years to keep his nerves under control. He worked on it, and the biggest reward yet came this Saturday in Ankara. If, as we should, we count Sang Lee as an American, Jung Han Heo is only the second Korean player (after Haeng Jik Kim) to win more than one World Cup.
The two semifinals were rather comparable: one player who can’t get out of the blocks, one player scoring 4’s and 5’s with regularity. Martin Horn couldn’t recover from a bad start against Heo, Sidhom never found his rhythm against Bao. They will have to settle for the combination of pride and regret that is a bronze medal.
Heo outscored Bao all match long, without any monster runs. The young world champion of 2023 tried hard, but got kissed out too many times. His play during the entire event was impressive though: 2.090 general average. Only Tasdemir did better.
There were no Europeans in the final, no Turks. But the venue was filled and the Turkish fans had plenty of enthusiasm for the Asian players. 3-cushion is a global sport, and it’s very much alive and vibrant.
The high run in Ankara was made by Bao: 17.
The best match was played by Heo: 40 in 12.
The best general average was played by Tasdemir: 2.102.
The main draw average for the event was 1.559.
The World Cup cycle will continue in Porto, from 7-13 July.
Ankara. June 14th 2024.
Before you know it, a World Cup is reduced to four players with one day left in the event. The last four warriors are Martin Horn, Jung Han Heo, Phuong Vinh Bao and Sameh Sidhom.
First to take the spotlight on Friday were the Karakurt brothers. Both started with a thriller 50-49 win, Berkay over Polychronopoulos and Ömer over Haeng Jik Kim. Then they both lost in the quarterfinals: Berkay to Sidhom and Ömer to Bao.
Jaspers lost in the last 16 to Heo, who put up a wonderful display of cue ball control. Tasdemir went out against Horn, Peter Ceulemans lost to Zanetti. Horn (17 innings for 50 points), Heo (19) and Bao (20) recorded top matches on a day that underlined the new law of international 3-cushion: nobody is safe.
These were the quarterfinals:
Zanetti – Horn 42 – 50 in 26
Q.C. Tran – J.H. Heo 39 – 50 in 23/24
P.V. Bao – Ö. Karakurt 50 – 35 in 20/19
B. Karakurt – Sidhom 29 – 50 in 28/29
Tomorrow’s semifinals:
Horn – Heo
Bao – Sidhom
Of the four, Sidhom is the only one without a “major” to his name. Heo has a World Cup win, Horn has two of those, and Bao has the 2023 world title. The Egyptian has been knocking on the door for a while. Is this his moment?
All matches can be viewed on Afreeca TV. Full results available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Ankara, June 13th 2024
With three matches to be played, the Thursday could well be the most demanding day of a World Cup. Eight groups of four need to be reduced to eight single elimination matches.
Group A: The scariest looking group of all. Poly did well with 5 points, and Jaspers needed a little help from Hofman who beat Legazpi. The Greek and the Dutch world nr. 1 advance, Legazpi and Hofman are out.
Group B: A monster fight between group winner Q.C. Tran and Bury, won by the former (40-35 in 13!). Kiraz and Bury both on 3 points, Kiraz wins – only just – on average. Bury and van Etten eliminated.
Group C: Jung Han Heo wins three times, Berkay Karakurt wins twice. Myung Woo Cho, struggling with his form, and Chang Hoon Seo are out.
Group D: Ömer Karakurt and Hong Chiem Thai both win twice and they advance. Blomdahl and M.J. Cha come up short.
Group E: Formidable scoring from Phuong Vinh Bao, the world champion. He is joined in the K.O. stage by T.L. Tran. Salman and powerhouse Merckx (three losses) are out.
Group F: Peter Ceulemans dominates the group, Martin Horn comes in second with two wins. Jun Tae Kim, a pre-tournament favorite, and Akkoca are out.
Group G: Tasdemir has two wins and 2.269, Haeng Jik Kim has two wins and 1.803. They will be back tomorrow. Cimentepe and Rahmet can be happy with their tournament, but it’s over.
Group H: Exciting last round, with Sidhom and Zanetti on a draw (40-40 in 21). Kokkoris must win to come in second, but Orak equalizes and saves Zanetti.
We are looking at this draw for Friday:
P.V. Bao – Kiraz
Ö. Karakurt – H.J. Kim
Polychronopoulos – B. Karakurt
Sidhom – H.C. Thai
Ceulemans – Zanetti
Tasdemir – Horn
Q.C. Tran – T.L. Tran
J.H. Heo – Jaspers.
These will be 50-point matches without equalizing inning. Start is 12.00 local time. Watch the action on Afreeca TV.
Ankara, June 12nd 2024
Jeremy Bury and Nikos Polychronopoulos, you would expect those names in every main draw. But these formidable players were unseeded, so they had to qualify from their group and did so with flying colors: both recorded two wins and they had 1.951 and 1.860 respectively.
Luckiest player in the field was Glenn Hofman, who was given the fourth “second-best” spot, after Pedro Gonzalez had cancelled due to being sick. The other non-group-winners who will return tomorrow are Seo, van Etten and Legazpi.
Here are the group winners of the last Qualification round on Wednesday:
Bury 4 – 1.951
Polychronopoulos 4 – 1.860
Ö. Karakurt 4 – 1.739
Salman 4 – 1.568
P. Ceulemans 4 – 1.454
Cimentepe 4 – 1.230
Orak 3 – 1.481
Kokkoris 3 – 1.212
Rahmet 3 – 1.176
Akkoca 3 – 1.025
T.L. Tran 2 – 1.530
H.C. Thai 2 – 1.172
De Bruijn, Soumagne, Forthomme, Hashas and Jorissen, among others, did not make the cut.
Tomorrow’s groups:
A) Jaspers, Hofman, Polychronopoulos, Legazpi
B) Q.C. Tran, van Etten, Kiraz, Bury
C) M.W. Cho, C.H. Seo, B. Karakurt, J.H. Heo
D) Blomdahl, H.C. Thai, M.J. Cha, Ö. Karakurt
E) Merckx, Salman, P.V. Bao, T.L. Tran
F) J.T. Kim, Akkoca, Horn, P. Ceulemans
G) H.J. Kim, Rahmet, Tasdemir, Cimentepe
H) Zanetti, Kokkoris, Sidhom, Orak
All matches can be viewed on Afreeca TV, with complete results available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Ankara, June 11th 2024.
Frédéric Caudron will have to wait a bit longer for the completion of his comeback with a World Cup win. Lukas Stamm from Germany showed admirable nerve and beat the legendary Belgian (helped by a fluke on his 33d) by a single point: 35-34 in 23. Both Caudron and Stamm beat Wilkowski, so Stamm won the group and Caudron is out.
There was some serious scoring on day three, with a quartet of players averaging over 1.500. Here are the group winners on Tuesday:
Akkoca 4 – 1.590
Soumagne 4 – 1.590
Rahmet 4 – 1.555
Stamm 4 – 1.521
Kokkoris 4 – 1.489
Cimentepe 4 – 1.428
Moreno 4 – 1.428
Szivacz 4 – 1.206
Ozbas 4 – 1.186
Ibraimov 4 – 1.166
Genc 4 – 1.147
J.H. Son 4 – 1.060
Vasseur 4 1.044
Panaia 4 – 0.795
Orak 3 – 1.400
J.I. Kang 3 – 1.228
Some of the better-known players that were eliminated on Tuesday: Caudron, Yavuz, Pennör, Kahofer, Nady, Lindemann.
Tomorrow, players like O. Karakurt, van Etten, Salman, P. Ceulemans, Legazpi, Polychronopoulos, Forthomme, de Bruijn and Bury will enter the event.
Starting time is an hour earlier on Wednesday! Matches start at 10.00 local time.
Ankara, June 10th 2024.
It’s day two of the Ankara World Cup, and we’ve had two rounds of qualifications. Already the group winners are well over 1 average, and some are so far above, it’s unheard of at this stage of the events. Frédéric Caudron, no surprise, was again the best of the lot. He won twice and used 11 and 12 innings for 30 points: 2.608. The 11-inning performance was equaled by Radek Novak, who did not even win his group. K. Le Hoang had the day’s high run with a 15. Of the young talents, Germany’s Amir Ibraimov advanced but Greece’s Dimitrios Seleventas was eliminated.
Here are the group winners in the PPQ:
Caudron 4 – 2.608
Basegmez 4 – 1.538
Akkoca 4 – 1.500
Takeshima 4 – 1.333
Genc 4 – 1.304
Ozbas 4 – 1.200
Doan 4 – 1.176
Cimentepe 4 – 1.176
Thon 4 – 1.153
Panaia 4 – 1.132
Moreno 4 – 1.111
Yavuz 4 – 1.111
Brouwers 4 – 1.052
Ibraimov 4 – 0.895
Bayramo 3 – 1.071
Altuntas 2 – 0.980
Players like Riad Nady, Ronny Lindemann, Arnim Kahofer and Jose Maria Mas will enter the tournament tomorrow. Caudron’s next opponent is Dutchman Huub Wilkowski.
All matches can be watched on Afreeca TV, with full results available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Ankara, June 9th 2024.
The ex-PBA players Frédéric Caudron and Birol Uymaz are celebrating their return to the UMB World Cup circuit in very different ways. Caudron was the best winner in the first qualification round (two wins, 1.621) but Uymaz is already out of the tournament after a disappointing performance (one win, one loss and 0.836).
We all know the difficulties of Day One on a World Cup: the tables can be slippery and adjusting is not easy. Also: the luck of the draw comes into it. Poor Ecevit Erdogan averaged 1.414 and finished second in his group, where Luetfi Kefeli became group winner with 0.458. Ozbas had the day’s high run with 11.
Here are the group winners on the opening day:
Caudron 4 – 1.621
Senel 4 – 1.563
Ozbas 4 – 1.363
Doan 4 – 1.304
Amir Ibraimov 4 – 1.200
Akkoca 4 – 1.200
Genc 4 – 1.071
Cimentepe 4 – 1.016
Kapusiz 4- 0.952
Falangas – 0.952
Bayramo 4 – 0.937
Camberlin 4 – 0.705
Kefeli 4 – 0.458
Gökmen 3 – 1.132
Altuntas 3 – 1.111
Celik 2 – 1.263
All matches can be viewed on Afreeca TV, with full results available on the web pages of Five & Six and the UMB.
Ankara, June 7th 2024.
From 9 – 15 June, the wonderful billiard venue of the Turkish Federation will once again host a World Cup, the third in the 2024 cycle. The first event in Bogotá was won by Quyet Chien Tran, the second event in Ho Chi Minh City had a surprise winner in Duc Minh Tran. Can Vietnam make it three for three?
The UMB has seeded the following players: Jaspers, Q.C. Tran, M.W. Cho, Blomdahl, Merckx, J.T. Kim, Zanetti, Sidhom, Tasdemir, Horn, P.V. Bao, M.J. Cha and J.H. Heo. The wildcards were given to Tolgahan Kiraz and Berkay Karakurt (local) and Pedro Gonzalez (CPB/UMB).
Frédéric Caudron reached the quarterfinal in Ho Chi Minh City, and even though he was not firing on all cylinders yet, it looks almost inevitable that he will return to a seeded position some tournaments from now. The Belgian master of all disciplines, with that fluent style, is a 21-time World Cup winner and holder of several world records.
The tables in Ankara are Zeki Bilardo, the cloth is ClassOne B 2 Black, the balls are Dynaspheres. The usual ranking points apply: 80-54-36-26-18-10-8.
Some special attention will go to the youngsters in the field: Hashas, Seleventas, Löwe, Ibraimov, and mature but still young players like Hofman, Kiraz, H. C. Thai, B. Karakurt and Maréchal who have already proven they can go far.
All matches can be watched on Afreeca TV. Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
