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Viersen, March 12nd 2023
In an emotional year for the country, Turkiye’s best 3-cushion players dug deep and gave it their all. Semih Sayginer and Tayfun Tasdemir were unstoppable in Viersen, where they gave their country the third World Title for National Teams in a row. The strong twosomes of Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain had to settle for silver and bronze.
Sunday’s first semifinal had its climax in the final inning between Jean Paul de Bruijn and Tayfun Tasdemir. De Bruijn was on 39 but could not escape a kiss in his last shot. Tayfun coolly finished, adding to Sayginer’s surprisingly easy win over Dick Jaspers.
Sweden took on Spain, and Dani Sánchez got the better of Torbjörn Blomdahl. Michael Nilsson came to the rescue with a win over Ruben Legazpi. The Swedes were the better team in the Scotch Double playoff.
In the final between Sweden and Turkiye, Semih Sayginer was on fire. He ran off to a 20-5 lead in just 5 innings. Blomdahl made a great comeback (23-25) but Sayginer answered with another run of seven. The match ended on a high level: 40-29 in 13 innings. Michael Nilsson was beaten for the first time in the event, when Tasdemir came from behind with a run of 14, and a few innings later produced the winning point for his team and country: 40-29 in 17 innings.
The high run of the event was made by Dick Jaspers: 20.
The best match was played by Torbjörn Blomdahl: 40 in 11.
The best team tournament average was played by Turkiye: 1.818.
Viersen March 11th 2023
Scotch Double decides over quarterfinals.
Not even defending champion Turkiye was able to cruise into the semifinal with straight wins. Nikos Polychronopoulos beat Semih Sayginer (again), and the Turks needed a Scotch Double play-off (15-8) to advance to Sunday’s decider. Tayfun Tasdemir booked an expected win over Antonatos.
A similar scenario unfolded in the quarterfinal between the Netherlands and Korea. Jean Paul de Bruijn played his best match of the week against Jung Han Heo (20 innings), but Jaspers lost 38-40 to Haeng Jik Kim. The Scotch Double could really have gone either way, but the Dutch team made the final point: 15-12.
Spain didn’t need a play-off, thanks to Ruben Legazpi. His Vietnamese opponent D.A.C. Nguyen left him at 36, but he equalized with a 4. Dani Sanchez had beaten Quyet Chien Tran in an outstanding match: 40-31 in 13.
Sweden’s Michael Nilsson is still unbeaten in Viersen. He ended the winning streak of Mexico’s Javier Vera. Torbjörn Blomdahl waltzed over Christian Hernandez in just 11 innings. The 45-time World Cup winner was on 32 points after 5 innings. That’s not too bad for a 60-year-old player.
Sunday’s semifinals:
10.00 The Netherlands – Turkey.
12.30 Spain – Sweden.
16.00 The final.
Viersen , March 10th 2023.
Four quarterfinalists known in Viersen.
The match of the day in the World Championship for National Teams was the meeting between Dick Jaspers and Dani Sánchez in Group C. The world number one put a run of 20 in the record books and won 40-25 in 13 innings. Spain had no problems with Jordan, the Netherlands drew with France. The two favorites, Spain and the Netherlands will advance to the quarterfinals. France and Jordan are eliminated.
Group D has also been decided on Thursday. Sweden only conceded one draw and wins the group with 5 points from 3 matches. Belgium drew in all their matches and finished on 3 points, equal to Vietnam with 3 points. The Tran / Nguyen duo averaged way higher and joins Sweden in the quarters. Belgium put up a hard fight but it ends third, Austria fourth.
Tomorrow’s morning matches will decide about groups A and B. Sayginer’s loss against Polychronopoulos will probably not be costly for the title holder Turkiye, but it could put Greece in a good position to advance. The Turks will play Japan on Saturday morning, Greece will play the USA.
Korea repaired some of the damage done by their surprising loss against Mexico, beating Egypt. Javier Vera excelled again, this time with a 40 in 20 against Karaca from Germany. The host country will play Korea tomorrow, Egypt will play Mexico.
All matches can be watched on the Five & Six channel on YouTube.
Viersen, March 8th 2023.
The shock result on day one of the World Championship for National Teams was the 4-0 win by the Mexican team over one of the title favorites, South Korea. Christian Hernandez beat Haeng Jik Kim 40-38 in 27, Javier Vera beat Jung Han Heo 40-34 in 29. Germany also recorded a 4-0 win, over Egypt.
Title holder Turkiye had an easy win over the USA: 4-0. Tasdemir and Sayginer had little resistance from Villegas and Patino. In that same group, Japan and Greece played a draw: 2-2.
In group C, the Netherlands had a comfortable start against Jordan: 4-0. No problems for Jaspers and de Bruijn. Spain had to work much harder to defeat France: Legazpi and Sánchez won by small margins against Devogelaere and Barbeillon.
Sweden played a draw against Belgium, mostly thanks to the 40-39 win by de Backer over Blomdahl. The Swedes also played a second match, defeating Vietnam 4-0. Many heroics in the Austria – Vietnam match: Kahofer lost to Tran in only 12 innings and he scored 30 points, while Maurer lost to Nguyen. Belgium and Austria played a draw, with Kahofer beating de Backer. Quyet Chien Tran ran a 17.
The Viersen tournament will continue on Friday, 11.00 local time.
Viersen , March 7th 2023.
From 9-12 March, the German city of Viersen will once again host the UMB World Championship for National Teams. This particular event has been held in Viersen for more than 30 years.
Title holder Turkiye sends a strong twosome: 2022 world champion and recent Las Vegas winner Tayfun Tasdemir and 2003 world champion Semih Sayginer.
Host nation Germany will be represented by Martin Horn and Cengiz Karaca. Multiple winner Sweden has a dangerous duo: Torbjörn Blomdahl and Michael Nilsson.
The Netherlands too, must be named among the favorites, with world number one Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn. South Korea sends two world class players: Haeng Jik Kim and Jung Han Heo. And what about Spain: their strongest combo Dani Sánchez and Ruben Legazpi. Maybe the Vietnamese, Quyet Chien Tran and Duc Anh Chien Nguyen, can go far?
Two countries from the AMECC are represented in Viersen: Egypt -Sameh Sidhom and Riad Nady - and Jordan, Abu Tayeh Mashour and Awwad Naser.
The opening ceremony is at 11.00 local time on Thursday, with matches starting at 12.00. There’s a stream of all the tables on the Five & Six channel on YouTube.
