11/20/2016
BORDEAUX – Pride and satisfaction were the dominant emotions at the closing of the 2016 Bordeaux World Championship. The organization by Kozoom, the hospitality by the Palais des Congrès, the performance by a player from the home country, France’s Jerome Barbeillon, all met the expectations that were raised by this same event in 2015.
To symbolize the situation modern 3-cushion is in, the final was played by an established player from Europe and a major talent from Asia. The experience, the fighting spirit and often-praised technique of Dani Sánchez gave the diminutive Spaniard his fourth world title. Some 800 spectators in the Palais des Congrès in Bordeaux watched how the 42-year old from Barcelona beat 24-year old Korean Haeng-Jik Kim in the final: 40-37 in 19 innings. With this victory, the Spaniard rises to the third position on the world ranking list.
After the world’s top-4 had been eliminated, a surprising foursome made up the semifinals. Sanchez played Leppens, Sayginer played Kim. The comeback by Semih ended in that match, totally dominated by the young Korean. ,,From the very start it felt as if things were not going my way. He played well, and took full profit. Still, I am happy with my performance here, I have shown that I am back and that I can compete on a high level’’, said the Turk. The Korean excelled with a mighty run of eleven to finish: 40-18 in 16.
The other semifinal had an ending that was as exciting as last year’s final between Blomdahl and Kang: Leppens had both a 39-30 lead and a 39-32 lead but missed match point twice. Sanchez ran out with an 8, which started with a spectacular rail-first reverse english draw shot. It ended 40-39 in 24 innings.
The final between Sanchez and Kim was not one-sided, but the Spaniard had control most of the time. His 40-37 win gave him a fourth world title, following Rezé (1998), Lugo (2005) and Sluiskil (2010). ,,It’s impossible to compare those titles, I was at my best in Lugo, in front of my own crowd, in Sluiskil against Eddy, I had to make up for the loss of the first two sets. This tournament too, in Bordeaux, was a hard fight and a victory over myself. I am no longer just a billiard player, I am now also a businessman. It’s hard to believe for some people, but I rarely find the time for practice. It makes me extra happy to win this title. I am back in the top three of the world, that is a great feeling.’’
Haeng-Jik Kim, four time world junior champion, who had a brain stroke in 2013, played his first senior world championship in Bordeaux. He underlined his comeback with the Asian title, and is determined to be amongst the best internationally. ,,I hoped to make it throught the qualifications here, but I never thought I would make it to the final, in my first senior WC.’’
Dani Sánchez, who started off beating Robinson Morales in the main draw, then Jae-Ho Cho, Eddy Leppens and Haeng-Jik Kim in the final, ended with a 1.983 average, with Haeng-Jik Kim on 2.043. Marco Zanetti, in fifth place, had the best average of all: 2.135.
Two world championships in two years in the vibrant Palais des Congrès brought in thousands of spectators, lots of sponsors, federation representatives from many countries and an enthusiastic atmosphere in the crowd. Especially in this second edition, the level of play was extremely high from the get-go. The averages were often around or over 2. Semih Sayginer had the best match of the tournament (40 in 10 innings), in the group stage. Eddy Leppens recorded the high run: 18.
The final sixteen was a bit more diverse than last year. Three Turks made the main draw, Belgium, Korea and Colombia all had two. Jérôme Barbeillon of the host country played a major part with his place in the quarterfinals, where Semih Sayginer ended his hopes.
The world ranking list after this WC is again headed by Frédéric Caudron, even though the Belgian did not make it to the last 16. Torbjörn Blomdahl lost both his world title and his nr. 1 position, he drops out of the top-3, now consisting of Caudron, Jaspers and Merckx, so three players from the Low Countries.
Kozoom-director and founder Xavier Carrer expressed his satisfaction with the organization, the turnout of spectators and business guests from the world of billiards. ,,We had some 4000 spectators last year, this year maybe even 5000. That was the main goal of this organization. We have created an interaction between spectators and players, we have seen beautiful matches with lots of highlights and emotion. That is what billiards needs, but at least the market in now in motion. The next mission is to even better involve the media, and to create opportunities for congresses, as we did here in Bordeaux. I am very happy and satisfied with my organization.’’
UMB-president Farouk Barki, in his summary: ,,This organization by Kozoom has put tremendous pressure on future WC organizations, to reach the same level. The tournament was handled professionally, it was a thing of beauty for players and sponsors. All I can say is: Thank you, Kozoom! Thank you, Bordeaux! ’’ The UMB (world federation) and CEB (European federation) held their congresses during this event, with the UMB announcing some changes for the World Cups: the top 12 seeds will change into the top 14 seeds from 1 January 2017, and the prize money will be raised further, with 8.000 euro for a World Cup winner.
The CEB mostly spoke about the preparations for the European multi-championship in Brandenburg next year. During the closing ceremony, Farouk Barki announced the WC for junior players, early December in Hurghada. The regular WC will be held in La Paz, Bolivia next year.
The final result of the WC in Bordeaux:
1 Dani Sánchez (Spain) 11-1.983-132 Haeng-Jik Kim (Korea) 10-2.043-11
3 Semih Sayginer (Turkey) 8-11-1.618
3 Eddy Leppens (Belgium) 7-1.792-18
5 Marco Zanetti (Italy) 6-2.135-12
6 Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece) 6-1.670-11
8 Jérôme Barbeillon (France) 6-1.555-10
9 Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) 4-1.964-13
10 Eddy Merckx (Belgium) 4-1.764-11
11 Robinson Morales (Colombia) 4-1.648-9
12 Huberney Cataño (Colombia) 4-1.616-9.
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