The European stars are getting older, and the Koreans are getting younger. That’s not entirely true of course, but it feels that way if you follow the exploits of Myung Woo Cho.
Is there anything Korea’s craftiest kid can’t do? Myung Woo Cho won the world junior 3-cushion title in Izmir, and he did it with such ease and authority that you have to predict a great future for him. Already a winner of this title in 2016, he is still only 20 years old. That means he will have a chance to win his third junior gold in Valencia 2019.
Korea truly dominated this event, as it has in the past decade. The French hopes, Panaia and Maréchal, were not at their best and the Turkish youngsters, Güngor and Cebeoglu were even further behind. Colombia did well with two players in the quarterfinals: Vasquez and Ocampo. Cho’s countryman Deahyeon Jang, 2017 winner Carlos Anguita and Italian newcomer Alessio d’Agata joined Myung in the semifinals.
Anguita had impressed with an opening run of 16 earlier, but in his semifinal against Jang it was the Asian player who made the decisive runs. Six from the spots and eight to close out the match: 35-25 in 20 to the poker-faced Korean. The other semi was almost a formality: Cho cruised to a 35-12 in 17 victory over Italian debutant d’Agata.
The final had a surprising start when Myung Woo Cho, the heavy favorite, trailed 10-1. At halftime he had repaired the damage and taken an 18-10 lead. Final score: 35-18 in 18. With a cruising speed of two points per inning, Cho is currently in a league of his own. He underlined his class with the best match ever by a junior player: 25 in 5. Which medals would he cherish more: the three bronzes from World Cups he has, or the two golds from junior world championships? It seems fair to assume that Myung Woo Cho, an amazingly talented and complete player already, has his eye on an even bigger prize in the future. Before he even turns 25, he’ll be a candidate for the world title.
Final standing of “Izmir”:
1 Myung-Woo Cho (Korea) 2.022-9
2 Deahyeon Jang (Korea) 1.300-8
3 Carlos Anguita (Spain) 1.163-16
3 Alessio d'Agata (Italy) 1.180-9
5 Julian Vasquez (Colombia) 0.917-7
6 Joey de Kok (Netherlands) 0.906-6
7 Maxime Panaia (France) 0.895-6
8 Santiago Ocampo (Colombia) 0.800-5
9 Stef van Hees (Belgium) 0.830-8
10 Shota Funaki (Japan) 0.837-4
11 Björn Mikkel Jensen (Denmark) 0.764-4
12 Gwendal Maréchal (France) 0.741-6
13 Arda Güngor (Turkey) 0.654-8
14 Mahmoud Ayman (Egypt) 0.733-4
15 Alperen Cebeoglu (Turkey) 0.733-3
16 Mario Mercader (Spain) 0.625-3
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