by Bob Jewett
Semih Sayginer saved his best game for last to beat Dick Jaspers in the finals to win the 2003 Las Vegas WorldCup 3-Cushion Tournament. Sayginer had finished second to Sang Chun Lee in the inaugural 1999 event, and Jaspers had finished second to Torbjorn Blomdahl in 2001, so both were used to the pressure on the TV table.
The event had begun five days earlier on July 8th with 144 open entries and 20 on the waiting list. As the early rounds got under way, several of the stand-bys got spots due to missed flights and delayed visas. The final open field of 142 (with two walk-overs that couldn't be replaced in time), along with the 20 seeded players, made this the largest 3-cushion event ever held in the US, and also the largest BWA Worldcup event.
The qualification tournament was organized as 48 3-man round robins, so every entrant was guaranteed at least two matches. The prelims were best two-of-three sets to 15 points in each set. To make sure matches did not drag on, a limit of 30 innings was put on each set.
The event was in the new Pavilion at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Play was on eight Chevillotte Europa Master tables, which feature 60-mm slate and heated beds which are standard for championship carom play. The VIP seating was at raised ring-side tables and the bleachers were raised and padded. The Accu-stats crew was on hand to tape ten matches which will be available on DVD and VHS tape. All the matches had referees and scorekeepers, and there was a training course for new referees on Monday the 7th.
The players represented 18 countries including Aruba, Portugal and Egypt, but the strongest contingents were from Japan, the Netherlands, Germany and Mexico. Two women were entered, Petra Aydnik and Michaela Esser, both from Germany. Half the open field was from the US.
In the first round of matches, notable performances were turned in by Akio Shimada (JPN), average 1.395; Hiroshi Horigane (JPN) average 1.500; Allen Jensen (DEN), average 1.395. Eleven other players had first round averages over 1.0 including home-town favorite and former US champ Frank Torres. 47 players got world-ranking points by having match averages over 0.800. There were several who averaged over 0.9 who did not advance to the second round. The lowest average to advance was 0.460 -- luck of the draw. The rest of the tournament was all single elimination, so any loss and you're out.
The best average in the second round of the qualifier was turned in by Ecuadoran champion Luis Aveiga at 1.875, while the young Dutch player Jean van Erp won his match with a 1.500 over Hideaki Kobayashi (JPN) who had a 1.074, and is the son of Nobuaki Kobayashi, the world champion in 1974 and 1984. American Mike Bengels also averaged over 1.0 in his loss. The lowest average to advance to the third round was 0.666.
The winners of the 12 third-round matches advanced to the main tournament while the losers retreated to the bleachers. The best average was Martin Horn's (GER) with a killer 1.714 against Moon Bum Heo of the US who had a very respectable 1.200 in the loss. The lowest average to advance from this round was 0.937.
For Friday's play, the dozen qualifiers were joined by the twenty seeded players. Notable among the seeds were Raymond Ceulemans and Sang Chun Lee. Ceulemans has said he will be not be playing in individual events, and Lee has been absent from billiards for some time, including the US Nationals last February.
The final 32 included all of the top-10-ranked players in the world. Several in the top 32 rankings had failed to get through the prelims, including Luis Aveiga (ECU) who had fallen to Frank Torres (USA) in the third round, as well Eddy Leppens (BEL) and Rodolpho Covarrubias (MEX).
Only four tables were used for the main tournament to give the spectators a better chance to see all their favorite players. The referees were dressed in matching tuxedos, with two assigned to each table to allow them to alternate sets.
In the first round of the main tournament, Sang Chun Lee's hopes of repeating his 1999 win were dashed as he lost a close match to 11th-ranked Ramon Rodriguez of Peru 3 sets to 2 with averages of 1.302/1.173. Lee remarked after the match that his game was rusty and the result was not a surprise. The best match of the round was by Semih Sayginer (TUR) with a 3-2 win over a very strong George Kai (JPN) with averages of 1.800/1.307.
Michael Kang was the only US player to make it to the round of 16 with a 3-0 (1.184/0.918) win over 10th-ranked Dion Nelin (DEN). Miguel Torres, currently US number 2, lost to Daniel Sanchez of Spain with a set score of 3-1 and 1.870/1.600 averages. Current US champ Hugo Patino was ousted by Chul Min Kim of Korea, while Frank Torres fell in a close match to current World Champion Marco Zanetti (ITA) (3-1 and 1.092/0.981).
On Saturday the 12th, the remaining 16 players were reduced to the final four. Defending champion Torbjorn Blomdahl was eliminated by Daniel Sanchez in straight sets with 2.647/1.625 averages. Sanchez' average was the best for the tournament. In a very tight match, Dick Jaspers advanced over Jacob Haack-Sorensen (DEN) with 1.866/1.766 averages in a 3-2 nail-biter. Haack-Sorensen had come back from a 0-2 deficit to tie at 2-2. US hope Kang was eliminated by 4th-ranked Frederic Caudron(BEL).
Saturday's quarter-finals saw two thrillers. First Sayginer fell behind by 0-2 against Caudron, only to pull it out by winning three straight sets, with 1.488/1.214 averages. At the same time, Zanetti and Tonny Carlsen (DEN) also went 3-2, with Marco being behind 0-1 and then 1-2 before taking the final two sets.
Sentimental favorite Raymond Ceulemans ran into a buzz saw as Dick Jaspers matched Sanchez' best average to win 3-0. This was not a nice present for Raymond's 66th birthday, but he got a free dinner as the tournament was adjourned for the evening to allow attendance at the BCA Hall of Fame Dinner, where Raymond and fellow HOF member and Accu-stats commentator Robert Byrne were honored at the head table. Pool players Efren Reyes and Ed Kelly were the BCA HOF inductees this year.
Play resumed at 10AM sharp on Sunday the 13th. Sayginer edged by Sanchez at 3-2 and 1.263/1.351 -- yes, Semih had a lower average than Daniel in his win. The other semi-final was almost as close with Jaspers eliminating Zanetti 3-1. There was a small controversy when the shot timer seemed to malfunction, and it took several minutes to reset the time and resume play. Jaspers' win set the stage for a showdown between the two former runners-up.
After a brief break, Sayginer and Jaspers began, with both players in excellent form. No set to 15 took more than eight innings and Semih ended up ahead at the finish with a 3-1 score and 2.000/1.730 averages. Jaspers lost two of the sets by a total of three caroms.
The total prize fund (which was specified in Euros) was about $36000 with $7000 for first down to $320 for 32nd.
Special thanks are due to the many volunteers who donated their time and money to make this event a showcase for 3-cushion billiards in the US.
Full results and more information are available through the tournament web site, www.sfbilliards.com/lvwc.htm