With a strong offense, Choi and Kim Jun-tae defeated Sidom and Tran to reach the quarterfinals together. On the other hand, Heo Jung-han lost to Bromdal and the ‘World No. 1’ Yaspers fell to Martin Horne.
As a result, the quarterfinals of the Ho Chi Minh 3 Cushion World Cup 2023 will be condensed to Kim Jun-tae-Bromdahl (3:30 p.m.) and Choi Sung-woo-Martin Horn (6 p.m.) on April 28. The much-anticipated final will take place at 9:30pm.
‘Abber 2.777’ Kim Jun-tae defeats Sidom to reach the quarterfinals of two consecutive tournaments…will face Bromdahl, who was upset in the first round.
All four quarterfinal matches of the Ho Chi Minh 3 Cushion World Cup 2023 concluded on Sunday at the Nguyen Du Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the quarterfinalists have been confirmed.
In the first round of the quarterfinals, Kim Jun-tae (World No. 15, Kyungbuk Sports Federation) defeated Sameh Sidom in straight sets. After a hard-fought 50:49 (27 innings) victory over Nikos Polychronopoulos (13th, Greece) in the Round of 16, Kim exploded from the start against Sidom.
After scoring 6 points in the first inning, he added 1 point in the second inning, followed by 13 points in the third inning, 8 points in the fourth inning, and 3 points in the fifth inning to take a 27-point lead at 31:4 after 5 innings.
Kim Jun-tae continued to add points, and by the 12th inning, the score was already 45:14, effectively deciding the game. Kim had a lull in the game, allowing the lead to grow to 46:25 in game 17, but he scored the final four points in game 18 to end the game. Kim’s average was 2.777.
This is the second consecutive quarterfinal appearance for Kim, who also competed in Las Vegas in March. In the quarterfinals of the Las Vegas event, Kim defeated Bromdahl (No. 6 Sweden) 50:23 in 17 games to reach the semifinals.
At the next table in the quarterfinals, Heo Jung-han (14th, Gyeongnam Billiards Federation) lost to Bromdahl 32:50 (19 games).
Heo led 7:3 after the first four games, but Bromdahl, who has been in great form at the tournament, scored a high run of eight points in the fifth game to turn the score to 11:7. Leading 17:11 after eight, Bromdahl scored another 12 points in the ninth to extend the lead to 29:14. Heo Jung-Han extended the lead to 27:38 with a high run of 8 in the 14th, but was unable to sustain the momentum. In the end, Bromdahl won 50:32 in the 19th game and booked his ticket to the quarterfinals.
Cho wins 50:43 over ‘Vietnam No. 1’ Tran… Yaspers fall to Martin Horne
In the second game of the quarterfinals, Cho Myung-woo (8th, Silk Road & T/Seoul City Hall) defeated Tran Quiet Chien (12th) of Vietnam 1 50:43 (30 innings).
After scoring a high of 11 points in the first inning, Choi got off to a strong start, taking a 22:7 lead into the ninth inning, and a high of 8 points in the 10th inning to take a 30:10 lead.
Choi remained scoreless for the next five consecutive innings, but in the 16th inning, he scored another high run of 8 points to keep the score at 38:21. Cho then went into a lull and allowed Tran to catch up, narrowing the gap to 43:36 in game 27.
Choi added four more points in the 28th game, but Tran responded with a high run of five points to make it 47:41. Toward the end of the game, Choi narrowed the gap to four points (47:43) in the 29th inning as Choi’s attack narrowly missed. However, Tran, who made frequent mistakes on the day, was unable to turn the tide. Choi Sung-woo scored the remaining three points in the 30th to close out the match.
Choi, who stood on top of the 3-Cushion World Cup for the first time in Sharm el-Sheikh last December, is one step closer to his second title with a place in the final four.
In the other match, Martin Horne (13th, Germany) defeated ‘World No. 1’ Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) 50:41 (31 innings) in an upset.
Martin Horn steadily built up his score from the start, taking a 19:15 lead after 11 games and extending it to 25:15 with a high run of six in the 12th game. Leading 29:20 in the 16th, Martin Horn scored five more high runs in the 17th to extend the lead to 34:20.스포츠토토
Martin Horn took a breather after that, but Yaspers continued to strike frequently, and by the end of the 25th inning, Martin Horn led 43:26. Yaspers closed the gap to 45:35 in the 26th inning with a high run 9, but that was it. Martin eventually won 50:41 in 31 games to advance to the quarterfinals.
This is Martin Horne’s first appearance in the quarterfinals since the 2019 edition in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The quarterfinals and final on Monday will be broadcast live online on Africa TV and on Sky Sports. [Reporting by Lee Sang-yeon in Ho Chi Minh City and Dongwoo Kim in Seoul].