HO CHI MINH - The name is completely unknown on the global billiards circuit, he’s not even ranked among the best 1.000. Vietnamese Nguyen Nhu Le was a minor miracle in this week's World Cup in Ho Chi Minh. He started on the very first day, was actually the best of the entire field on the second qualifying day, survived day three again and miraculously was among the 16 winners again on the last qualifying day. Nguyen Nhu Le, 4 match points, 1.818 on average, winner against TTT Nguyen, an established name among the Vietnamese and against Nick Polychronopoulos, the raging Greek in the global top.
Just search the rankings of global three-cushion. Lots of Vietnamese in all the ranks of that standings, but no Nguyen Nhu Le. And yet, tomorrow, Friday, he will be among all those world top players in a field of 32 for the main tournament in Ho Chi Minh. According to that, knowing that Ho Chi Minh is his hometown, but not much more is known about this new Vietnamese in the billiard firmament. The best Vietnamese player, Quyet Chien Tran, tells us: he is a strong player, who has won some tournaments in Vietnam and is number 17 in our rankings. He is a coach in a billiard club and was born in Nha Trang City.’’ Tomorrow, Friday, is sure to be a glorious day in his career. Then he will play against the world number 1: Dick Jaspers and a former world champion: Ryuuji Umeda.
He was the number 2 on Wednesday's ranking behind Sergio Jimenez, the Spaniard with four match points and 1.951. Also in that top five: Nguyen Nhu Le, Haeng Jik Kim, Ruben Legazpi and Dinh Quoc Nguyen. That list was followed by other world players: Jérémy Bury on 6, Frédéric Caudron on 7!!!!
This was, among other things, in those final qualifiers, the day on which Frédéric Caudron escaped by a lucky ball, Japanese Ryuuji Umeda continued his victory lap, Caudron and Dao shot the highest runs (14), three of the three Belgians promoted to the “main draw”, as did three Vietnamese, but also on which all four Turks were eliminated.
That all leads to a great schedule for the main tournament. There, among others, Dick Jaspers will play Ryuuji Umeda, Eddy Merckx against Phuong Vinh Bao, Quyet Chien Tran against Haeng Jik Kim, Jun Tae Kim against Jung Han Heo and Marco Zanetti against Frédéric Caudron.
The overviews of the groups on Wednesday.
Group A:
Sergio Jimenez is unbeatable for his two opponents and finishes with a lead. The first victim is Volkan Cetin with 40-22 in 22, in the second session Hong Chiem Thai is beaten even in 19 innings 40-26. The Spaniard is ready for the next step in Ho Chi Minh city.
1 Sergio Jimenez 4-1.951-12
2 Hong Chiem Thai 2-1.375-12
3 Volkan Cetin 0-0.960-7
Sergio Jimenez
Group B:
Austrian all-rounder Arnim Kahofer, in a strong period of his career, can’t resist Korean Dinh Quoc Nguyen in his last match. The Asian, a new name coming from the Pre-pre-pre, beat Kahofer 40-31 in 26, scoring a nice 1,509. Kahofer and Nguyen both win over Goren.
1 Dinh Quoc Nguyen 4-1.509-9
2 Arnim Kahofer 2-1.145-5
3 Mehmet Goren 0-0.809-7
Group C:
Peter Ceulemans completes his mission against one of the two Vietnamese with flair. In his second game, Ceulemans gets the better of Hoai Phong Nguyen 40-34 in 20 innings. That victory is necessary for the Belgian after the draw in the first game against Minh Kiet Doan. With 1.666 average (against 1.644 for Nguyen), Ceulemans is gearing up for a strong tournament and another climb in the rankings.
1 Peter Ceulemans 3-1.666-9
2 Hoai Phong Nguyen 2-1.644-11
3 Minh Kiet Doan 1-1.207-7
Peter Ceulemans
Group D:
The last carom opens the way to top 32 for Jérémy Bury after he escaped twice against Jean Paul de Bruijn. The Dutchman misses his last attempt in a double around the table shot due to a kiss. That gives Bury the chance to play out by 2 and grab the win. The Frenchman, after a moderate win against Vasseur in 41 innings, remains ahead of De Bruijn in match points. The relief is visible. The Dutchman was eliminated by that one missed ball at 39-38.
1 Jérémy Bury 4-1.159-10
2 Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1.295-6
3 Kevin Vasseur 0-0.945-7
Jérémy Bury
Group E:
Haeng Jik Kim has to duel with a remarkably fresh Ryuuji Umeda, who has impressed from the start. The Japanese has to bow to Kim, who survives the qualifiers and goes flawlessly to the main tournament with 1.632. Nice detail: Umeda is better in average after his start against Orak 40-22 in 20.
1 Haeng Jik Kim 4-1.632-7
2 Ryuuji Umeda 2-1.736-11
3 Turgay Orak 0-1.000-5
Haeng Jik Kim
Group F:
Two Dutchmen, both born in The Hague, are vying for the group win. Glenn Hofman and Jeffrey Jorissen open against each other with a draw (40-40 in 30), where Jorissen cannot cash in on the best chance. Hofman and Jorissen then both win against Ja In Kang, Hofman in a better game: 24 innings against 33. As a result, Hofman grabs the group win and Jorissen goes to the main field as best runner-up.
1 Glenn Hofman 3-1,481-9
2 Jeffrey Jorissen 3-1,269-7
3 Ja In Kang 0-1,087-7
Glenn Hofman
Group G:
Korean Bong Joo Hwang is in an ideal position to beat Frédéric Caudron. The Belgian seizes his last chances, including a rare lucky shot in a run of seven, which puts Caudron on 38-37 after being 37-31 down. He misses and puts Hwang back on track to win, but the latter misses a simple three rail shot in all tension. One inning later, Caudron plays out and Hwang is allowed to equalise. Caudron won his first against Devogelaere 40-23 in 21, Hwang played equal against the Frenchman.
1 Frédéric Caudron 3-1,904-14
2 Bong Joo Hwang 2-1,777-7
3 Mikaël Devogelaere 1-1,400-7
Frédéric Caudron
Group H:
Vietnamese Nguyen Nhu Le, another early qualifier, is the revelation of the day. Not only does he beat TTT Nguyen, much better known to the Vietnamese, 40-20 in 17, but then also Nick Polychronopoulos has to bow, 40-34 in 27. The Greek is almost invisible in this Vietnamese company. Le's name goes through the arena after that double victory.
1 Nguyen Nhu Le 4-1,818-9
2 Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen 2-1,589-6
3 Nick Polychronopoulos 0-1,142-4
Group I:
Wan Young Choi is the favorite based on the Korean's previous performances. Duc Minh Tran, winner of the previous World Cup in Ho Chi Minh and Omer Karakurt run into the hands of Choi, who beat Karakurt sovereignly 40-18 in 24 and finished superbly against Tran 40-26 in 18. The reputation fast-forwards Wan Young Choi for the day ahead.
1 Wan Young Choi 4-1,571-6
2 Duc Minh Tran 2-1,386-8
3 Omer Karakurt 0-1,160-7
Wan Young Choi
Group J:
Van Ly Dao, among others maker of a 14 run, battles to the last drop, holding Myeong Jong Cha to 40-40 in his last match. That puts him in the lead with 3 points ahead of Gökhan Salman with 2 and Cha with 1. Dao has a fantastic finish against Salman with 14 in his last inning. That costs Salman placement afterwards.
1 Van Ly Dao 4-1,509-14
2 Gökhan Salman 2-1,586-10
3 Myeong Jong Cha 1-1,279-
Group K:
Ruben Legazpi has the best final shot, which comes at the expense of Sam van Etten. The Spaniard first beats Rui Costa with a magnificent final run (40-39 in 23) and then also Sam van Etten 40-34 in 27. The Dutchman's strong tournament is not rewarded with a place in the best 32
1 Ruben Legazpi 4-1,600-8
2 Sam van Etten 2-1,233-6
3 Rui Costa 0-1,089-11
Ruben Legazpi
Group L:
The outcome of the group is a total surprise. Roland Forthomme is knocked down in his first game by Gwendal Maréchal 40-21 in 15 innings. The Frenchman announces himself as the favorite to win, but goes down after Forthomme's win against Seo (40-24 in 23) facing this Korean: Chang Hoon Seo is the better one with 40-24 in 33 and Maréchal drops so far in average that he forfeits the placement. In the group, three players finish with 2 points, Forthomme is the best in average.
1 Roland Forthomme 2-1.605-11
2 Gwendal Maréchal 2-1.333-6
3 Chang Hoon Seo 2-1.142-6
Roland Forthomme
Thursday's 16 group winners:
- Sergio Jimenez 4-1.951-12
- Nguyen Nhu Le 4-1.818-9
- Haeng Jik Kim 4-1.632-7
- Ruben Legazpi 4-1.600-8
- Dinh Quoc Nguyen 4-1. 509-9
- Jérémy Bury 4-1,159-10
- Frédéric Caudron 3-1,904-14
- Peter Ceulemans 3-1,666-9
- Van Ly Dao 3-1,509-14
- Glenn Hofman 3-1,481-9
- Roland Forthomme 2-1,605-11
- Wan Young Choi 2-1,571-6
Three runners-up:
1 Jeffrey Jorissen 3-1.269-7
2 Bong Joo Hwang 2-1.777-7
3 Ryuuji Umeda 2-1.736-11
The groups of four for the main tournament:
Group A: Dick Jaspers, Ryuuji Umeda, Nguyen Nhu Le, Mohamed Abdin
Group B: Myung Woo Cho, Sergio Jimenez, Van Tri Nguyen, Bong Joo Hwang
Group C: Eddy Merckx, Phuong Vinh Bao, Thanh Tien Le, Jeffrey Jorissen
Group D: Quyet Chien Tran, Haeng Jik Kim, Wan Young Choi, Berkay Karakurt
Group E: Thanh Luc Tran, Roland Forthomme, Martin Horn, Ruben Legazpi
Group F: Jun Tae Kim, Jung Han Heo, Dinh Quoc Nguyen, Glenn Hofman
Group G: Tayfun Tasdemir, Jérémy Bury, Van Ly Dao, Tolgahan Kiraz
Group H: Marco Zanetti, Frédéric Caudron, Peter Ceulemans, Sameh Sidhom.