Torbjorn Blomdahl is ....-

The rules of the tournament establish that only the first four places of each of the semifinal groups advance to the final round. The first and second place qualifies for the “A” group, while the third and fourth places qualify for the “B” group. This rule establishes two categories with substantial differences.  The “A” category prizes range from $12,000 Dollars for first place through $3,200 for the 10th place finisher. The Category “B” prizes range from $2,800 Dollars for first place to $1,200 Dollars for the final spot. In addition, the players in category “B” don’t have an option to win the championship.

On Friday morning there were still four very important games left. These would define who would stay “in the money” and who would be sent to the “B” bracket. On the first round of the day, Roland Forthomme (Belgium) who completed the semifinals with a balance of 6-1 and a general average of 1.481, defeated the Turkish master Murat Naci Coklu 35-21 in only seventeen innings scoring a game average of 2.059. Coklu finished the round with a general average of 1.333 and was sent to the “B” category.

In the second round Kyuong Kim from Korea routed O. Takeshima from Japan 35-31 in 37 innings. Kim finished first in his group while his opponent who finished fourth made his debut in the “B” flight. Kim’s general average was 1.594, while Takeshima finished scored 1.132.

In this same group Michael Kang from Korea upset Raymond Ceulemans from Belgium in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. The legendary hall of famer scored runs of nine and twelve but couldn’t stop the inspired Kang who overpowered him 35-34 in only 25 innings. The crowd went crazy as Ceulemans missed the last point by a hair. In addition to the above facts, the loser of this match was going to be displaced to the “B” group. The glory went to Mr. Kang who classified in the “A” group with the “Big boys” of billiards. Mr. Ceulemans was sent to the “B’s”

Kang’s win over Ceulemans was not enough for the crowd. As the last round of the semifinals announced the match between Torbjorn Blomdahl of Sweden and the Korean Champion Sun-Won Choi. Blomdahl who won the event in 2005 and finished second in 2006 was the favorite of the assistance. Considering that he is currently the highest ranked player of the UMB and that he held the highest average of the event, there was nothing wrong with the assumption that he would be the winner of this encounter. Nevertheless, Choi started with a run of ten and scored the last point in only 23 innings. Blomdahl who had a general average of 1.927 joined Mr. Ceulemans in the “B” flight. The room went into a big silence. Blomdahl lost his luster and wasn’t going to be a contender for the championship.

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FINAL RESULTS

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