Sharm El Sheikh World Cup 2023

Sharm El Sheikh, December 9th 2023.

All is well that ends well. The year 2023 ended on a high note for Dick Jaspers because he added yet another World Cup win to his impressive resume (his 29^th) and he won the Overall World Cup for the 2023 season, his eighth overall win. 

Jun Tae Kim is becoming a steady guest in the World Cup quarter- and semifinals. In Sharm El Sheikh, he had to win a tough battle with tournament revelation Glenn Hofman to go further into the final. Their match was more exciting than high quality, and from 45-45 it was a coin flip. But Jun Tae made the final point: 50-47 in 38. Glenn Hofman can reflect on the best World Cup of his life, with wins over Marco Zanetti and Eddy Merckx. 

The other semifinal had Jaspers as the favorite, but his opponent Tolgahan Kiraz had made quite an impression during the week. He beat strong opponents, ran a 16, and played 3-cushion which was a joy to watch. Against the 5-time world champion, he came up short though: Jaspers was trailing 23-22 when he ran a 15, only to add 11 a few innings later: 50-28 in 16.  

The final had Jun Tae in the lead for the first ten innings, but the Dutchman changed gears mid-match. He dominated the table in the second half and outscored Kim: 50-35 in 26/25. The talented young Korean will have to wait a little longer for his first World Cup. 

To give you an idea of Jaspers’ presence in World Cups: he has won seven of the 29 that have been played in the past five years, so roughly a quarter of the gold medals goes to St. Willebrord, the Netherlands. 

The best match of the tournament in Egypt was played by Jaspers: 40 in 10. 

The high run was made by Kiraz and Seo: 16. 

The best general average was played by Jaspers: 2.130. 

The 2023 overall World Cup final standing: 1. Dick Jaspers 232 pts, 2. Jun Tae Kim and Eddy Merckx 188 pts, 4. Martin Horn 186 pts, 5. Myung Woo Cho 180 pts.

The first World Cup of the 2024 season will be played in Bogota, Colombia, in Feb/March of next year.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

UMB.