Semih Saygıner
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- This is a Turkic name; the family name Saygıner is sometimes transliterated as Sayginer.
Semih Saygıner (b. November 12, 1964[1], in Adapazarı, Turkey), nicknamed Mr. Magic and the Turkish Prince, is a Turkish professional carom billiards player.
Saygıner is the fifth of 6 brothers and sisters. His parents died in a traffic accident when he was 14 years old. Saygıner then started playing billiards. He had a good performance in high school but left for depression over the loss of his mother and father. He then focused on billiards. A year later, he won his first Turkish title. [2]
Moving into the international arena, he won 9th place in the 1991 German Open and the 1991 İstanbul Efes Pilsen Grand Prix.[clarify] Then in the 1992 Berlin World Championship, he took 8th place after beating Belgian world three-cushion billiards champion Raymond Ceulemans by 3-0.
He took 3rd place in the 1993 World Billiards Championship[clarify] in Berlin, and won the 1994 World Cup (Three-cushion Division). He has played in the Holland Billiards League since 1994.
Saygıner won the 1998 World Billiards Championship[clarify] (Three-cushion Division)[citation needed] held in Kemer, Antalya, Turkey by beating Cerwin Walentijn from Netherlands.
He won the 1999 CEB European Three-cushion Championship by defeating Dion Nelin of Denmark. He nearly won it again the next year but lost to Daniel Sánchez. He was the first from his country to win that tournament. A second one named Murat Naci Çoklu won it five years later.
In 2003, Saygıner won the UMB World Three-cushion Championship by disposing Filipos Kasidokostas of Greece. He's the only Turk ever to win it. That same year, he won the last World Three-cushion Championship organized by the BWA by besting Dick Jaspers.[3]
On February 7, 2004 he was named "Best Billiard Player in the World for 2003"[who?] in Antwerp, Belgium. He is recorded[citation needed] in world billiards literature for his 42-shot technique[not specific enough to verify]. As of July 2006, he ranks 8th in the world players list of Union Mondiale de Billiard.
Saygıner shares the world record for the highest run in three-cushion billiards, of 31, with Colombian American Hugo Patiño.
His highest average in a match is 3.571 (50 points in 14 innings).
Semih is married to the Women's Billiard Champion of Turkey Aygen Berk Saygıner.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.semihsayginer.org/biografienu.html Sayginer's biography on his own web site
- ^ Sayginer's Profile (French)
- ^ 3 Cushion World Cup in Las Vegas 2003
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Marco Zanetti |
UMB World Three-cushion Champion 2003 |
Succeeded by Dick Jaspers |
| Preceded by Torbjorn Blomdahl |
BWA World Three-cushion Champion 2003 |
Succeeded by Disbanded |
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