Seoul, Korea, 1 July 2016 - Jae Duck Seo delights the home crowd with an impressive performance in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) win over the Czech Republic, scoring 19 points to lead his side to their first World League win in 2016.
Having remained winless in the competition so far, Seo shone for his side and was ably supported by his teammates Hak-Min Kim (11 points) and Min-Ho Choi (10 points). Michal Finger led the way for the Czech Republic again with 13 points but he was the only member of his side to reach double figures.
With an expectant home support, Korea got off to the perfect start taking an early 8-4 lead with the European side having to play catch-up from the start. Seo of Korea was already having a major influence on the game, with his scoring keeping his side out in front. The Czech Republic were starting to make their presence known at the end of the set but it was too little, too late by then as Korea wrapped up the first set 25-18.
The second set was almost a mirror image of the first set as Korea once again led out in front with Seo on serve for his side, devastating from the back of the court. At 22-17 it looked like Korea were cruising but once again Czech Republic hit back but could not force the issue enough, with the deficit too much, allowing Korea to take a 2-0 lead in sets with a 25-20 win.
With their first win on the 2016 World League on the horizon, Korea looked determined to get maximum points for their first game of the weekend and they led out in front again in the second set with Seo charging at the net. The European side were out-of-sorts and with the momentum now firmly in Korea’s hands, they charged to a straight sets win with a third set scoreline of 25-21 to take the victory.