Berlin 2019: Compound finals line-up, preview and predictions

The last of the four Hyundai Archery World Cup stages after Medellin, Shanghai and Antalya, Berlin has brought the qualification race for this year’s season-ending final in Moscow to a dramatic close.

Unlike last year’s stage in Germany, none of these compound finals will make a direct impact on the line-up at the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final. All the spots were decided by the end of the semifinals at this tournament.

But at the close of this compressed international circuit – there are gold medals on offer. 

Watch out if you’re planning to tune in live. The mixed team matches are scheduled to take place at the end of the afternoon session rather than the start in a deviation from the normal match line-up.

Mike Schloesser /Evren Cagiran
Compound men’s gold medal match

At face value, this match-up looks entirely one-sided. Mike Schloesser is world number one and is shooting an average of 9.90 points per arrow in 2019; Evren Cagiran is ranked 11th and running at 9.72.

But the respect with which Mister Perfect spoke about his opponent after the eliminations tells a different story.

“I’ve shot quite some times against him this year and it was always a really tough match,” he said.

“I needed to shoot 150s to beat him. He shot, twice, a 149 against me while I shot a 150. I know it‘s going to be a tough match and I need to bring my A-game.”

Evren is qualified for his second Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Moscow. (He shot in Odense in 2016.) He’ll either go as a points qualifier or as a stage winner, if he takes gold here in Berlin.

The pick: Mike

Alexis Ruiz /Sophie Dodemont
Compound women’s gold medal match

You couldn’t ask for a better debut senior season than that of Alexis Ruiz in 2019.

She’s won three individual medals from three stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup so far – bronze medals in Medellin and Shanghai, and silver in Antalya – and is guaranteed a fourth in Berlin.

She’s already booked a spot at the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final on points. But a career-defining first victory in Berlin would come with a winner’s spot. It’s a purely administrative difference in Moscow. But no gold medal is meaningless.

Sophie Dodemont took her first title Hyundai Archery World Cup stage gold medal here in Berlin last year. The 45-year-old, who won a team bronze medal at the Olympics as a recurve archer in 2008, is still getting better.

She’s also already qualified for Moscow on points. And if Alexis doesn’t make that administrative switch to the winner's spot after Berlin, Dodemont will.

The pick: Sophie

Kris Schaff /Braden Gellenthien
Compound men’s bronze medal match

This was almost the gold final. Both these archers were ahead in their respective semifinals before the wind really hit on the last end.

If this pair had been contesting the title in Berlin, then it would have been a chance for Schaff to qualify for Moscow. As it is, no matter how many points he accrues, he won’t be going.

Gellenthien won in Shanghai and Jimmy Lutz took gold in Antalya. That’s two USA archers with tickets booked and the maximum from one country.

The defending Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion’s season is, unfortunately, done. Braden still has something to shoot for.

The pick: Braden

Sara Lopez /Yesim Bostan
Compound women’s bronze medal match

These are the two compound women that have been trading in and out of the number one spot in the world rankings of late.

It was only two months ago that Sara Lopez, having won the first stage in Medellin, was extending her 18-month-plus unbeaten streak. But the bubble burst and she finished ninth in Antalya and then seventh at the worlds.

Lopez just hasn’t looked like the indomitable force that has arguably made her the best compound woman to ever grace the sport. She’ll need to regain that to win the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final for a record-setting fifth time in Moscow.

Yesim Bostan hasn’t qualified for the season-ending event.

She’s faced Sara four times previously and lost all of those matches. With Lopez not at the peak of her powers, this is Bostan’s best chance to break that dispiriting streak.

The pick: Yesim

Team gold medal matches

Compound mixed team final: Great Britain/Slovenia – These pairs are only two spots apart in the world ranking. Great Britain is in 20th, Slovenia 22nd. They’re both set to climb after resilient performances in Berlin.

Compound men’s team final: France/Denmark – Two of the European powerhouses of compound archery. France is a team of individual superstars that probably haven’t delivered enough medals for their talent level. Denmark, anchored by Martin Damsbo and Stephan Hansen, has been good for so long.

Compound women’s team final: Turkey/Great Britain – It’s a second consecutive medal for the British compound women on the tour, having taken bronze in Antalya. 

The fourth stage of the 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place on 1-7 July in Berlin, Germany.