Archery is all about rhythm and timing. It’s undoubtedly difficult to get into a groove when the first arrows in a tournament turn are also the most important.
The Hyundai Archery World Cup Final is just that. Win your first match in Moscow and you’ll have two more appearances in the arena. Lose it, and those 15 arrows are the only shots you’ll shoot that matter until the plane lands back home.
Twenty-one-year-old James Lutz is fearless. He hasn’t been beaten internationally since making his first appearance earlier this year – and he’s already been crowned world champion. How long can he maintain that record without a blemish?
Factsheet #2: Compound men
- Number of athletes: 8
- Number of nations: 7
- Defending champion: Kris Schaff, USA (did not qualify)
- World number one: Braden Gellenthien, USA
- World champion: James Lutz, USA
- Competition time: 5pm GMT+3 (local) Friday 6 September
Line-up
- Mike Schloesser, Netherlands (number one seed and Medellin stage winner)
- Braden Gellenthien, USA (number two seed and Shanghai stage winner)
- Evren Cagiran, Turkey (Berlin stage winner)
- Daniel Munoz, Colombia
- Jozef Bosansky, Slovakia
- James Lutz, USA (Antalya stage winner)
- Sergio Pagni, Italy
- Anton Bulaev, Russia (host representative)
3 Storylines
1) The battle of the 150s. Mike Schloesser shot 150 to win bronze in Antalya, then James Lutz matched him to win gold. That would have been an awesome final. Perhaps on Friday?
2) The random. And talking of Lutz. Who wants to meet him in the first round? He’s not one of the top two seeds, which means he could face anyone after the random draw on Wednesday. Tough break. But, then, who’s the easy out in this line-up?
3) Some record. Braden Gellenthien has won six medals in seven appearances at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final. The only time he didn’t make the podium was in 2018 when he lost his first match to Abhishek Verma in a shoot-off. Braden arrives in Moscow as the second seed.
Athletes
Data correct as of 30 August 2019. World ranking given is current. Average arrow score, match wins and tiebreak wins in international competition this season only.
Mike Schloesser, Netherlands 
Mister Perfect won the first event of the year in Colombia and podiumed in Antalya and Berlin, too. Schloesser was also champion at the first European Games to feature a compound competition. Five of his six losses this season have come in shoot-offs.
- World ranking: 2
- Average arrow score: 9.84
- Match wins: 30-6 (83%)
- Tiebreak wins: 2-5 (29%)
Braden Gellenthien, USA 
Three medal matches from four Hyundai Archery World Cup events in 2019 put Braden back into the top spot in the world rankings. He’s won the final twice before, in 2012 and 2017, and taken four silver medals.
- World ranking: 1
- Average arrow score: 9.74
- Match wins: 26-8 (76%)
- Tiebreak wins: 7-0 (100%)
Evren Cagiran, Turkey 
That tiebreak victory to take gold over Mike Schloesser in Berlin emphatically booked Cagiran a spot in Moscow. Not his first rodeo, either. Evren went to Odense in 2016.
- World ranking: 4
- Average arrow score: 9.69
- Match wins: 17-7 (71%)
- Tiebreak wins: 3-1 (75%)
Daniel Munoz, Colombia 
A career first Hyundai Archery World Cup Final appearance for a 30-year-old who’s been steadily climbing the world rankings. Finished third at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima
- World ranking: 14
- Average arrow score: 9.72
- Match wins: 8-6 (57%)
- Tiebreak wins: 0-1 (0%)
Jozef Bosansky, Slovakia 
Proof that consistent results still qualify in this age of win-and-in on the international circuit. Bosansky averaged just under 148 points a match as he finished fifth in Antalya, his best result of the season and of his career.
- World ranking: 23
- Average arrow score: 9.71
- Match wins: 7-5 (58%)
- Tiebreak wins: 0-2 (0%)
James Lutz, USA
Statistics don’t lie. Jimmy Lutz is unbeaten. The rookie revelation made his international debut in Antalya and took gold – winning the final with a perfect 150-point match – and then became world champion in ’s-Hertogenbosch shortly afterwards.
- World ranking: 5
- Average arrow score: 9.84
- Match wins: 12-0 (100%)
- Tiebreak wins: 3-0 (100%)
Sergio Pagni, Italy 
One of three archers – all compound men – to hit the big five-oh in 2019. Not in age, yet. Pagni has just turned 40. He, Peter Elzinga and Martin Damsbo have been to at least 50 stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit. Pagni was also the first archer to win back-to-back Finals, in 2009 and 2010.
- World ranking: 8
- Average arrow score: 9.66
- Match wins: 8-8 (50%)
- Tiebreak wins: 1-3 (25%)
Anton Bulaev, Russia 
The 23-year-old Moscow native that might make things interesting. Bulaev is no pushover. Up to seventh in the world rankings, he recently took gold at the Universiade in Napoli.
- World ranking: 7
- Average arrow score: 9.72
- Match wins: 16-7 (70%)
- Tiebreak wins: 2-1 (67%)
The 2019 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final takes place on 6-7 September in Moscow, Russia.
