Carom
BLANKENBERGE - Frédéric Caudron has notched his first title and the only question is how many more will follow. The triple Belgian, defending champion played the final game in the balk-line 71/2 against Patrick Niessen last evening in a full house and was crowned this morning in a full house as the champion. The only player who could threaten the leader in the rank, got him pinned against the wall in the decisive match, although Niessen made a costly mistake after eleven caroms in his first inning.
That was almost fatal, because Caudron got the balls under control quickly, first gathered some points at the middle of the table and then moved to the area close to the short cushion, where he feels like a fish in the sea.
The monotonous ticking, with 'a rappel' now and then, a 'small piqué' and a velvet touch on the ball, did the score rise, first to fifty, then to hundred, a hundred and fifty and no one thought that the maestro would miss in his race to the finish.
Yet it happened, at 188 points, so that Niessen, unexpectedly got a second chance to go in a counter attack. The super technician, with its subtle feelings on the line, did the almost impossible. He finished the match with 239, put his opponent, with the score at 250-188, under pressure and then had to wait on his chair if Caudron could score 62 point from the break.
If Caudron could not, Niessen was the champion, even if Caudron missed at one point of 250, Niessen was the champion. But Caudron finished with a high class demonstration, sometimes for a moment looking for the position, for gathering the balls, but always with the confidence that he could fix the job.
When he scored his last point (62), for 250-250 in two innings, a rapturous applause rolled from the stands for the champion and for the runner-up.
In the same discipline Eddy Leppens won against Peter Debaes 250-50 in seven innings. It was the last match for Debaes, the crowd favorite, maybe with the biggest fan club. He could, as a debutant in the high league, look back at Multi's as a wonderful reminder.
The closure of eight matches in three cushion came from Steven van Acker, the 28-year-old guy from West Flanders, with an amazing win against Jef Philipoom. He agreed that there was some luck in his game, on the other hand, his run of sixteen was fantastic. ,,I had a lucky shot in my fifth, but thereafter I played some great caroms,'' said the extremely modest Van Acker, who never scored a match of three average until now.
,,That's why I felt some pressure at the end,'' he said later. ,,I was already close to the finish in twelve, thirteen innings. But otherwise, I can play my games relaxed against these famous players. I can only beat them when I'm super and they not on their best.'' Van Acker plays in the quarterfinals against another big gun: Eddy Leppens.
Peter De Backer made his status as the best player in the preliminaries quite true with a smooth victory against Kenny Miatton 40-15 in 24 innings. The Belgian cup winner is not only waiting for an interesting finish in three cushion: in one cushion Caudron is his opponent in the match for gold.
The three cushion matches for the quarter finals :
11.00, Saturday:
Peter De Backer - Davy van Havere
Frédéric Caudron - Eddy Merckx
Roland Forthomme - Peter Ceulemans
Steven van Acker - Eddy Leppens.