3-Cushion
ZUNDERT - The best year in Eddy Leppens' career got the best possible close, when he won the Zundert X-mas tournament. The Belgian became national champion in January, also won the Belgian Cup and was his country's nr. 1 player all year long. He had to concede the Superprestige to Frédéric Caudron (after a 50-50 final), but the icing on the year's cake was his first ever victory in the strong Christmas event.
On the final day, Leppens first beat Barry van Beers in a shootout (50 - 50, then 4-0) and also the final was decided in extra time (7-2). In spite of the narrow margins, Eddy's win was very deserved in view of his unbeaten status and fine averages.
The last day was as the tournament had been: many matches were decided by a single point or in a shootout. Two of the three matches on the closing day ended in 50-50, the third one - between Forthomme and Merckx - had a nailbiting finish with Forthomme as the 50-49 winner. The champion, Leppens, said in his speech: "I had to fight hard for every match, which makes the final victory all the better.''
Neither of the two Belgians in the final had won this event before, in its 39-year existence. Chances were better than they had been for a while, because eleven-time winner Frédéric Caudron did not play. The best Dutchman, Dick Jaspers, has had other priorities for the closing weeks of the year, for a long time now.
It takes little or nothing away from Leppens' win. His results in the Belgian tournaments, and now in the Netherlands, plus his consistent strong play in the various leagues show that he is truly world class. The only thing missing, is proof of that fact with a World Cup or other international win.
He dominated his group in the X-mas tournament, with a first place and 1.973 avverage, ahead of Peter Ceulemans who joined him in the quarters. Roland Forthomme was also unbeaten in his flight, he averaged 1.578 and stayed ahead of Jean van Erp. Martin Horn lost his last group match to Raimond Burgman (50-41) and lost first position to his surprisingly strong countryman Thorsten Frings, who ended on four points and 1.905.
Barry van Beers, Eddy Merckx and Martin Spoormans won twice in their groups. For Van Beers and Merckx it was enough to advance to the last eight, Spoormans was eliminated on average.
Eddy Leppens, Roland Forthomme, Barry van Beers and Eddy Merckx were the four winners in the quarterfinal stage. The semis were spectacular, with Leppens and Forthomme as the winners. In the final, 46-year old Leppens was the coolest player in a shootout with 45-year old Forthomme.
The event was again a success, not just in terms of play, but also because the seats were filled as always. The four young debutants (Soumagne, Groot, Jäschke, Kenny Miatton) were applauded for their efforts. Jan van Kerkoerle, chief organizer, said after the tournament that he hopes the 39th edition will not be the last. ,,We will try our very best to see that this event will have a 40th edition.''