3-Cushion
BLANKENBERGE - Two days of fierce anger came to an an explosion on the billiard table. With tears welling up in his eyes, Eddy Leppens reacted for the Kozoom camera's after a run of 25 (!) in his first match of the day. ,,So, this is my answer to all that they've done to me.'' The suspension of fifteen months (conditional) after an incident in his match against Patrick Niessen earlier this week, Leppens was deeply shocked. He was disillusioned, disappointed and did'nt know if he still could be focused on the billiard table.
The answer came on this Friday morning match out of his cue with an amazing and masterful run of 25. On the scoreboard, in the deadly hush of the billiards room, in his match against Rudy de Laet? 12-6 in 9 innings.
The closer Leppens came to the finish line, the more that score reminded to the magical world record highest run, with 28 on the names of Raymond Ceulemans, Jinuchi Komori, Frédéric Caudron and Roland Forthomme.
And when Eddy Leppens continued his score, all the spectators realized what was going on: it was a match to forty points, in other words, Leppens would have to stop his run after 28 caroms...
Twenty..., 21, 22, 23. And behind the scenes a lobby was started: do we allow Leppens to continue playing at 28? ,,We will not, it's not admitted'', said Patrik Mintjens, the sports director.
Torbjörn Blomdahl responded on the chat: ,,They must do that, let him play. The audience is screaming for more, but of course it's not official.'' Frédéric Caudron: ,,I don't think, why should he do that. When he misses an easy ball for 29, he would regret. It's better to stop after 28, that's enough for being world news.''
Two times another applause sounded through the room: 24 and 25. And then the balls rolled in a very difficult position. Deadly silence in the stands, Eddy Leppens went for the shot and missed.
The ovation was deafening.
With a run of three, he closed his match at 40-7 in 11 innings. And then, still in the arena, the emotions were back, the tears were welling up. ,,They have hit me deeply with that suspension, the only thing I can do is reply at the billiard.''
It was almost in the shadow of that match, that Frédéric Caudron also delivered a magnificent performance. The world champion looked at a 12-0 backlog against Francis Forton after three innings, scored three points in seven and was 20-11 behind when he went into the break.
The real champion then came back from the stop with an amazing final rush to the finish: 4-6-12-3-2-2 29 caroms in six innings, to a victory of 40-21 in 15.
The explanation for the more or less weak start? ,,I have still some trouble with the changeover from the balk-line games to three cushion. Eddy Leppens, obviously is doing it better. But of course, I'm not complaining, because it's my own choice.''