3-Cushion
HALLE ZOERSEL - What happened with Dick Jaspers, did he have a big champion party with his supporters after winning the Masters (the Dutch title)? That's really unusual for Dick, but you could think it after Martin Horn, one day later, had tortured his former teammate in one of his most painful losses in this competition. The German was superb and won 50-17 in fourteen innings, a new record for Germany.
The match between De Ploeg and BC Deurne, the numbers two and three in the rankings behind De Goeie Queue, turned out partly due to Horn's win into a surprising showdown. Jef Philipoom also glittered after the break (2-2 halftime) against Eddy Merckx.
That was totally unexpected, because Merckx is in top form already for weeks: the winner of the World Cup in Hurghada, Belgian champion with 40 in ten innings in the final, on Saturday in the German league 40 in 9 innings and on Sunday 40 in 14 innings. Before the break, Jean van Erp defeated his country man Jean Paul de Bruijn 42-36 in 25 innings with a final run of six. Ludo Dielis balanced the score by a win against Wesley Jaeger: 42-31 in 23.
And then the big matadors came to the table. Martin Horn had a blistering start against Dick Jaspers with 27-4 at the break in seven innings including a run of nine. And Jef Philipoom started off with fifteen from the break against Eddy Merckx. Martin Horn was not threatened at all in the second part and won 50-17 in 14 (3.571 average). Eddy Merckx came back into the match to 29-27 in 17, but in the final battle, Philipoom was the better finisher: 50-42 in 32.
,,We're back in the race,'' said Philipoom after the match, because De Ploeg is one point behind the two leaders De Goeie Queue and BC Deurne now, adding that De Goeie Queue has to play his match for this round on Tuesday against De Witte Molen. De Ploeg recorded an excellent average against BC Deurne: 1.840 against 1.457 for the reigning champion.
Martin Horn said one day after the match: ,,Dick, as he told me, was a little bit empty after his Masters title. He missed some quite easy shots at the start and I could take my chance by scoring and scoring. Anyway, I tried to focus on my game, not thinking about that I probably played against one of the best players in the world.''
Martin and Dick are good friends for a long time. ,,We have a lot of respect for each other! He accepted the high loss and congratulated me like a great champion! I really enjoyed the match, my best ever (for the 2nd time 14 innings!), although I still missed a couple of easy shots.''
,,Matches and victories like these'', said Horn, ,,are worth to work for every day, it gives me a special feeling and shows to me that I can cope with the world top.''
Horn and Jaspers met each other some 30 times in their careers. ,,I think the score is something like 8-22 now..., so it was not the first time to beat him, but every victory is very special for me. I admire Dick, for me the most professional player in the circuit.''
Martin Horn's plans for this year are to keep on playing good for his teams, always giving the best and support the team spirit. ,,I look forward to 'Viersen' and the Coupe d'Europe. And I want to continue my tilte in the German Masters.''
He doesn't miss the World Cups at all. ,,But I am still interested to watch them on Kozoom!'' Martin Horn would like to plan his World Cup comeback in Antwerp in November. At the moment right now, he doesn't want to join Istanbul or Luxor. ,,I really feel relaxed with my decision, still taking the rest to reload my batteries. Probably i will go to New York in summer to keep my form by playing many matches in one tournament.''
,,Anyway, I still have a lot of fun playing three cushion, I still have many goals and dreams. And I know some day, I will be back on top in the world ranking. I promised to myself.''
In the Belgian league, KBC Zanzibar took a victory in the shadow of the top match, in the away match vs BC Herentals (2-6), in which Roland Forthomme best man of the evening with a win vs Christian Rudolph: 50-46 in 26 innings. Pierre Soumagne (1.312) and Jimmy Mues (1.166) were the other two winners for the Leuven team.
BC Op de Meir 2 made a small jump on the ranking after its win against KBC Kortrijk, which is now at the bottom of the table, because BC 100 Lier recorded a remarkable 8-0 victory against BC Biljart Express.
The Ceulemans team showed its mettle: the matches after the break was exciting until the end. Kurt Ceulemans could eventually overrun Frans van Kuijk 50-41 in 40, Bart Ceulemans won 50-47 (41) against Gerwin Valentijn. The two wins before the break came from Raymond, who sprinted to the finish with seven (42-34 in 39 against Spoormans) and Koen against Hans van de Paer (42-41 in 33).
Tonight (Tuesday), De Goeie Queue meets De Witte Molen in a home match, BC Meir 1 plays against BC De Ploeg 2.