Carom
NIEUWEGEIN - The Dutch league in three-cushion, already for years the best in the world, has reduced in quality this year with the teams of Van Donge en De Roo and Crystal Kelly, but the tension will be bigger than ever before. Frans Bevers from Sluiskil with Frédéric Caudron as frontman and TOVV.NL/MCR from Vlaardingen with Eddy Merckx as first man seem to be the most imporant contenders for the title. But certainly the new team of Van de Broek Biljarts/Hanbat may not be underestimated with with Jérémy Bury, Tonny Carlsen and Haeng Jik Kim.
Frans Bevers opens the league on Sunday, September 11 with a match against the former second team of the sponsor: Martens Cleaning with Raymond Ceulemans. TOVV meets on that first day the opponent DBL Holland Mineraal with Tayfun Tasdemir and Murat Naci Coklu.
The biggest loss in quality is without any doubt the disappearance of Dick Jaspers, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Martin Horn and Jean van Erp. The conflict between the Section three-cushion of the federation and the team management and players of Van Donge en De Roo has led to a break. The champion and cup holder was no longer willing to appear for the playoffs at the end, the sportsdirectors of the federation insisted on the system with four teams for a final fight for the title in the last weekend. The reason for that: publicity for the play-offs and live broadcasting of the matches by Kozoom.
Dick Jaspers himself has always opposed the playoffs. ,,Even if we are ten, twelve points ahead at the end of the regular matches, we still are not the champion. Then we have to play the play-offs with the risk that we don't win the title. And moreover we get paid just a little prize money for that weekend'' is the argument of Jaspers.
The league loses big players this year, but obviously has a lot of quality. Frans Bevers with Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Leppens, Jean Paul de Bruijn, Peter de Backer and Glenn Hofman have an absolute top team with the coming of a world top player as the new leader and would have been able to threat the former champion in this line-up. TOVV comes to the start with Eddy Merckx, but also Frans van Kuyk, which has come over from Crystal Kelly, Dave Christiani and Richard Bitalis or Emilio Sciacca. Dekker Keukens has a very strong team with Jef Philipoom, Gerwin Valentijn, John Tijssens and Jacob Haack Sorensen. DBL Holland plays in his strongest formation with the Turks Tasdemir and Coklu, Steffan Gala and Anno de Kleine. A1 Biljarts has the Vikings Michael Nilsson and Dion Nelin and is much stronger now with Raimond Burgman from Crystal Kelly.
Snellen Recycling reached to the playoffs last year and is again a candidate now for a high position with Roland Forthomme, who can devour all top players in his best days, Peter Ceulemans, looking for a better form at the end of this season, Barry van Beers and Harry van de Ven. Hatrans Twente, the former Twentevisie, which is fortunately saved from ruin at the last moment, plays in the FC Twente stadium with Christian Rudolph, Jens Eggers and Dave van Geel. De Vrachtkar has Marco Zanetti on the list for the main weekends of the league and is playing with Wesley de Jaeger, Ad Koorevaar, Bert van Manen and Arno Peterson.
Martens Cleaning is the former team of Verbrugge Terminals. The team, under the flag of Zeeland billiard promotion, has moved to a stylish playroom in De Vroone in Kapelle and has a line-up with Martin Spoormans, Raymond Ceulemans, Henk Habraken, Guy Litsenborg and the young players Kay de Zwart and Raymund Swertz. DKM Tools from Oosterhout has Francis Forton on top, Kurt Ceulemans, Jan Arnouts, Frank Martens, Ad Broeders and Davy van Havere.
Van de Broek Biljarts/Hanbat seems to be the strongest team of the two debutants on the highest level. The Frenchman Jérémy Bury, this year's finalist in the Agipi Masters and a solid top ten player in the world now, is the new leader. The team has three foreigners: Tonny Carlsen, Haeng Jik Kim (the junior world champion) and Inwon Kang. The Dutch players are Frans van Schaik, Jeffrey Jorissen, Therese Klompenhouwer and Sander Jonen.
Berendhaus Groep/Horeca from Doetinchem debuts in the top class with Thorsten Frings, Stefan Hetzel, Markus Dömer, good-old Herman Slikker and the Belgian Dirk Weeremans.
The program of the first round on Sunday, September 11:
Berendhaus Groep/Horeca-De Vrachtkar, Hatrans/Twente-A1 Biljarts, Martens Cleaning-Frans Bevers, TOVV.NL/MCR-DBL Holland Mineraal, Dekker Keukens-Van de Broek Biljarts/Hanbat, DKM Tools-Snellen Recycling.