Carom
BLANKENBERGE - The casino is the domain of the billiard players and the audiance this week, the cafe behind the tribunes of the personalities and the guests, who come to watch billiard on top level. ,,Look there'', said Reginald Depoorter, the organizer of the event, ,,there is Jef Jurion, a famous soccer player from Anderlecht and the Belgian team. And do you know who's that? That's Gilbert Desmet, five times participant in the Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey.''
They all come to the party of Reginald, we may call the Belgian championships all disciplines. Yvonne, his wife, welcomes everyone at the entrance, Mieke, his daughter, is the ever laughing hostess behind the bar and Reginald himself looks if the sponsors and other guests can find their way and provids them with a glass. The best you can imagine in hospitality, we may say.
,,We organize these Belgian championships now for the fourteenth time'', Reginald said proudly. ,,I did it for the first time, because Raymond Steylaerts came with the idea. He lived not far from here in Middelkerke and knew the manager of the casino. And so we came to organize here, all the championships in one week. Raymond died last Saturday, sadly, he will be buried on Thursday here in Middelkerke.''
The Belgian championship is three days underway now. And every afternoon and evening, the tribunes are filled with public who likes to see this beautiful billiard and watch the top players. Frédéric Caudron in the balk line, in one cushion, Eddy Leppens in free game, Peter de Backer in one cushion, Patrick Niessen in the balk line, Philippe Deraes in free game, it is something different than always looking at the king's discipline, three-cushion. But of course that discipline also can be seen every day, today, for example, between Eddy Leppens and Wesley de Jaeger and Jef Philipoom, who needed five sets against Tom Persijn.
Eddy Leppens had a mission at the start. He said this afternoon. ,,I want to finish all my four matches in free game in one inning, then, after that, I stop playing this disciplin.'' But a few hours later he coule forget it, because he spoiled his two first innings against Philip Deraes, who finished in the third inning with a run of 399.
Francis Forton, with his run of eighteen last weekend, is motivated until his fingertops to shine in Blankenberge, although he lost his match in one cushion against Frédéric Caudron this evening. ,,I need a bit of tension'', Forton said. He will surely get it in his next match in three cushion.
The Belgian championships can be followed daily on kozoom.com. The public is welcome every day, the entrance is free, but be quickly, for most of the time there will be a full house.