3-Cushion
ZUNDERT - The first players for the quarterfinals in the Christmas tournament in Zundert are already known: Roland Forthomme plays against his teammate Peter Ceulemans tonight (Tuesday) at 19.00 and the Belgian champion Eddy Leppens is facing the Dutch champion Jean van Erp. This afternoon, the four other players for the quarters will be known in Biljartcentrum Den Hoek. Eddy Merckx and Martin Horn are almost certain to win their groups. The German recorded the highest average of all players in the preliminaries (2.083) with his fellow countryman Thorsten Frings, who makes surprisingly strong debut, second with 2.068.
Eddy Leppens and Roland Forthomme remained unbeaten in the group stage with a final victory for Leppens over Glenn Hoffman (50-32 in 27). The Hague-born player finished fourth and last. Raymon Groot had a last chance to qualify in his third match against Peter Ceulemans, but was trumped by his teammate 50-23 in 39.
The final ranking in Group A:
1 Eddy Leppens 3-6-1.973-17
2 Peter Ceulemans 3-4-1.265-9
3 Raymon Groot 3-2-0.911-6
4 Glenn Hoffman 3-0-1.112-8.
Roland Forthomme made an end to Gerwin Valentijn's chances to survive. The Dutchman was strong at the end of the match, but couldn't finish it off (50-46 in 42). Jean van Erp took his chance with a draw against Dustin Jäschke (50-50 in 38). The Dutch champion was far behind after Jäschke's great start (21-3 in 9). Van Erp put up the fight, including a run of eight and finished the match at 48-48. The German could drew with two caroms. By the way, the organization was very pleased with the performance of Jäschke.
The ranking in Group B:
1 Roland Forthomme 3-6-1.578-8
2 Jean van Erp 3-3-1.154-7
3 Gerwin Valentijn 3-2-1.358-12
4 Dustin Jäschke 3-1-1.337-8
The count down in the Groups C and D is this afternoon with two last sessions. Eddy Merckx meets Martin Spoormans in his last match, is two points ahead of his countryman and has a much better average. Barry van Beers plays his last match against Pierre Soumagne. The Dutchman has the best average in this group (1.421), despite his loss against Merckx in the second round (50-41 in 36). Van Beers plays in the last round against Soumagne.
In Group D, the Germans Martin Horn and Thorsten Frings dominate with high averages: 2.083 and 2.068. The four players in this group recorded the highest of the four groups so far: Raimond Burgman has 1.442, Kenny Miatton, without points, 1.482. Frings played an excellent first match against Raimond Burgman, which he won 50-25 in 19. The German clash against Martin Horn was won by veteran Horn 50-41 in 25.
The rankings in the Groups C and D with one match to play:
Group C:
1 Eddy Merckx 2-4-1.351-8
2 Barry van Beers 2-2-1.421-6
3 Martin Spoormans 2-2-0.958-5
4 Pierre Soumagne 2-0-0.939-3
Matches at 14.00: Van Beers-Soumagne and Merckx-Spoormans.
Group D:
1 Martin Horn 2-4-2.083-10
2 Thorsten Frings 2-2-2.068-14
3 Raimond Burgman 2-2-1.442-11
4 Kenny Miatton 2-0-1.482-8.
Matches at 16.00: Frings-Miatton and Horn- Burgman.
All matches are live on Kozoom.
Martin Horn, great performance in his first matches
Eddy Merckx on his way to win the group
Jean van Erp drew in his last match with Dustin Jäschke and is in the quarters
Kenny Miatton, strong debut with 1.482 after two matches
Dustin Jäschke, out with a good average and a ticket for next year