3-Cushion
MALLE - The spotlights at the World championship in Viersen have been put out only two days ago. A great Belgian party closed the final day after Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Merckx were crowned as the world champions for nation teams for the fourth time in a row. In their own billiard room Salpho in Malle, the home crowd applauded for another title on Tuesday night.
The Belgian league has already come to a decision on top, four matches before the finish. De Goeie Queue/AEJ with Frédéric Caudron and Eddy Merckx and the two Dutch Dick Jaspers and Jean Paul de Bruijn, in the same line-up as in Netherlands, has completed an unbeaten series of competitions with the long-predicted championship.
The Messi's, Ronaldo's, Zlatan's and Robben's of three cushion were by far the favourites for the title and have proved their outstanding class. For the team itself it's the second title in two years in Belgium, the players themselves have no idea about the titles in different countries. Frédéric Caudron: ,,I didn't count how many team titles in Belgium'', he said just before his match against Frans van Kuyk. ,,I just remember a few, with Arcades, later with Deurne and Lugo, I think six in all the years, but I'm not sure at all.''
Unlike in the Festhalle in Viersen on Sunday, with tension until the last caroms for the players and the fanatical supporters, the champions toasted on beforehand in the Salpho. No opponent could beat the team in 17 matches before, nobody expected that Biljart Express would do it in the champion match. Frans van Kuyk, Gerwin Valentijn, Martin Spoormans and Guy van Litsenborg are all excellent billiard players, but to beat the star team in its own home, a little miracle is required.
Martin Spoormans could just have the illusion when he took an early lead against Eddy Merckx: a run of nine brought the veteran 18-4 ahead in 9 innings. A few innings later - and after Merckx had tumbled on the ground in a hilarious moment, because Spoormans moved his chair - the score was levelled to 22-20. He stayed close to the world champion, but stranded on four caroms.
The title was already there as Jean Paul de Bruijn had stripped Guy van Litsenborg at the other table without any chance (40-26 in 35). Kurt Ceulemans, the Master of ceremony, announced then: ,, We can expect a huge show in the last games, in which nothing is at stake.'' Two matches with three Dutch (Dick Jaspers, Frans van Kuyk and Gerwin Valentijn) and one Belgian (the one and only Frédéric Caudron) at the table.
The audience was not treated to a real spectacle to close the evening, despite two runs of nine by Jaspers and Caudron. Jaspers smashed his fellow villager Valentijn 50-21 in 20 innings. Caudron had a slow start against Frans van Kuyk and needed some more innings for the victory: 50-30 in 30 innings.
The championship is rewarded by 600 euros, the trophy will be handed during the Belgium Cup in Hooglede. There is a ticket for the European Cup for the champion, but this year, the second team of De Goeie Queue will show up for the preliminaries in Porto, where they meet players as Torbjörn Blomdahl and Dani Sánchez. The four top guns play with AEJ/Dallinga in Athens.
The moment was there for a balance, four matches before the end. De Goeie Queue is in the ranking ten points ahead on Deurne, eleven on Op de Meir, twelve on Herentals, thirteen on Zanzibar, fourteen on De Witte Molen and fifteen on Billiart Express, the opponent this night.
Frédéric Caudron recorded the highest average in the individual ranking ahead of Dick Jaspers, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Martin Horn and Eddy Leppens.
The top ten:
1 Frédéric Caudron 1.926
2 Dick Jaspers 1.867
3 Torbjörn Blomdahl 1.852
4 Martin Horn 1.777
5 Eddy Leppens 1.625
6 Roland Forthomme 1.589
7 Eddy Merckx 1.566
8 Jef Philipoom 1.485
9 Frans van Kuyk 1.482
10 Raimond Burgman 1.455.
(Top five in the Dutch league):
1 Dick Jaspers 2.013
2 Eddy Merckx 1.934
3 Frédéric Caudron 1.885
4 Martin Horn 1.854
5 Eddy Leppens 1.744.
Dick Jaspers is on top with match points in Belgium.
1 Dick Jaspers 34
2 Frédéric Caudron 33
3 Eddy Merckx and Jean Paul de Bruijn 32
5 Martin Horn and Christian Rudolph 27
7 Gerwin Valentijn and Kenny Miatton 25.
High runs:
Blomdahl 21
Caudron 20
Jaspers 19.
(Second league: Raymond Ceulemans 21).