Dave Christiani takes his first Grand Prix win

CAPELLE AAN DE IJSSEL - Dave Christiani has won his first three cushion Grand Prix in the Netherlands. The Limburg player defeated Jean Paul de Bruijn, his last rival, in the final match at the Grand Prix in Capelle aan den IJssel: 40-23 in 20 innings. ,,I have been waiting a long time, because I lost three times in a final, now I finally magaged to win'', beamed Christiani, who rose on the national ranking to third place behind Raimond Burgman and Barry Beers. Dick Jaspers, who could not play in this last Grand Prix, finished fourth. These four players are the leaders of the four groups at the Masters in 2017.

Dave Christiani stated that he had not been on his very best, but he played solid and turned to be the best under pressure on the final day. In the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon, against Jerry Hermans, it was a narrow escape, 40-39 won by the Limburg player. The Brabant camping boss, who played a very strong tournament, was eliminated in the last four.

The victory came for Dave Christiani after two nasty weeks when he had to leave the World Cup in Hurghada. ,,It will never happen again, now I look forward. This win makes me very happy.''

Jean Paul de Bruijn and Barry vab Beers played a breathtaking semifinal clash. De Bruijn equalized by four to 40-40 in 32 innings. The shootout turned three times into a draw: 1-1, 2-2 and 2-2. Then, Van Beers missed the break and De Bruijn scored one time.

Raimond Burgman finished with the highest average in Capelle aan den IJssel (1.783), Jean Paul de Bruijn made the highest run, 17.

The final score in the last Grand Prix:

1 Dave Christiani 1.435-9
2 Jean Paul de Bruijn 1.502-17
3 Jerry Hermans 1.217-9
4 Barry van Beers 1.337-7
5 Raimond Burgman 1.783-13
6 Glenn Hofman 1.267-13
7 Ad Koorevaar 1.272-9
8 Jeffrey Jorissen 1.241-8
9 Martien van der Spoel 1.442-7
10 Adrie Demming 1.049-7
11 Wim van Cromvoirt 0.948-6
12 Huub Wilkowski 1.260-10
13 Frans van Schaik 1.103-7
14 Raymon Groot 1.138-6
15 Jean van Erp 1.330-7
16 Herman Slikker 1.147-10

The draw for the Kling KNBB Masters:

Group A:
Raimond Burgman
Jean Paul de Bruijn
Jeffrey Jorissen
Therese Klompenhouwer

Group B:
Barry van Beers
Glenn Hoffman
Martien van der Spoel
Jeffrey van Nijnatten

Group C:
Dave Christiani
Jean van Erp
Frans van Schaik
Huub Wilkowski

Group D:
Dick Jaspers
Jerry Hermans
Ad Koorevaar
Roland Uijtdewillegen