3-Cushion
SCHILTIGHEIM - The French lunch he put off to three o'clock in the afternoon, two hours before his first match in the Agipi arena. During the first matches of the day (Torbjörn Blomdahl against Dong Koong Kang and Tayfun Tasdemir against Javier Palazón) he disappeared for a short nap to his hotel room. ,,I will soon be there to watch the end of the matches.''
Dick Jaspers is a professional who's living for his sport, every hour of the day. And who's thinking about what's happening inside and outside his sport. ,,Three cushion has become a lottery,'' he said for instrance about the last tournament for the World Cups in Hurghada and Antalya. ,,We can all win and lose, no matter who you meet at the table. It's amazing how players in the top and the subtop have improved.''
He refered to the night before, in the same arena, where he and Blomdahl played over three average in a match for the French league and he himself and Filipos Kasidokostas made a run of eighteen. He was referring to Dave Christiani, who played three average in a match for the cup in the Netherlands with a set (fifteen) in one inning. And to Frédéric Caudron, who excelled in a Belgium match 40 in 13 innings.
Dick Jaspers lost his number one position in the world to him, first of all due to his performances in the World Cups, in which he only made it to the semis in Matosinhos and Vienna last years. That's amazing for the Dutch, the European and the world champion.
This morning, at breakfast, he philosophized about the huge progression of many players, about the systems and the difference in materials such as the billiards. ,,I've planned to go to the Dutch federation and want to ask them if they can buy a Platin billiard for the practicing center. Because we have to play on those tables so often during the tournaments in the world. And it's so important for us to adapt as quick as we can to the tables.''
Thursday evening, before the start of the qualification in the Agipi Masters, he showed that he feels well at home at the billiards in Schiltigheim (brand Breton). He finished in his match against Blomdahl with eighteen and in one of the previous editions even with a run of 21.
He doesn't speak that much about the new system of the CEB (to 40 points instead of 50), although Jaspers prefers the 50 points and normally is a player who can grow in a match. ,,I think in any case that in the leagues in the Netherlands and in Belgium it would be better to play shorter matches. It takes too long, the four matches with a team'', he says. ,,In the Netherlands they play a whole afternoon and in the Belgian league we even have not finished at midnight. I like to play for teams, but we have to change the system. Then it will be more interesting for the crowd and for the players.''
Jaspers argues in favour of improvements in the playing system, so that problems, such as there are now with the Dutch and the French federation (the playoffs in France in the same weekend as the cup final in the Netherlands) can be prevented. ,,I said it so many times: there has been changed hardly anyting in the previous 25 years. In the Dutch league, they should play more double weekends, so on Saturday and on Sunday. Then, this problem with the French league wouldn't have happened. Why can't they sit together, one time in a year, with the federations of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany, to adjust their calendars to the programs.''
About himself, he concludes: ,,I'm a top player, I must earn my living with billiards and of course I have many commitments in other countries. Maybe it's a little selfish, but the league in the Netherlands, known as the best in the world, thanks his status to the top players. So, I think they should consider with us. I'm gonna think a lot, when I get an offer for playing in the Netherlands next year, before I sign a contract. It is almost impossible for me to play 21 weekends.''
This afternoon (17.30, against Lütfi Cenet) Jaspers starts his fifth Agipi Masters. Twice in the previous four editions, he was the winner, most of the time he was the big money maker in the tournament. In the final qualifying rounds he's playing with Marco Zanetti, Martin Horn, Lütfi Cenet and Ryuuji Umeda for advancing to the top eight.