3-Cushion
Has the attractive and flashy style of format in the Duke Challenge in Holland put the future of traditional billiards in the spotlights? Can it all be better, faster and more exciting in three cushion billiards with the players in modern outfits? And will this make billiards more suitable as a public sport for TV channels and internet? The top players in the Dutch Duke tournament, where Dick Jaspers was a phenomenal winner, have spoken out for innovations last week and to experiment with revolutionary playing formats. The question, however, remains if these new formats are suitable for big tournaments like the World Championships and World Cups.
The first billiard balls to roll after ten months of enforced rest, in the Duke tournament with European top guns, have caused quite a stir. Three cushion needs an injection of rejuvenation and renewal to captivate the television audience. The Duke Challenge, in the luxurious, Brabant enclave, was a model for innovations in all respects, matches that can make three cushion sport more exciting and images that must be able to reach younger, potential viewers.
Three of the world's high class players in the Duke Challenge, Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti and Semih Sayginer, had discussions with other players during and after the tournament. The general feelings were that the Duke Challenge, in the midst of this COVID crisis, has set the gaze forward. ''We want to use these experiences to talk to the federations (UMB, CEB), to organisations and to plead for a new image of our sport.''
''We have to make billiards more popular and move with the times'', Dick Jaspers (55) commented in an interview that appeared in the media. ''People who watched the live broadcasts were very enthusiastic, because there was constantly tension and the players were under pressure all the time. The matches were never boring, playing sets can go up and down all the way. Even when you are hopelessly behind, the game can still turn around. This Duke tournament was a role model for the future of billiards.''
Did players, organisers and hopefully the federations get a wake-up call during the Corona months? The Duke Challenge attacked the protocol with a knock-out system, one match table in the arena, cameras around the playing field to record all matches for TV and internet, short, dynamic games. And players who could choose their own clothes other than the traditional black, with modern, colourful t-shirts and white or even red sneakers. The Kozoom Challenge, which is played over a longer period this spring near the French west coast in Andernos, already has set this trend, with a different format, three players in a group, summery outfits, short sets and live footage of all matches.
But of course, Korean billiard culture, with the new PBA competitions, has already set the tone. The professional, new organisation, where Frédéric Caudron, Filippos Kasidokostas and young Spaniards David Martinez and Javier Palazón are the star players amidst hundreds of Koreans, has no need to follow the UMB rules. The PBA has set its own rules, like with scoring system (two points for a bank shot, an improvised break shot) and organises tournaments in an ambiance with lots of show and entertainment. The Asians are the forerunners, inspired by tens of thousands of professionals, amateur players and fans in their country and daily live images on TV canals.
The European stronghold, still with its great resume of champions, also wants to introduce a new trend for the new start and, after COVID, and enter into a dialogue with the federations. In the much-praised Duke Challenge, players discussed between the matches. Dick Jaspers said: ''We want our sport to be more dynamic, to bring it on TV and to captivate many spectators. The shot clock used to be sixty seconds in the past, now it is thirty. And if it goes down to twenty seconds later on, as played in Korea last weekend, I will deal with it. We are professional players, world class billiards and entertainment should make our sport attractive.''
Dick Jaspers: we have to make our sport more popular and bring it to television
Semih Sayginer on the Ziggo Sport microfon: we can attract more and bigger sponsors
Semih Sayginer argued: ''This is the time for a revolution in our sport. The Duke Challenge has shown that. The comments afterwards were that everyone loves this format with short sets. Players and viewers. The matches are dynamic from start to finish, TV audience loves it. This is an important moment for all of us. We want to make billiards more professional, bigger and better. I myself have put myself in the shoes of the TV crowd. And if we want to get more and new viewers, we have to show our sport like it was in this Duke tournament. With modern, sporty clothes, thrilling formats we can attract more and bigger sponsors.''
The Duke Challenge, and soon the Kozoom Challenge come up, are perfect examples. Semih Sayginer: ''We could also think of a BMW Challenge, a Mercedes Challenge and other famous multinationals. The organisers surely want to participate in this development. The ambiance, the venu and the way players were treated in the Duke Challenge was in one word fantastic. I got the feeling here that we are top athletes, that our sport is important. I do think that we should apply these systems in invitational tournaments, not in UMB tournaments, like World Cups. We must avoid that players travel from one side of the world to the other. And then play knock-out, three short sets and finish within one hour. The experiment is good for new and invitational events, not for the world's championships for the time being.''
Marco Zanetti, fired up as well by the Duke Challenge, wants to apply the new, exciting formats only on invitational tournaments. The Italian, one of the seasoned players with a long history, doesn't want the development should go too fast. Zanetti: ''I personally think that in World Cups and other major championships we should play according to the current UMB rules. We may not forget that recent World Cups in Veghel and Antalya, were wonderful tournaments. I would plead that we continue in official tournaments the traditional formats, to more caroms, longer distance, so that players get the chance to show their skills with wonderful averages and high runs.''
Marco Zanetti: every match in this format is a battle of nerves
The Italian two-time world champion however is convinced that the future of three cushion is in need of innovations. ''The Duke Challenge has shown well why and how billiards can be a perfect TV sport. Every match in this system is a 'battle of nerves', attractive and often a psychological fight. We must promote this in all kinds of events. I think our world federation should consider, for example, whether the Survival system, which originated in Korea, is interesting for UMB tournaments. The billiard sport must innovate, experiment, certainly with the dress code as well: I would like that the player himself decides what to wear: the traditional clothes, t-shirts, shoes, trousers. But playing a World Cup in Vietnam, for example, in the traditional clothing with a tight shirt and bow tie, when it's 40 degrees, we can't do that to the players anymore. So..., why not, let's give it a try.''
Peter Ceulemans, Jean van Erp and Antonio Montes in front of the Duke hotel where the Challenge was played