3-Cushion
LOMMEL - He is not one of the famous players in the country with so many world-class players. Yet Frank de Groof from Schelle, near Antwerp, has the potential to play a big tournament. The underdog in a group with Roland Forthomme and Jef Philipoom is still among the big guns in the Superprestige in Lommel, after he had qualified for the finals.
Roland Forthomme was the expected group leader with three wins. Frank de Groof was the surprising second: he bested in his second match Kenny Miatton and closed the evening session with a victory over Jef Philipoom. The former world champion was beaten by a strongly played run of ten, which gave De Groof a decisive advantage. The score at the end: 40-30 in 27 innings.
It is the first time that Frank Groof is in the quarters of a major Belgian tournament. That was his main goal when he traveled to Lommel, where he only lost his first match against Roland Forthomme 40-36 in 22.
The big clash in this group was the match between Forthomme and Philipoom, two great players with the ambition to continue in the knock-out stage. The battle had two faces. Roland Forthomme had a very bad start, trailed 23-12 in 22 innings, but then put on the turbo with runs of 8 and 6 and won 40-30 in 35.
The final ranking in Group B
1 Roland Forthomme 6-1.463-8
2 Frank de Groof 4-1.430-10
3 Jef Philipoom 2-1.111-9
4 Kenny Miatton 0-1.011-5
Tonight (Wednesday) group C is on the program. The organizer of the tournament and newly married Eddy Leppens will enter the arena, his opponents are Peter De Backer, Kurt Ceulemans and Thomas Broux.
Will there be another surprise after Ronny Daniels and Frank de Groof? You can follow the matches live on Kozoom from 18.00, for Premium pass holders.