3-Cushion
LOMMEL – They were not all morning people, the players who came to the tables at 11.00 this morning for the first quarterfinals of the Cuvino Superprestige. Both matches started off slow, two of the players Roland Forthomme (playing Eddy Merckx) and Peter Ceulemans (playing Jef Philipoom) could not get going at all.
Two interim scores show how troublesome it all was:
Forthomme-Merckx after 16 innings: 15-17.
Philipoom-Ceulemans after 17 innings: 17-7.
But eventually, the two former world champions showed their class. Eddy Merckx used his 16th and 18th inning to sprint away: 15-33, and finished the match in the 23d inning: 40-19.
Jef Philipoom meanwhile, a loud partisan crowd behind him, had an explosive finish. He ran a 13, to leave Peter Ceulemans shellshocked at 40 – 13 after 25 innings.
Eddy Merckx, leader of the Belgian ranking, did not play very well at first, but he improved as the match went on and resistance from Roland Forthomme was minimal. Especially in his position play, did the 2007 (Sankt Wendel) world champion show his brilliance.
,,Yes, the beginning was tough. We were trying to make life hard for the other one, that had something to do with it” said Merckx. ,,And finally, some positions started to appear on the table. I finished with a 5, the 3d one being a fluke. That happens.''
Jef Philipoom said afterwards: ,,I did not play very well, but was Lucky not to leave my opponent with anything easy. And thanks to that 13, I did not use all that many innings after all.''
A supporter commented: ,,You should have made that 10 and that 13 at Agipi. You would have made some money.''
Philipoom, and typical for him: ,,I’d rather have the wine than a few euro’s.''
Is Jef Philipoom still on Cloud Nine, now that his international season has been rescued by a private sponsor? ,,It’s possible.'' But it also shows how strange preparing for a tournament can be. ,,I’ve played about 8 practice matches, and they were all bad. But in the last two, I could feel some form coming to life.''
Jef’s opponent Peter Ceulemans, last year’s finalist, did not have a ready explanation for his disappointing flight matches and equally weak quarterfinal. ,,I do feel like playing, but I see problems everywhere, on the table. It’s as if everything I do is difficult. And if you don’t score, the balls are never going to be kind to you.''
Merckx will play his semifinal against the winner of the De Backer-Spoormans match.
Philipoom playes the winner of Leppens-Caudron.