3-Cushion
LOMMEL - On the battlefield at the Superprestige in Lommel two finals were played in Friday night in four matches. The most notable match was a rarely seen punishment by Eddy Leppens, who took a 30-0 lead against Steven van Acker, finished at 40-3. In the equalizer Steven van Acker scored five points, for a final score 40-8 in 17. Peter Ceulemans was quite superior in the match against Marco Janssen with intermediate scores 16-4, 24-16 and 34-17. The debutant came back strongly in his last innings to 40-35 in 31 (1290/1129).
The scenario in the two other matches was mainly spectacular in the bump between Frédéric Caudron and Jef Philipoom and very surprising in the fight between Martin Spoormans and Eddy Merckx. Frédéric Caudron entertained the crowded house in De Adelberg with one of his fabulous final prints. Jef Philipoom started furiously and left his opponent far behind after the start: 13-3 after a run of ten, then 23-13 and 31-18 in 19 innings.
Three innings later, after a sudden revival in which Caudron showed his world class, the match was closed! The all-round champion had a fabulous slot with runs of five, ten and five, bringing him to a score 40-35 in 22 innings (1.818/1.531). Jef Philipoom, so much stronger than in the group stage, was stunningly left behind by the title holder.
Martin Spoormans, who was also close to victory against Caudron, showed up in the sensation of the evening. With a blistering start, the masterful entertainer put his opponent Eddy Merckx on a big margin: 22-6 in seven innings. The audience was waiting for the comeback of Merckx, but he couldn't recover: Spoormans ran out to 30-15, to 37-18 and after a seven run of Merckx to 40-28 in 21 innings.
With Merckx, Forthomme and Philipoom three contenders are out of the tournament now.
Eddy Leppens in his match against Steven van Acker
Jef Philipoom in a blistering start against Caudron
The semi-finals this afternoon, Saturday, at 14.00 are:
Eddy Leppens-Martin Spoormans
Frédéric Caudron-Peter Ceulemans.
The final is at 17.00.
Jef Philipoom enjoys the crowded house