DEN HAAG/ZUNDERT - The title belonged mostly to Glenn Hofman, but also to the collective, to The Hague-style moxie, to the loyal supporters and that beautiful city behind the dunes. The anthem of the new Dutch team champion, an evergreen by Klein Orkest and Harry Jekkers, sounded from the stands in Zundert after Glenn Hofman had made the last point in the final of the play-offs. The all-Dutch foursome won the title on this sun soaked day, after a tense battle with STZ Zundert. On Saturday, the team from the Hague won 6-2, a day later, in the lion's den, Glenn Hofman and Jeffrey Jorissen finished the job and 4-4 was enough to set off the mother of all parties, in the craziest but possibly best billiards room in the Netherlands: Cafe Jorissen in The Hague.
The tear shed by Herman van Daalen during the ceremony said it all, it spoke to the emotions brought on by this title. Several dozen of the supporters that had made the trip to Zundert were beside themselves. Glenn Hofman, after his double win over Roland Forthomme, tried to curb his enthusiasm. Team captain Jeffrey Jorissen embraced one singing fan after another. Jean van Erp, a winner against Peter Ceulemans yesterday, today he had no chance, walked around like a man stunned. Herman van Daalen kept hugging every single person who came near him.
The regular season and the play-offs were the conclusion of a season in which the lead kept changing from team to team. In the final rounds, the team of MCR lost the lead due to internal squabbles and a sanction from the federation. In addition, they lost the semi-finals of the play-off to STZ/Zundert. In the other leg, Buffalo took care of A1 Biljarts in a double encounter, creating this past weekend as a climax.
The team from Brabant chased its fifth tiitle: three times the Teletronika team won in Den Hoek, and once Van Donge en De Roo, twenty years ago. Buffalo.nl made its entry to the Eredivisie three years ago, then headed by Raymond Ceulemans. In the past years, it formed a (dream) team with Glenn Hofman, Jean van Erp, Jeffrey Jorissen and Herman van Daalen. In that line-up, they turned 2015-2016 into a super year, with their participation in the Europa Cup, the Dutch Cup final and the play-offs for the title.
Cor Trampe, the team captain who had regrettably planned his Florida holiday in this week, was replaced by Ferry van der Veen, who praised Trampe. ,,He turned this foursome into a fantastic collective.'' How intensely will Cor Trampe, a few thousand miles away, have followed the news from home in this unforgettable weekend.
,,We were outsiders in all three events'', said Jeffrey Jorissen. ,,It was a miracle we had gotten that far in the first place.'' Two of the team's chances went up in smoke: in the Europa Cup against Andernos, in the Cup final against De Distel. On this Sunday afternoon, in the title fight with STZ, it was finally a grand slam home run.
The 6-2 win at home meant that the team needed three points or more from the return. In the first session, both teams were even at 2-2. Jeffrey Jorissen did well for Buffalo with his golden finish. Barry van Beers had started the match like a rocket, running 9 and 7 in the first two innings, to create a 24-5 lead. But the second half of the match went the other way, Jorissen fought his way back to 40-39 and then produced a closing run of 11.
Raymon Groot evened it out against Herman van Daalen, mostly thanks to a run of 11 and some strong play after halftime. The 2-2 meant that Buffalo needed just one more win or a draw, to take the title.
Jean van Erp could not deliver in his match against Peter Ceulemans. The Belgian got his revenge for Saturday's loss, and even managed to completely outplay his opponent: 50-22 in 32.
For The Hague, all were now on Glenn Hofman, who faced Roland Forthomme, the number 9 player in the world, for the third time in two weeks. Earlier in the season, Forthomme had beaten Hofman three times in three meetings. But in the weekend that mattered most, 26-year old Hofman turned out to be an excellent team player. In front of a capacity crowd in Zundert, he remained cool and focused when the tension was at its peak and the match was on a knife's edge.
On Saturday, Hofman had beaten Forthomme 50-47 in 36. This time, a tactical, defensive match was played, with Forthomme well below his usual level. ,,I played defense all the time, and scored whenever I saw an opening'', said Hofman later about his game plan. The crucial part of the match was around the 30-point mark, when Forthomme got back into it with a run of 5, but Hofman responded with a 7 and a 5 of his own. When he got over the line, all of The Hague exploded: 50-39.
The room sang "champions, champions", and then ,,O, o, Den Haag, mooie stad achter de duinen.'' Buffalo.nl was the champion, the best team in the Eredivisie. How nice of an ending to the season it was for the team, and for the team manager on his well deserved but poorly scheduled Florida holiday. The supporters wasted no time and took off for their home room, where celebrations awaited.
,,The true inhabitants of The Hague did it today'', said Glenn Hofman with a smirk and a smile, after he had enjoyed his first few beers. But he immediately proceeded to praise the collective, where every player of the four worked hard to make up for a loss by one of his teammates, and all four had every right to claim ownership of this historic success. Naturally, Hofman was the MVP of the play-offs, with his win over Eddy Merckx and his double win over Roland Forthomme. And how important had Jeffrey Jorissen been, even when he was outplayed on Saturday? His majestic closing run on Sunday made all the difference.
For Glenn Hofman, young as he may still be, it is already his third Dutch team title. Twice he won it with Dallinga, as fourth player in a team with Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Leppens and Jean Paul de Bruijn. ,,This one is of course much more special'', he realized. ,,With all those stars, it was not so difficult to win the championship. Now that I am leading an all-Dutch team, this title is a thing of beauty and a rare success.''
The new champions with Glenn Hofman, Jean van Erp, teamleader Ferry van der Veen, Jeffrey Jorissen and Herman van Daalen
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Glenn Hofman and his wife Andrea show the trophy after his team took the title
Jeffrey Jorissen, the other matchwinner, with his wife Samantha
Party time with the fans after the Hague team returned to its home cafe