CAPELLE – Dick Jaspers won the Grand Prix in Capelle aan den IJssel last Saturday evening. It felt like a moral victory for the Dutch billiards player, who struggled with a slight decline in form in recent months. In this final Dutch Grand Prix of the year, he left the entire Dutch billiards elite behind. In the final, Jaspers defeated Raymund Swertz, the all-around billiards player, 40-29 in 24 innings. With this victory, Jaspers climbed to the top of the rankings and qualified as number one for the Masters, the Dutch three-cushion championship in Berlicum, which will be played from January 14 to 18, 2026. The top sixteen players in the rankings earned a ticket to the Masters, with Dick Jaspers, Glenn Hofman, Jean van Erp, Jean Paul de Bruijn and Sam van Etten occupying the top five spots. Two players managed to qualify for the top 16 in the final tournament: Raymund Swertz and John van der Stappen. That came at the expense of Frans van Schaik, Joey de Kok, Gert-Jan van der Veen and Volkan Cetin, among others.
Dick Jaspers remained undefeated with six wins, three of which came in the group stage with an average of 1.578. In the knockout rounds with 16, Jaspers was a model of consistency, scoring 40 caroms in 21, 25, 24 and 26 innings. The Brabant native first defeated Frans van Schaik 40-31 in 21 innings (1.904), in the quarterfinals Jaspers beat Raimond Burgman 40-28 in 25 innings (1.600), in the semifinals Jaspers was the better of Jean van Erp 40-29 in 24 innings (1.666), and finally in the final, he defeated Raymund Swertz 40-29 in 26 innings (1.538).
With this victory, Jaspers overtook the leading player after three GP events, Glenn Hofman. The Hague player, who is in excellent form for several months, was unable to excel this time. Hofman lost in the first round of the knockouts to John van der Stappen, an outsider in this field, 40-36 in 31. Van der Stappen seized his last chance to play for the Masters final. Among the top sixteen, Gert-Jan van der Veen was also a surprise winner against Huub Wilkowski (40-32 in 37/36), Kay de Zwart defeated Jeffrey Jorissen 40-38 in 45/45, Jean van Erp executed Jean Paul de Bruijn 40-36 in 38, and Raimond Burgman defeated Dave Christiani 40-24 in 37/36. Other winners were Barry van Beers against Erwin Kivits and Raymund Swertz against Jack van Peer.
In the last eight, Gert-Jan van der Veen surprised John van der Stappen 40-24 in 39/38, Raymund Swertz defeated Kay de Zwart 40-37 in 47/46, Jean van Erp beat Berry van Beers 40-25 in 32/31, and Dick Jaspers won against Raimond Burgman 40-28 in 25/24. Raymund Swerts shone in the best match of this final day, defeating Gert-Jan van der Veen 40-13 in 17/16 (2.352 on average, run 12) in the semifinals. Dick Jaspers defeated Jean van Erp 40-29 in 24. Dick Jaspers and Raymund Swertz remained evenly matched for a long time in the battle for Grand Prix gold, reaching 20-17 in 11 and 29-27 in 19. Jaspers then launched his attack to victory 40-29 in 26.
This year's four Grand Prix tournaments were won by Glenn Hofman in Doetinchem and Oosterhout, and Dick Jaspers in Sittard and Capelle aan den IJssel. Jaspers achieved the highest tournament average in Sittard with a score of 2.137. The highest runs were made by Jean van Erp with 17, and Huub Wilkowski, Raymund Swertz, and Erwin Kivits, all 16.
The players in the top 35 of the rankings all played in the four Grand Prix tournaments. Only Raymund Swertz and Dick Jaspers missed the tournament in Oosterhout due to commitments in France. The all-round player therefore had to reach a top ranking in the final Grand Prix. He achieved this by reaching the final against Dick Jaspers.
A total of 225 players participated in one or more Grand Prix tournaments this year. Joeri Wilkowski and Jayden van Buren were the youngest players on the circuit. They finished in 99th and 100th place.
Glenn Hofman, two winst in 4 Grand Prix events
Jean van Erp, the traditional top player in Holland, third place in the rankings
The rankings after four Grand Prix tournaments:
1. Dick Jaspers 428 points, 1,719
2. Glenn Hofman 376, 1,739
3. Jean van Erp 256, 1,456
4. Jean Paul de Bruijn 248, 1,403
5. Sam van Etten 216, 1,361
6. Barry van Beers 208, 1,294
7. Dave Christiani 192, 1,375
8. Adrie Demming 180, 1,210
9. Kay de Zwart 176, 1,116
10. Jeffrey Jorissen 172, 1,468
11. Huub Wilkowski 172, 1,201
12. Raymund Swertz 164, 1,303
13. Raimond Burgman 148, 1,265
14. Erwin Kivits 140, 1,298
15. Harrie van de Ven 136, 1,145
16. John van der Stappen 136, 1,036
Reserves:
Gert-Jan van der Veen 136, 0.943
Joey de Kok 112, 1.218
Volkan Cetin 112, 1.058
Paul Bruijstens 112, 1.045
Frans van Schaik 104, 1.044
Jack van Peer 100, 0.995
Sander Jonen 88, 0.894
Tom Beemsterboer 85, 0.961
Joris van ’t Zelfden 82, 0.996.