3-Cushion
KAPELLE - Who doesn't want a picture with Dick Jaspers in the days before he's leaving for the World Cup in Suwon? Who doesn't want the signature of the Dutch, the European, the world champion and undisputed leader of the world rank in the crowded room of De Vroone in Kapelle, where Jaspers was invited for a demonstration this week?
The applause was for him, the public, more than a one hundred men, admired him and he gave them what they came for. Many highlights, many spectacular three-cushion and a touch of artistic and magic play in an entourage with a great atmosphere. In the morning there were a hundred young guys, looking at a demonstration of Jean Paul de Bruijn, Glenn Hofman, Martin Spoormans and others. The evening session was for Dick Jaspers.
On Tuesday the Dutchman will leave for Korea with a new mission: trying to win his first World Cup of this season. After that, he stays in Seoul for one more week, for a tournament with players as Dani Sánchez, Eddy Merckx, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Tayfun Tasdemir.
Jaspers will defend the number one position in the world in Suwon in a field with all the top players. The ambition is always extremely, because Jaspers is playing all his matches with a big motivation, with the focus and the character that makes him so strong, whether it is the Agipi Masters, a World Cup, a small tournament, a major championship or a match with his team in a national league. ,,It's just the tension that makes the difference in a big and major championship. Every player has that feeling, even though you have a lot of experience and routine.''
The success in the two World Cups so far (Matosinhos and Trabzon) was less than last year in the World Cups and this year in the World Championship in Lima and the European championship in Porto, where the Dutch flag was hoisted in top and Jaspers was on the highest podium. ,,This is even not my best year so far'', he hastens to say. What about the year 1997, when he played in three of four finals of the World Cup and he won his first World Cup overall? Or the year of 2008 when he won four of six World Cups?
,,Nevertheless, it's very special to win the two most important tournaments in one year, certainly the most beautiful titles there are. When I won my first World Cup, people thought I had become the World champion. I said: no, that's not how it's working in billiards, a World Cup is not a world championship.'' That World title he won again now, for the third time in his career. ,,And I've always been honest about it, winning individual championships are highlights in your career that you'll never forget. I played a superb record average in the Dutch league last year, but an individual performance still has a much higher priority.''
Two weeks after winning his World title, Jaspers traveled back to South America for a tournament in Argentina, won by Frédéric Caudron. ,,That was a very special feeling again, a return to Buenos Aires, the city and country which have such a magical sound due to their former champions and organizations of World championships, even though it has been slipped down somewhat in recent years.'' The World championship in Peru did have a certain grandeur again. ,,I had expected some more public, actually, but I won, I enjoyed it, it made an indelible impression on me.''
He likes to look back, of course, to the sparkling, breathtaking final against Marco Zanetti at the end of the tournament, with two totally differend cultures at the billiard: the Dutchman always imperturbable, never loosing his concentration to come to that one, great goal: winning the title. The Italian with the same drive, with his explosive nature, his typical southern temperament. The billiard world still parroted a long time about this final, not least because of the collision of the two cultures.
Dick: ,,Marco was disturbed already after some innings, he was irritated by the noise, so that he could not concentrate, he said. He stopped the match, because he wanted the best atmosphere to play, but there was a football match on tv which was shown in the hallway. I'm a professional, I just wanted to play, but I can understand that he lost his concentration.''
Dick Jaspers has his own opinion about his opponent in this final: ,,Marco is who he is, with some strange tricks and behaviour at the billiard. He thinks that players like us, for instance Eddy Merckx and even Frédéric Caudron, have too little charisma and sometimes are boring, but we always try to be correctly and want to play attractive as well. Dutch and Belgian players simply are different. If I see Marco doing like he did in the final, jumping and making strange movements, I think, is it because he wants to disturb the concentration of his opponent? Or is it because he just wants to make some show and ask the attention of the public? I would never do something like that. The audience would think: what about Jaspers, was he drinking something wrong before the match?''
But actually, Jaspers didn't care, he played his own game, he didn't lose his focus at all. ,,We've seen more bad things with Marco, unfortunately, in recent years, that's why many people don't like him, but don't forget that he is a fantastic billiard play. The punishment he has received from the UMB, has even made him better, perhaps. Marco will always be a player who shows his emotions. He is who he is, but when I had won the final in Lima, he showed himself a great sportsman and a good loser, like he always is. Actually, I like it that there are so many different players with their own oddities. For me it's the same, I don't care when I have to play them.''
The new year in billiards will be a special year for him. For the first time Jaspers will not play in the Dutch league. The conflict about participating in the play-offs with the top four finishing teams has caused a break between the multiple champion and cup holder, Van Donge en De Roo, not only with Jaspers, but also Torbjörn Blomdahl, Martin Horn and Jean van Erp.
,,We were advised by the sponsor not to inscribe for the new competition if the system would be maintained. We are absolutely opposed, we don't want play-offs anymore, because for years we had a comfortable lead at the end of the competition, but still we have to duel with four teams for the title with a small chance that we don't win. This is a kind of distortion of the competition, we think.''
Jaspers thinks the competition is already much too long for players like him with a full program in World Cups, championships, tournaments and in other countries. ,,I can imagine that other players, who don't have an international program, say, we're happy with this competition, we love it, going to play billiards for 22 weekends. But for top players like us it's different. I would welcome a reduction in playing dates, for instance to a competition which could be played in groups of six and then with a final weekend to play for the title. In any case, the Dutch league urgently needs another system after 25 years.''
The champion himself has plenty of other competitions to play. He will participate in Belgium (BC Deurne), Germany (Magdenburg), France (Andernos) and Portugal (FC Porto). It will be busy enough with all those weekends where I play internationally. I have two children going to school, they sometimes want to spoil a few days with their father of course, although I don't use that as an excuse. For the competition, I'm just disappointed in the federation that they didn't change the rules. I hope that they will make allowance with the international players in a near future.''
Finally, Dick Jaspers doesn't understand that the European federation (CEB) has created a new game format (matches of 40 caroms, a time limit of 40 seconds). He doesn't think it's hopeful for the future of billiard players and audience. ,,I can accept when they want to shorten the matches, but less time for preparing the shot will not help us any further with our sport. I'm a sportsman, my first ambition is to improve the quality of the game. I know, of course, that there have been a lot of matches in five-set which were terribly long in the past, but when two top players meet each other, playing to forty caroms, it really won't take a longer than one hour and fifteen minutes to finish.''
,,I don't want to be the player who always complains,'' Jaspers says. ,,But I think the quality of the game, with ten seconds less, doesn't have any more value. We know how to sell our sport very well. I'm not walking around the table for three or four times when the carom is easy to make, but if a match is horribly exciting, in an important tournament, the clock will be our biggest enemy. That's not good at all for our sport and moreover it has never been proven that shorter games and less time have led to a bigger number of spectators.''