RIJSBERGEN - The Dutch trophy for teams was won three years in a row by the team of Dallinga from Sluiskil, that takes a bet in this week's 2016 final again. The Zeeland team, that lost Dick Jaspers and Eddy Merckx, made a step back this year and could not qualify for the playoffs in the title race. Still, many team leaders and players think that the title holder should be a strong competitor in the cup final. The best man in the league, Frédéric Caudron with 2.118 average, followed by Dick Jaspers with 1.880 and Eddy Merckx with 1.781, is still the leading player in the Dallinga team in the cup final, which is played in De Koutershof in Rijsbergen this week from Thursday 7 to Sunday, April 10.
Patrick Vasseur, the current team leader of the title holder, says in a preview: ,,We certainly have a chance and are all of the players look sharp to shine in the cup final.''
The competition in the league, the eredivisie, is coming to an end: the rankings give an idea of the individual performances. Frédéric Caudron played the best match (50 in 9 innings, 5.555), Eddy Merckx the second best 3.846, Murat Naci Coklu 3.133, Steven van Acker 3.125 and Jean van Erp 2.941. Three of those players, Caudron, Van Acker and Van Erp, are in this week's cup final.
The dream team, compiled by Biljart Point, with players who took the most points for their team, consists of Jean van Erp (98.95 percent), Eddy Merckx (97.15), Frédéric Caudron (96.85) and Henk Blauwblomme (96.80). Two of those four players (Van Erp and Caudron) show up in Rijsbergen this week.
Steven van Acker made the highest run with 19, Dave Christiani scored a 18, Stefan Galla and Eddy Merckx 17 and Frédéric Caudron 15. Three of those five players (Van Acker, Christiani and Caudron) come to the cup final.
In a summary: the cup gala is for sure an event with big names, who will attract many spectators to the billiard arena. In addition, it is more than in previous years, when Dallinga was the absolute and only contender, an open battle with more candidates to take the cup.
Seven teams from the premier league and one from the second division are divided into two groups.
The group format:
Group A:
MCR/De Uitspanning (Eddy Leppens, Dave Christiani, Thorsten Frings, Sander Jonen)
De Distel (Gerwin Valentijn, Jef Philipoom, John Tijssens, Puck van Aart)
HCR Prinsen (Anno de Kleine, Jelle Pijl, Raymund Swertz, Johan Claessen)
BV De Molen 2 (Rick Sleddens Piet Sleddens, Ad Vermeer, Rutger Elschot)
Eddy Leppens, Dave Christiany, Sander Jonen and Thorsten Frings
Group B
Buffalo.nl (Glenn Hoffman, Jean van Erp, Jeffrey Jorissen, Herman van Daalen)
Dallinga.com (Frédéric Caudron, Jean Paul de Bruijn, Steven Van Acker Patrick Vasseur, Berry Dallinga)
Post Luchtkanalen (Davy van Havere, Henk Habraken, Wilco van Wijk, Marc Celen)
VDO (Arie Weijenburg, René Wijnen, Nicky van Venrooy, Wiljan van den Heuvel).
We spoke with the team leaders and players and asked for the chances.
,,We go for the only place that counts: the win. And we even want to take the double with the title in the league. But we realize that all should go well. We are ready. Eddy (Leppens) is coming back after a difficult year. He lost more than last year and his average is much lower (1.700 to 1.400). Thorsten Frings is very important, he's really a copy of Martin Horn. I expect a lot from our team spirit. We speak a lot, being together, which is an important weapon in this kind of tournament.''
De Distel, John Tijssens:
,,My estimation is that five of the eight teams have a chance to play the final. For me, Buffalo is the main contender. For our team, it is a kind of farewell, because we fall apart after this season (John Tijssens and Hans van der Wurf to Utrecht, Gerwin Valentijn to A1 Biljarts, Jef Philipoom to De Distel 2). My main goal is: let's make it a nice weekend.''
HCR Prinsen/Michel van Silfhout:
,, We play without Dick Jaspers (played only one match in the cup) and me, which is less important, but we don't have too make many illusions. With Anno de Kleine, Jelle Pijl, Raymund Swertz and Johan Claessen, it would be a success to reach the semi-finals. Therefor we have to beat De Distel in the first round. MCR is too strong, I think. That we are in the final, actually, quite nice. In the last match we had to beat TOVV, We lost with Dick Jaspers in the away match 6-2, when TOVV played with Polychronopoulos, but won the second 6-2. Dinand Prinsen is our team coach in the cup final.''
BV De Molen 2, Ad Vermeer
,,Who could have thought that we would be in the cup final with our team? It's unbelievable for us. We were a bit lucky, of course, with the opponents in the qualifications. But now, we are here, and I told the boys just to enjoy, this will never happen again. We are absolutely without a chance, of course, against the pro teams, but we don't care. It's an unbelievable season. We also play against De Molen 1 for the title in the league. So... we are in the cup final, we will do our best and make it a wonderful weekend.''
Buffalo.nl/Cor Trampe:
,,The end of the season is wonderful for our Buffalo team. This week, the cup final, then the preliminary rounds of the European Cup and the playoffs. What a year for Buffalo with a team of only Dutch players. We said to each other: of the three missions, we want to win one at least. I think we have a chance in the cup final. We are very motivated. The strength of our team is that we always play with the same foursome, that means we have a strong collective. What shall I say, we are in the good form and will enter the final with great ambitions. But the competition is strong.''
The Buffalo team with Herman van Daalen, Glenn Hofman, Cor Trampe, Jean van Erp and Jeffrey Jorissen
Dallinga.com/Patrick Vasseur:
,,To win the cup three times in a row, is nice to look back, but it says nothing about the chances for now. We lost Dick Jaspers and Eddy Merckx and with this team we have done what we could in the league. Frédéric Caudron played a wonderful season: 12 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss and 2.18 average. Jean Paul de Bruijn was good, with ten wins out of fourteen. Steven Van Acker was very good and had a great highlight when he played against Leppens. We have a chance to reach the finals if we all play well. MCR is the major contender, we can have a shot at the podium.''
Post Luchtkanalen/Rinus Persons:
,,My team is optimistic, so I can summarize our chances. As far as we know, this is the first time that we play the cup final. We can be happy for that. Speaking about chances, I'm cautiously optimistic. Davy van Havere showed that he is dangerous for top players in his match against Jaspers (50-45 loss) a few weeks ago. He is in form. Henk Habraken is good, Wilco van Wijk showed he's ready and Marc Celen can win his matches. I really wonder where we can finish in this tournament.''
VDO, Arie Weijburg:
,, For the team, it's very nice that we are in the cup final: a great result that we've made it in the last match against Van Wanrooy. Speaking about quality, we are obviously not good enough to play a main role. Try to make a beautiful weekend, do our best, that's how we see this cup final. Nice also for Nicky van Venrooy, who has developed well this season. I, myself, won the cup final twice: once with Henk Habraken when it was played with couples and in 2002/2003 with Van Wanrooy, when our team with Blomdahl, Sánchez, Van Wanrooy and me won 8-0 in the final against Crystal Kelly. That year we also were national champion and won the European Cup.''
The organization of the tournament for the KNBB cup:
Bennie Deegens, chairmanHans Snellen, tournament director, pr
Jan van Kerkoerle, presentation, pr
Lennart Schrauwen, technical matters
Paul Brekelmans, referees
Henny Wezenbeek, sports director
Volunteers Stichting Topbiljart Zundert.
Location: De Koutershof, Rijsbergen.