AGEN/ANDERNOS - The 62-year-old French billiard referee Hervé Lacombe from Agen between Bordeaux and Toulouse has already made his schedule for the new year in world billiards. His last major tournament was the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, his first World Cup will be in Sharm El Sheikh in his favorite country, Egypt. But first of all he is looking forward to the Kozoom Challenge Cup from 29 September to 1 October with the eight final players. Hervé Lacombe is a world referee with a passion for photography. No top billiard player in the world, or Hervé has brought him in front of his camera. To his regret, he missed the Seoul World Cup last week, where a young French player, Gwendal Maréchal, made his breakthrough on the international stage. ''I took a few weekends off with my family''. But as we know Hervé Lacombe, the focus is back on billiards from the next few weeks.
Kozoom had an interview with the referee in the run-up to the Challenge: a look into Hervé Lacombe's personal life, but most of all a picture of his activities in the world of billiards.
Passport:
Name: Hervé Lacombe
Age: 62 years
Residence: Agen
Married to: Ghada since 1982
Children: Two sons, Cyril (37) and Lucas (31)
Profession: Territorial manager at Electricité de France and Gaz de France, retired since 2015.
Frits Bakker/Kozoom: How long are you in the world of billiards now, mainly as a referee, but also as a player?
Hervé Lacombe: I wanted to be referee from the moment I got my first license from the French billiard federation. That was at the Castres club in 1994. I became an official federal referee in 2005, then a CEB referee in 2011 and UMB referee in 2017. But of course, I am also a player myself, otherwise I would not be able to referee. I mainly play three cushion and one cushion. I am a modest player with 0.500 on average in three cushion and 2.50 in one cushion. My best result was a bronze medal at the French championships with a 2.58 on average.
Kozoom/FB: What have been your favorite tournaments as a referee so far?
Hervé Lacombe: I had the opportunity and the pleasure to referee many international events and matches. If I look at the best memories, these are the 2016 World Three cushion Championship in Bordeaux, where I counted the final between Dani Sánchez and Haeng Jik Kim. The first 3CC Masters with imposed points in Seoul in July 2018, where I learned to know very friendly, considerate people, who are passionate about three cushion. Furthermore, the first Europe-Asia meeting in Eysines (near Bordeaux) in December 2018. And of course all the World Cups I had the pleasure of refereeing in Egypt, a country where I feel at home and where I have many friends thanks to billiards. And finally the fantastic experience of the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama which I refereed together with my colleague and friend Paulus Brekelmans this year.
Kozoom/FB: What is your philosophy as a referee, what is your main task and role at the table?
Hervé Lacombe: My role as an arbiter consists first of all in having trust and mutual respect with the player. I want to be a facilitator to ensure that the matches run smoothly. To do this, I try to be systematically well placed to see the points without disturbing the player and to make announcements in a clear and audible voice at the right tempo.
Kozoom/FB: Does a referee have his favorite players to count? And which players are wonderful for you to watch or count?
Hervé Lacombe: I don't have a real favorite. And I referee with the same concentration at every level. I have no preferences to count players, but my dream is to one day count the high run, which will become the new world record. My favorite players? It is impossible to answer this question, because there are so many! I can speak about what I like about their characteristics or the way they play certain points. For example, Dani Sánchez with the purity of ball control. The zigzag points of Eddy Merckx. The three-cushion style of the Turkish school. The broad smile and the pleasure of playing of young Korean Myung Woo Cho. The hasty steps around the table of Torbjörn Blomdahl when he is in a high run. And the fluid play and speed in the balk-line games of Raymund Swertz and Brahim Djoubri. The fantasy of play of the Colombian player José Juan Garcia. The impressive 'points machine' that Dick Jaspers is. There is so much to say about so many other players of all nationalities, great champions for whom I have a lot of respect and admiration and whom I always enjoy refereeing.
Hervé Lacombe, world referee with a passion for photography
Kozoom/FB: When did your passion for photography start?
Hervé Lacombe: I have my passion for photography since I was 10 years old. I started taking pictures of players as soon as I became a referee and I enjoy doing it. And generally players like it and appreciate my pictures.
Kozoom/FB: Do you like the system and the ambiance in the Kozoom Challenge Cup?
Hervé Lacombe: I like the game format, especially in the last Challenge, because it is a nice opportunity for the 6 players present per round and the other people (referees, writers, camera people of Kozoom staff) to get to know each other better. For referees, it is still just three-cushion, but there are some subtleties due to the fact that all three balls are match balls, even though that may cause some misunderstandings among the players. Unfortunately, there is no audience in the preliminaries, but the playing conditions and the quality of the replays are excellent. I would like to invite everyone to the final, which will be played at Ares near Andernos from
29 September to 1 October. And this time hopefully with a lot of audience.
Kozoom/FB: How was your summer holiday after all the hustle and bustle in billiards?
Hervé Lacombe: I spent some weekends with my family in the Lot, in the Midi Pyrenees. I was at the organization of a friendly tournament at the Agen club, to the ballads with Loki, my dog, we walk together in the morning 8 to 10 kilometers. The summer went by very quickly, but I also have holidays in autumn, winter and spring (lol). And after the Challenge it is already looking forward to the World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh and the European Championship in Antalya, with maybe a few more surprises.
Thank you Hervé, for the pleasant interaction during the tournaments and for the wonderful pictures. Good luck at the Kozoom Challenge Cup and in the coming season.
Kozoom
Hervé Lacombe with his wife Ghada at the World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh
Hervé Lacombe, during one of his world events
Hervé Lacombe (middle) with the referees at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, second right Paul Brekelmans from the Netherlands