BERLICUM - The moment was crucial and fatal. Sam van Etten, the still youthful North-Holland billiard player passed the time clock in his match for group win against Dick Jaspers, offering the stoic multi-champion an almost unmissable opportunity. Victory went to Jaspers, with Sam van Etten missing in his equalizer on 40-37 in 24 innings. It will more than likely that his miss has no effect on qualification: Sam van Etten is still in a comfortable position despite that loss to Jaspers. And making up the balance: the two seeded players after the second day are Jean van Erp and Glenn Hofman.
Where did Glenn Hofman thunder off to when he got off to a whirlwind start in the last evening match in the Hague derby against Jeffrey Jorissen: by making 8 just before the break to leads of 23-2, later 29-4 and 32-4 in 8, 11 and 13 innings. Finally, there was a big sweep by 40-17 in Hofmans favor in 15 innings (2.667) after a final run again of 8. That was the best match over two days, the second best surprisingly coming in the name of Erwin Kivits, also playing in this group.
Will Hofman, coming back so much stronger from his Korean adventure, turn out to be the big threat to Jaspers and the other routines men and ex-winners with title ambitions after his final place last year? Anyway, he showed his great form in the first two days at this Masters with two sovereign victories. And the question is also: can Hofman qualify for the World championship for nation teams in Viersen, where Jean Paul de Bruijn is already one player and Jaspers/Hofman the main contenders for the second position.
What happened before on the second day? The red and white colours at the top of the stands could cheer for Jean van Erp's win and first qualification. The Brabant regional audience idol had beaten Jean Paul de Bruijn, the title holder, and after two rounds, Jean van Erp was the first player to be sure of a place in this weekend's knockouts with the best eight. Jeepee, the Zeeuw player who won four titles, still needs to shine tomorrow, Friday, on the third day of the preliminaries, to secure his position. Raymund Swertz is a dangerous outsider in his group.
Going into the final day, Jean van Erp and Glenn Hofman are the only two who are 100 per cent sure of qualification.
Harrie van de Ven and Kay de Zwart are already definitely eliminated for a place in the knockouts, Raimond Burgman, and Joey de Kok need a minor miracle to escape.
The overview of the four groups:
Group A:
Jean van Erp was razor-sharp for the match with the reigning champion. The 12-3 start in five innings set the tone, the relapse silenced the score for a while. Then Van Erp was back on tour again with 4 and 5, the basis for the later win 40-31 in 31 (1.290/1.000).
Was Raymund Swertz's weak start on Wednesday a result of his intensive balk-line matches a few days before. The Limburg player, mainly focused on three-cushion for several years now, still has the subtle classic games in his fingers and last Sunday became Dutch champion 71/2 with a final 200 match in 1 inning, which lasted only half an hour. The Masters' opening, two days later, was weak to say the least, in his second match things were much better. Swertz kept Harrie van de Ven far behind with runs of 6, 5, 4, 4 and 5. The end was already in sight at 39-13 in 22 innings, but Swertz needed 9 more innings for the match point at 40-21 in 31 innings.
Standings in Group A:
1 Jean van Erp 4-1,454-11
2 Raymund Swertz 2-1,109-7
3 Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1,075-7
4 Harrie van de Ven 0-0.696-5
Matches Friday:
18.30: De Bruijn-Swertz, Van de Ven-Van Erp.
Jean van Erp, first player qualified for knock-outs
Group B:
It was all about the top spot and perhaps passing to the best eight. Dick Jaspers, the multi-winner, faced Sam van Etten, the former classic player and globally one of the promises in three-cushion. Jaspers faltered a bit just after the start, had a few unusual kisses and found himself at a ten-point deficit: 27-17 in 17. The final sprint, then still an intermediate sprint, was delayed. One subtle ball after another rolled across the table in the final, in which Jaspers straightened the score, smelling his young opponent's last chance. But a rare miss at 37-34 changed the match. The young North Holland player went through the time clock, allowing Jaspers to get off from the spots and closed the game. The equalizer was for Van Etten, who missed on 40-37 in the 24th inning (1.667/1.478).
Standings in Group B:
1 Dick Jaspers 4-1.666-10
2 Sam van Etten 2-1.509-6
3 Huub Wilkowski 2-0.980-5
4 Raimond Burgman 0-0.980-5
Matches Friday:
20.30: Jaspers-Wilkowski, Van Etten-Burgman.
Dick Jaspers for his entrance in the arena
Group C:
The lightning start did not only come from Glenn Hofman in this evening round. Erwin Kivits is also unleashed in his match against Kay de Zwart. The Hague clash, on the other table, developed into a walk-over after starting 23-2 and 29-4 for Hofman, followed by a brief revival with 10 from Jorissen. Hofman ended the match 40-17 in 15. Erwin Kivits shows that he is not just a casual entrant: the Mierlo player crushed Kay de Zwart, already a routine player, with a run of 9 and 40-19 innings (2.105 average), among others. Therefore, Hofman is qualified and the winner of Jorissen-Kivits will join him.
The standings in Group C:
1 Glenn Hofman 4-2,105-9
2 Erwin Kivits 2-1,523-9
3 Jeffrey Jorissen 2-1,117-10
4 Kay de Zwart 0-0,763-4
Matches tomorrow:
13.00: Hofman-De Zwart, Kivits-Jorissen.
Erwin Kivits, great match
Group D:
Barry van Beers has the best starting position in Group D, where he is the only one with four match points. Victory against Dave Christiani hung by a thread, but at 33-27 behind, Van Beers hit back with 9 and won the match in a thriller: 40-39 in 32. The Brabant man will play another derby against Adrie Demming, who closed a nice finish against Joey de Kok with runs of 5, 0, 0, 4 and 6 for a final score 40-30 in 23 (1.739), one of the better matches in the Masters so far. That opened up prospects for Demming for his final match against Barry van Beers, the other match is between Dave Christiani and Joey de Kok. Even the Zeeuw player, who lost the match with Demming despite a run of 9 and is therefore without points over two matches, is not completely without a chance.
Standings in Group D:
1 Barry van Beers 4-1,230-9
2 Adrie Demming 2-1.012-7
3 Dave Christiani 2-0.918-5
4 Joey de Kok 0-1,160-9
Matches Friday (15.00):
Van Beers-Demming
Christiani-Kok
Barry van Beers, two wins, one more to go
Dick Jaspers and his son René in the stands