LIER - The entrance is reminiscent of the Superprestige in Lommel. Eddy Leppens and his wife Andrea shake hands with the visitors, Kurt Ceulemans, chairman of the organizing BTS, is the perfect host in his own Mister 100. The Kozoom cameras are lined up at the entrance of the arena, the stands, smaller than in Lommel of course, are already pretty crowded on the first day of play. The Mister 100 opened its doors and exuded a wonderful billiards atmosphere for one of the greatest tournaments in Belgium this week.
The difference with Lommel is not effacing: the venue is not that huge, the same for the VIP stands, the stands for the spectators and the entourage can not compete with Eddy Leppens' home venue in Lommel, that built up an international reputation. Raymond Ceulemans: ,,We can be proud that it turned out into this venue in the Mister 100. Kurt and his team have done the best they can. We can't compare to Lommel, where the tournament hall is so magnificent that they can organize a World Cup.''
Now we're talking about wonderful venues and ambiance, what is in your opinion, Raymond Ceulemans, the top five of most impressive World championships three cushion that you have seen as a player or spectator?
Raymond: ,,That's first of all the World championship in Buenos Aires, 1972, where I won and Nobuaki Kobayashi was second. Then the World championship in Antwerp in 1974 where Kobayashi beat me in the final. Then the World championship in Sluiskil in 2010, where Dani Sánchez won, the WC in Antwerp three years ago where Frédéric Caudron won and finally last year's World championship in Bordeaux, won by Torbjörn Blomdahl. That is the absolute top five in my memory... And believe me, I played many World championships and visited many championships later, when I finished my WC career in 2000.''
The Mister 100, prepped for the Superprestige in two weeks, had its kick-off. Kurt Ceulemans can be satisfied and concentrate on his own performance on Wednesday night. The first evening (Monday) was marked by a small sensation: Roland Forthomme was eliminated after a great start (40 in 11 against Kenny Miatton), followed by two losses against Jef Philipoom (40-28 in 26) and Davy van Havere (40 -35 in 34).
But actually, it was the evening of Jef Philipoom in the Mister 100. The former world champion, who has dropped in the rankings, entered the arena stumbling after three operations last week. He told us: ,,The veins in my leg were silted up, so the blood could not flow well into my foot. Two operations have more or less failed, I needed a third. I recovered slowly and only can play with heavy painkillers. On Saturday I couldn't even walk from my chair to the table and I wanted to cancel.''
But however unsteady he stepped around the billiard, Jef Philipoom started with a victory over Davy van Havere and defeated Roland Forthomme in his second match, who had impressed in his first with a glorious win over Kenny Miatton in 11 innings with a run of fourteen. The decisive match, between Philipoom and Forthomme showed a pretty good level with 40-28 in 26.
In the last session of the evening, Philipoom could afford a loss against Kenny Miatton (40-30 in 30). And because Forthomme lost to Davy van Havere at the other table (40-35 in 34), Miatton reached the final phase after group winner Philipoom, Roland Forthomme and Davy van Havere were eliminated.
The final ranking on Monday:
1 Jef Philipoom 4-1.236-11
2 Kenny Miatton 4-1.228-8
3 Roland Forthomme 2-1.450-14
4 Davy van Havere 2-0.899-8.
Tonight (Tuesday from 18.00) is the group with Frédéric Caudron, Steven van Acker, Peter De Backer and Francis Forton. The games will be broadcast live by Kozoom.com.
The ambiance in the Salle d'Eau in the Mister 100 on the first eve of the Superprestige