LOMMEL - It is a typical Belgian statement, most of the time used in sports. Jef Philipoom rescued the furnitur, this evening in the first matches in the final qualifying round. He won his match against Ronny Brants, that means that he is together with Frédéric Caudron the major contender to reach the quarter finals.
Jef Philipoom needed a hard fight to survive in the last innings. Frédéric Caudron, at the other table, had an easy win against Peter Ceulemans with a comfortable lead of 24 caroms (40-26 in 21 innings).
Jef Philipoom and Ronny Brants kept themselves in balance throughout the whole match. Philipoom was leading 23-21 in 20 innings, the score was 25-25 in 24 innings and Brants led 34-32 in 32 innings.
The level was constantly around one average and in the final phase both players realized that winning the game was the most important. Jef Philipoom had the best end shot: he took an advantage of 39-17, missed a fairly simple ball for the win, but finished one inning later 40-36 in 38 innings.
Jef Philipoom can use a stroke of luck in this phase of his career after his disappointing performance in the Suwon World Cup, losing his top twelve position in the world. In the Dutch league, he started with a loss against Jérémy Bury last Sunday, after a great start with a run of eleven from the break.
His next match will be against Frédéric Caudron: Philipoom can take an option to reach the quarter finals in this match, but still gets another opportunity in his last duel with Peter Ceulemans.
The youngest player in this group, Peter Ceulemans, was overpowered by Caudron, who finished just below two average, giving Ceulemans not any chance: 40-16 in 21.