BERLICUM - The final round at the Jumbo Masters, with an excellent Dick Jaspers at the end, was a session with Brabant-tinged standings full of red and white colors. We went onfor the final round on the first day of competition in the Benelux arena, but even more exciting was the Zeeland theatre piece in the earlier Wednesday evening. The starring role at the billiard was for Joey de Kok, a young, eager Zeeuw player, chasing a first success in the Masters. The lovely passion in a corner of the arena came from his compassionate mother, who first died a thousand deaths, but after her son's win made the stands share in her tears of happiness.
Joey de Kok beat Glenn Hofman 40-37 in 29 innings in the final part of that match. He himself remained most stoic about it, whereas Wim, his father, Wendy, his mother, his grandfather and his girlfriend Anouk were overjoyed. The victory was very important, because Dave Christiani and Huub Wilkowski drew on the other match table in this Group C. That opens the way for Joey de Kok (26) to a favorable group stage. ’’These are my fourth Masters,'' he later reckoned to himself. ’’I survived the groups one time before, only because Jeffrey Jorissen was called home for his wife's delivery.''
Together with Joey de Kok, the opening day at the Jumbo Masters was the day of Sam van Etten, back from a sad period when within a short time his grandfather Henk, his best fan, and his grandmother passed away. Also making a best opening did Barry van Beers with a win over Volkan Cetin and 1.666 on average, Jean Paul de Bruijn, with a slightly better final sprint than Brabant camping owner Jerry Hermans (40-38 in 30), but most of allDick Jaspers, the top favorite, showed to be hunting for his 23rd Masters title.
The Brabant world topper, who played against Kay de Zwart, had a promising start with a run of 12 in his second inning, led at the break already 23-6 in five innings, kept running around 3 and 4 average and gave the Brabant las evening round with Jaspers/De Zwart/Van Erp the most shine: a flawless win in the end with 40-15 in 14 innings (2.857).
Sixteen finalists in this battle for the Dutch title closed the first day with seven winners, two players tied and seven losers.
Sam van Etten and Jeffrey Jorissen led Group A. The Hague-based Jorissen, counted among the title favorites, did not really get off to a quick start in his first match. Raymund Swertz and Frans van Schaik had a mediocre start and must now open the hunt for the two leaders.
The standings in Group A:
- Sam van Etten 2-1,481-7
- Jeffrey Jorissen 2-1,081-8
- Raymund Swertz 0-1.037-5
- Frans van Schaik 0-0.756-5
Sam van Etten started with a win over Raymund Swertz
Jeffrey Jorissen, the Hague magician, slow started at the Masters
Barry van Beers was an very good winner against Volkan Cetin (40-22 in 24), Jean Paul de Bruijn pulled the trigger just in time against Jerry Hermans, who despite losing by 1.266 keeps the chances of competing.
Standings in Group B:
- Barry van Beers 2-1.666-5
- Jean Paul de Bruijn 2-1.333-7
- Jerry Hermans 0-1.266-6
- Volkan Cetin 0-0.916-4
Barry van Beers, one of the better starters
Jean Paul de Bruijn, first win, tomorrow facing Barry van Beers
Joey de Kok signed for the first stunt at the Masters with a win over Glenn Hofman, who was on the podium in the last Egyptian World Cup. De Kok faced a somewhat insecure Hague player in the closing stages, who changed cue brand in between, but had a few small, costly misses in the final stages, allowing Joey de Kok to strike. The other match was at least as exciting, when Dave Christiani came within one point of the end with an 8 run, missed narrowly and had to strike five more times for making the 40st. Huub Wilkowski made good use of it and drew with 4 and 2.
Standings in Grooup C:
- Joey de Kok 2-1,379-5
- Dave Christiani 1-1.250-8
- Huub Wilkowski 1-1.250-5
- Glenn Hofman 0-1,275-5
Joey de Kok was the better of Glenn Hofman
Dave Christiani, a draw with Huub Wilkowski
Huub Wilkowski, nice finish with a draw
Dick Jaspers, who started like a jet-setter in the late evening session, had a flashy opening with a quick 12 against Kay de Zwart. For anyone still in doubt, it was immediately clear: Jaspers is coming to the Masters to win and prolong his title. The walk-over in his first game by 40-15 was brilliant. The other fight in this Group D was in stark contrast to that of the Dutch’ best player ever. Jean van Erp and Raimond Burgman, two routine players at the Masters, were mainly playing for precious wins and less for high averages. Jean van Erp had the best finish to the cheers of his fans. Burgman had a second chance, had to score six times, but missed his starting ball.
Standings in Group D:
- Dick Jaspers 2-2,857-12
- Jean van Erp 2-1.290-5
- Raimond Burgman 0-1.097
- Kay de Zwart 0-1,071-3.
Dick Jaspers, best starter in the whole field
Jean van Erp was the last one to finish and starts his second round with Dick Jaspers.