Martin Spoormans, showman and entertainer

ZUNDERT - He has passed sixty already, Martin Spoormans, he plays billiards from his early years. ,,I made my promotion to the highest league already, when most players here in the Christmas tournament had not been born'', he said with a smile this afternoon, after he had beaten Peter de Backer in his second match in the group. Yesterday evening he also defeated Roland Forthomme. And with two wins, Spoormans was the first player who qualified for next round.

Martin Spoormans, showman and entertainer, is a special man, a wonderful storyteller, a great guy for a beer after the match, a billiards player who is famous for his lucky shots (in the circles of his supporters called 'a Spoormansje'), but as a subtop player always a feared opponent for the top players. And in the Christmas tournament, he emphasized this afternoon. ,,I played my two matches without any lucky shot.''

He performs for the fourth time in Zundert, because he was never invited in the previous years. ,,I never belonged to the top of Belgium, always around the fifteenth place. But four years ago, one of the players had to cancel. So they asked me to play, I came through my group, defeated Eddy Leppens in the eighth and lost in the semi-finals against Roland Forthomme with only a few points.''

Two years ago, he defeated Frédéric Caudron in his first group match, this year Martin Spoormans is again among the best sixteen. The question was, this afternoon, how could he beat Roland Forthomme and Peter de Backer? Martin answered: ,,You know what it is, with those players, they often play with a maximum of spin, and sometimes they miss easy shots on a new cloth. I'm more an player who attacks with the flat cue, no man of a great technique, but I've made caroms here, that others can't make.''

He needed three match balls before he had beaten Peter de Backer (50-47 in 37). Roland Forthomme played on the other table for his last chance and won his match against Jean van Erp 50-39 in 39.

He knows what to do now, the front player of Snellen. ,,Tomorrow I have to win my match against Peter de Backer.'' The good feeling still was'nt  there today, after he had lost his first match against Spoormans. ,,I still wasn't on my best, indeed, but Jean (van Erp) definitely couldn't threaten me, he also wasn't good today.''

And the day before, against Martin Spoormans, he said, it was a special match, like always. ,,I started with eight, felt pretty good, made a lucky shot, I laughed a bit and then Martin started his show. I know it, so I don't need to bother, but since that moment I played very bad. Only in the equalizer I could make a run of ten.''

This afternoon, in the early matches, Haeng Jik Kim couldn't show the form of yesterday in his first game. The Koreans lost 50-41 in 35 innings against Eddy Leppens, who has seeded for the main tournament. Jef Philipoom is out of the game in this group. Harrie van de Ven won 50-38 in 41 innings and will duel with Kim for the second place in the quarter finals.