BERLICUM - The grosser in titles is Dick Jaspers, who was Holland's best in three-cushion 22 times, the venue with the most organizations was De Blauwe Kei in Veghel, the Dutch championship and later the Masters was played 11 times in Amsterdam in earlier years and The Benelux Theater in Berlicum will open its doors next week (from Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 January) for the 10th time in a row for the Masters. Jean Paul de Bruijn defends the Dutch title he won last year, the tournament is played over five days with the 16 best players in the Dutch ranking.
The Masters and the Dutch three-cushion championship have a rich history. Carel Koopmans was the first winner of the national championship in old form in 1926, Arie Weijenburg the first Masters winner in 1987. Dick Jaspers went on to win 21 times out of 35 Masters organizations. Jaspers: ’’My nicest win, or at least my best was in Nijverdal in 2009, when I won the final 3-2 against Raimond Burgman and finished with 2,395, which is still a record.‘’
The record champion has prepared optimally for the upcoming Masters. ’’I returned a week ago from Mexico, where I spent nine days around new year to give some demonstrations. It was the most favorable time to travel not to disrupt the tournament rhythm. So as well for the Masters, I was back in time, the jetlag has been digested, I was able to train a lot last week.‘’
Dick Jaspers has played all the Masters so far, Raimond Burgman has only missed one. The highest averages are all in Jaspers' name, he is the only one with averages over 2: eight times in total. The multiple champion's most successful period was from 1997 to 2002, when Jaspers triumphed five times in a row. ’’It’s not easy to win the Masters every year, especially because for a few years the event was played in very short sets, so it was almost a lottery. I think sport at the highest level should be fair. I like playing all kinds of forms, but in a Dutch championship it’s not about sensation. The best should be able to win. The way we are playing now, I think it’s pretty fair. I like it that there is a lot of opposition from players like Jean Paul de Bruijn, Glenn Hofman, Jeffrey Jorissen, Raimond Burgman and other dangerous competitors. I must be at my best to win.‘’
On the all-time rankings, both of the Masters and the Dutch championship, Jaspers is proudly on top with 22 wins. Other players with more titles in three-cushion are Rini van Bracht with 8 titles, Hendrik Robijns and Arnoud Sengers with 7, Herman Popeyus with 6, Henny de Ruijter with 5, Jan Doggen, Christ van der Smissen and from the current generation Jean Paul de Bruijn and Raimond Burgman with 4 titles. The Masters have been mostly played with four groups of four in 15 points sets. A notable fact from history is that Henk Habraken in 1995 made the first run of 15 from the start, for which he won a car. In the Masters, Jaspers as winner made a maximum run of 15 three times: 2005, 2009 and 2010.
The group format or the KNBB Van Donge&De Roo Masters 2025, organized by BEN (Biljart Evenementen Nederland (8 players from Brabant, 2 Zeeland, 2 North Holland, 2 Gelderland, 1 South Holland, 1 Limburg:
Group A:
Jean Paul de Bruijn
Jean van Erp
Harrie van de Ven
Raymund Swertz
Group B:
Dick Jaspers
Huub Wilkowski
Raimond Burgman
Sam van Etten
Group C:
Jeffrey Jorissen
Glenn Hofman
Kay de Zwart
Erwin Kivits
Group D:
Dave Christiani
Barry van Beers
Adrie Demming
Joey de Kok.
Match schedule:
Wednesday 22, Thursday 23, Friday 24 January: sessions in the four groups of four from 1pm, last match 8.30pm.
Saturday 25 January: quarter-finals at 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 6.30pm.
Sunday 26 January: semi-finals 11am and 1pm, final at 4pm.
Ticket sales: www.biljartevenementen.nl
De enige echte Master van het Nederlandse biljarten in de laatste 35 jaar