TILBURG – The Dutch three-cushion league enters the final three rounds this Sunday with seven contenders for four playoff spots. Only Cues&Darts has already secured its place among the top four teams. This Sunday, the Tilburg team plays without Glenn Hofman (French masters finals) the top match against Dallinga without Jean Paul de Bruijn (French Masters). Aartsbouw, which is Cues&Darts' main challenger, has a day off, so Eddy Merckx's participation in the French Masters has no consequences. Dallinga can take a valuable step in the away match against Cues&Darts, which naturally benefits from a win to maintain its lead. Team Eekhoorn and Bousema are locked in a tough battle for fourth place in the standings.
Team Eekhoorn starts that mission against Paperclip, where Dick Jaspers is not playing in the French Masters and is the team captain. Nick Polychronopoulos is his opponent; Peter Ceulemans is absent from Eekhoorn's lineup because he is playing in France. His replacement is Eddy Leppens, so certainly no weakening of the team. Jerry Hermans plays in Frans van Kuyk's position.
Cues&Darts has fielded Ruben Legazpi as the top player for the match against Peter De Backer. Huub Wilkowski plays against Joris van ’t Zelfden, Therese Klompenhouwer meets Koen Saver, and Joey de Kok against Berry Dallinga, two teammates for next season.
Standings after 18 and 17 rounds:
1 Cues&Darts 18-28
2 Aartsbouw 18-25
3 Dallinga 18-23
4 Eekhoorn 17-22
5 Bousema 17-20
6 Van Baal 17-17
7 SIS/Vervoort 17-16
8 Paperclip 17-15
9 Burgmans Biljarts 17-11
10 RCN 17-7
11 Hartwi 17-6
The matches and lineups for this weekend:
Cues&Darts-Dallinga
Ruben Legazpi-Peter De Backer
Huub Wilkowski-Joris van ’t Zelfden
Therese Klompenhouwer-Koen Saver
Joey de Kok-Berry Dallinga
Team Eekhoorn-Paperclip
Nick Polychronopoulos-Dick Jaspers
Eddy Leppens-Anno de Kleine
Jerry Hermans-Emilio Sciacca
Kurt Ceulemans-Dan Breur
RCN Nieuwegein-Bousema/JBScues
Dave Christiani-Martin Horn
Gerwin Valentijn-Jeffrey Jorissen
Philippe Vandendriessche-Stefan Galla
Henk Blauwblomme-Frans van Schaik
Van Baal Kelderafdichting-Burgmans Biljarts
Sam van Etten-Tom Löwe
Sergio Jimenez-Davy van Havere
Thorsten Frings-Bart Ceulemans
Rik van Beers-Marco Janssen
Harwig-SIS/Vervoort
Andreas Niehaus-Raimond Burgman
Rob Lamboo-Raymund Swertz
Marcel Krikhaar-Martin van der Spoel
Theo Moes-Harrie van de Ven