SINT NIKLAAS – The top spot in the Belgian team competition is shared between two teams after this week. Biljart Express was the clear winner in the away match against Mister 100, who suffered a painful 0-8 defeat at home in Lier. Frans van Kuyk and Eddy Merckx were the standouts that evening. The other leader is Op de Meir, the team that narrowly escaped defeat in Sint Niklaas on Thursday evening against De Witte Molen, 5-3 win. The battle on top of the standings is still running between seven teams, with a four-point gap between the top and bottom teams. Biljart Express traveled to Lier for a kind of punitive expedition. Eddy Merckx won the match on center court against Peter Ceulemans 40-23 in 25 innings, Frans van Kuyk delivered an impressive defeat vs Kurt Ceulemans (40-22 in 22 innings), and only Gerwin Valentijn needed a winning final sprint against Jerry Hermans: 40-38 in 38 innings. At the fourth table, Martin Spoormans defeated Bart Ceulemans in a long match, 40-34 in 40 innings.
Thursday evening, the tension was palpable at De Witte Molen, where Roland Uijtdewillegen and Wesley de Jaeger secured a favorable interim score for Op de Meir with wins over Ad Broeders and Benny Ceulemans. Francis Forton eased the tension somewhat by defeating Barry van Beers 40-26 in 24 in the best match of the evening. The decisive blow came in the match between Tom Löwe and Jef Philipoom, where the German held the lead for a long time, and Philipoom eventually emerged victorious after a tough battle. Tom Löwe equalized with three, but thanks to that draw, Op de Meir secured the 5-3 victory.
BC T's Place joined the top four with a 2-6 away victory against Brugse, with good victories for Peter De Backer against Henk Blauwblomme (40-33 in 19 innings, 2.105 average) and Huub Wilkowski against Bart Leys (40-15 in 19 innings). Steven van Acker secured full victory against Koen Saver in 34 innings, and only Peter Mostrey won for the Bruges side against Joey de Kok (40-29 in 39 innings).
BC De Leug didn't allow the reserves of Mister 100 a single victory. Davy van Havere, Therese Klompenhouwer, Andy de Bondt, and Mik Durwael won in 44, 42, 37, and 46 innings. Herstalien defeated Zevenbergen 0-8, with Roland Forthomme and Christoph Wyn as the best team players with 1,904 and 1,538, and Thomas Broux and Dany Boutet also won. Royal Kortrijkse defeated De Ploeg 6-2. Ronny Brants, Philippe Vandendriessche, and Frédéric Beghin were the winners in 33, 33, and 39 innings. Johan Claessen defeated Martin Ravestyn for De Ploeg in 27 innings.
Peter De Backer, best of the leading players on average
Huub Wilkowski
Standings after 9 matchdays:
- Biljart Express 14
- Op de Meir 14
- Mister 100 12
- T’s Place 12
- Herstalien 11
- De Leug 10
- De Witte Molen 10
- Zevenbergen 7
- Brugse 7
- Kortrijkse 6
- Mister 100 2 3
- De Ploeg 2
Next week's matches:
Monday, December 1:
Mister 100-Op de Meir
Biljart Express-Kortrijkse
De Leug-De Ploeg
Brugse-Herstalien
Tuesday, December 2:
Zevenbergen-De Witte Molen
Wednesday, December 3:
Mister 100 2-T’s Place
Peter De Backer, kopman met het hoogste moyenne in 9e ronde