SINT TRUIDEN - He has been one of Belgium's top players in various disciplines for many years, but Peter De Backer has never been a real and multiple winner. This Sunday, the 55-year old went for his second Belgian title in three cushion, 24 years (!) after his first and, until this weekend, only title in this most popular discipline. Peter De Backer defeated Wesley de Jaeger, certainly another outsider, in the final match 40-37 in 38 innings.
That score already indicates that the final at the Belgian championship, played in De Wimbledon in Sint Truiden, was a tactical fight with a lot of defense from both sides. The will to win was bigger than the will to shine, because who would have expected these two players in the final in a championship with Eddy Merckx, Roland Forthomme and Peter Ceulemans.
Peter De Backer was the best finisher, the player who started on Saturday with a victory over Andy de Bondt (40-19 in 25), then took on Kurt Ceulemans (40-33 in 30), in the semi-final went along Jef Philipoom in a fascinating fight (40-38 in 25) and finally in the final beat Wesley de Jaeger.
His opponent in the final played a magnificent tournament, including victories over Peter Ceulemans (40-21 in 34) and Roland Forthomme with an unusual score 40-16 in 30. He beat Ronny Brants in the semi-final 40-17 in 25 and had to duel with Peter De Backer for the Belgian gold in three cushion. The two finalists were evenly matched until 20-20, 31-30, 37-35, when De Backer put an end to the match with a run of 3. Wesley de Jaeger had one more chance to equalize, but came no further than 2, because his third carom ran into a kiss in the corner where the third ball was hidden.
Peter De Backer won that title once before, in 1998 in Blankenberge against Francis Forton in the final. But internationally, of course, De Backer was also very successful in his best years, without really winning. Second in a World Championship one cushion in 1992 in Duisburg following Fonsy Grethen, three times in third place in a World Championship three cushion in 2005, 2006 and 2008, to name the most important successes.
And now the Belgian three-cushion. champion, in his later days? It doesn't look like that, because Peter De Backer is devoted to billiards in all disciplines and not only to carom billiards.
The final score:
1 Peter De Backer 12-1.362-9
2 Wesley de Jaeger 10-1.239-9
3 Jef Philipoom 10-1.556-12
4 Ronny Brants 8-1.041-6
5 Eddy Merckx 8-1,587-10
6 Kurt Ceulemans 8-1,514-15
7 Francis Forton 8-0.928-8
8 Roland Forthomme 6-1.279-11
9 Peter Ceulemans 6-1.463-11
10 Steven van Acker 6-1,287-6
The Belgian podium with Peter De Backer, Wesley de Jaeger, Jef Philipoom and Ronny Brants