VEGHEL - The finishing touches have been done to the build-up of the World Cup arena in Veghel, Netherlands. For the coming week, the culture center has been transformed into a billiard stronghold where 141 players can play themselves into the spotlights. The Egyptian UMB president Mr. Farouk Barki arrived on Friday to witness the metamorphosis into a stage for the world's three cushion top and where about a hundred other players from around the world will battle it out in the preliminaries to the first World Cup after almost two years. The billiard world has been looking forward to it for months. Most of the players for the first days of play, this Sunday, November 7, are slowly coming in, such as Berkay Karakurt, former European junior champion, Irena Michálková, well-known player from the ladies circuit, Herbert Thür, part of the UMB board, Gerhard Kostistanski, who once belonged to the broad top of the World Cup players, Nikolaus Kogelbauer, an Austrian youth talent, who has even been invited to the Lausanne Billard Masters and Edmund Mevissen, a German billiard player, who's also making wonderful billiard pictures.
The arena in the authentic building in Veghel has been under construction for less than a week. The Eureka billiard tables look fantastic, the stands, for about 600 spectators in total, are ready for the match start. For the first Dutchmen and Belgians, of which most do not have much World Cup experience like Rudy Gerritsen, Wil Janssen, Joris van 't Zelfden, Mik Durwael, Philip Coenen, Nick Dudink, but also the routines such as Sander Jonen (former world champion artistic) and Frans van Schaik, one of the recognized ambiance maker at the Dutch Masters.
Harry Mathijssen, Ad Smout and the organizing team are delighted with the result of the build-up. Harry Mathijssen: ''It looks wonderful: with two great TV arenas and good loking stands on both sides. A number of people had to work very hard today, but now, everything is in tip-top shape. We are ready for tomorrow. The technology is ready, there is a beautiful led-boarding, that makes the entourage even more professional.''
The players coming from far away, such as Nikolaus Kogelbauer, Berkay Karakurt, Gerhard Kostistansky, Midiri Santi arrived today, like Irena Michálková, who made the 8-hour trip by car this Saturday with Jan Hudak, Jan Áles and their girlfriends. Irena, who just has little World Cup experience (only played two World Cups in Blankenberge) had a nice preparation in a training camp in Germany with Martin Horn and from the women's top players among others Therese Klompenhouwer, Mujde Karakasli and Steffi Daske.
Rudy Gerritsen, who will start the World Cup for the Netherlands at 11.00 against Jack Wijnen, was still at work today at Jacks Casino in Arnhem and played a team match tonight in Zeeland. ''Tomorrow I will leave early with a few fans, so I will be in Veghel at 10 o'clock,'' said the 59-year-old Dutch champion in one of the main classes, who only played one World Cup in his career, ten years ago in Sluiskil.
In the SIS Experience billiard room, not so far away, it was a coming and going of players today to practice at the same tables as in the World Cup arena. Some Dutch, like Jean van Erp and Therese Klompenhouwer, Koreans, Austrians, Turks came to train some hours to be ready for the start this week. Carl Verhoeven, the owner: ''We even saw a match Netherlands-Korea, won by the Netherlands 30-29.''
Sixteen groups of three players will kick off this Sunday in the Noordkade, sixteen winners of those groups will move on to the second day. Berkay Karakurt, whose brother Omar will be in action one day later, plays from the first day, as it is only his second World Cup. And in his first group he meets Belgian Alain Saeijs and German Christian Ahr. Joris van 't Zelfden, the Dutch junior champion, will face Turk Cem Cemal Geyik and Frenchman Vincent Lelievre. Paul Bruijstens and Sander Jonen play in the group with the Belgian Peter Willems. Irena Michálková will meet Nikolaus Kogelbauer and Eric Brousses, Frans van Schaik plays his compatriot Menno de Vries and Jack van Peer comes to action with two Belgians: Thierry Duson and Mik Durwael, recently organizer on behalf of his winery of a tournament in Belgium.
The next day, Monday, is already reserved for a number of well-known young and older coryphées such as Maxime Panaia, Tom Löwe, Jean Reverchon, Francis Forton, the first Korean, Sung Kyu Oh, Omer Karakurt, Tarik Yavuz and for the Netherlands and Belgium among others Jeffrey Jorissen, Harrie van de Ven, Bart Ceulemans, Dave Christiani, Huub Wilkowski, Raymund Swertz, Kay de Zwart, Ronny Brants and Joey de Kok, hopefully already with many acquaintances and fans in the stands.
The Belgians who then come to the Brabant arena are of a growing quality, such as Peter Ceulemans and Roland Forthomme, who start on Wednesday, already in a company including Dion Nelin, Can Capak, Michael Nilsson, Jacob Haack Sörensen, Jose Juan Garcia, Jung-Han Heo, Nikos Polychronopoulos and Antonio Montes. That day is all about qualifying among the best 32 players for the main tournament.
Matches on the first two days start at 11:00 am, the last eight matches are at 7:30 pm. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starts already at 10.00 am, Friday and Saturday at 12.00 pm. The semi-finals are Saturday at 12:00 and 14:00, the final at 17:00.
Two Karakurt brothers on pracrtice in the SIS arena the day before the World Cup start
Irena Michálkova, one of the first ladies to the World Cup start
The Dutch player Rudy Gerritsen will launch the World Cup with Jack Wijnen at 11 on Sunday morning