ZUNDERT - Was it possible that one of the Dutch players could break the Belgian hegemony and bring the cup and the flowers home after the Christmas tournament in Zundert? The orange feeling waf fightinf for priority in the final match with the sympathy for the home player.
Raimond Burgman and Roland Forthomme played the final in a tournament that will be remembered as the most exciting editions. The elimination of Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx and Eddy Leppens was a big surprise, eventually, the two players in the final battle earned their place based on fighting spirit and tactical match power.
The victory in the Christmas tournament, wich has been played in three-cushion discipline since 1990, was for Raimond Burgman. The 47-year-old Dutchman, living in Heemstede, for years one of the top players in the team Crystal Kelly in the Dutch league, was overjoyed and emotional. ,,Obviously, I just had a little slump after my illness (a precursor to a brain haermorrgage), because of that I played on a lesser level for a few years. But I never was away on top, I think. This is not a comeback, just a confirmation of what I know for myself: I can win these kind of tournaments, such as more Dutch players can do. I've said before, why don't we have a chance against those strong Belgians?''
In all previous editions, Burgman played in the shadow of Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx, Raymond Ceulemans, Semi Sayginer, Dion Nelin, Jean Paul de Bruijn and in the first years Torbjörn Blomdahl, all players who won the classic around Christmas one time or more.
The edition of 2011, however, wil be written with big letters on the palmares of Raimond Burgman. He had been seeded for the quarterfinals thanks to a victory over Peter Ceulemans, won in the next round against Martin Spoormans, the revelation so far, defeated Frédéric Caudron in a sensational finish in the semifinals and won the tournament thanks to a solid, but not that good match against Roland Forthomme.
The final was indeed not of a high class level, because the Belgian apparently had spoiled his power in the previous matches, that's why he was unable to give his opponent a little resistance. ,,I hadn't any feeling on the balls from the start and occasionally I was playing like a rookie,'' said Forthomme. The superior Burgman led 13-10 after eight innings, one inning later 20-10, then 30-16 and ran from 25-10 to 40-16 to a smooth victory: 50-35 in 37 innings.
The tournament average was 1.367, Haeng Jik Kim played the best match (2.380 average), Eddy Merckx the highest run (15).