EEKLO - The jet lag was digested and his form was not effected by his long trip. Roland Forthomme won the BTS final in Eeklo this Thursday afternoon defeating Eddy Leppens 40-24 in 21 innings. The finalist of the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh returned this week from Vietnam with a bag full of confidence and in the form in which he could only be stopped by Caudron in the battle for gold. The 199th BTS tournament, with the entire Belgian top and after a long marathon of preliminary rounds, came to an end with the Walloon giant on top.
He first defeated Frédéric Mottet in the semi-finals 40-37 in 32 after Mottet had come close after being far behind. In the final against Leppens, Forthomme dominated the match from start till finish. Eddy Leppens was the boss in the semi-final against Eddy Merckx.
Kurt Ceulemans, who leads the BTS (Billiards Top Sport) and was the speaker at the BTS event in Eeklo, said in his speech that this was a memorable edition. ''It is the final of the 199th BTS tournament, but it is highly questionable whether there will come a 200th, so an anniversary edition, due to the tough relationship between BTS and KBBB. We must wait and see if there will be rehabilitation from the Belgian federation towards the BTS. The deadline is next week. But I don't feel that the KBBB will fold, so..."
Roland Forthomme eliminated Jef Philipoom in Eeklo in the quarterfinals with a generous score: 40-13 in 17. Eddy Merckx beat Steven van Acker 40-33 in 23, Eddy Leppens bested Francis Forton 40-37 in 28 and Frédéric Mottet was the better of Frédéric Caudron 40-30 in 27.