NEW YORK/QUEENS - Hundreds of visitors have gathered at the Carom Cafe in Flushing for a last practice on this Sunday afternoon. They're playing at twelve match tables, eightteen pool tables and three snooker tables in the back of the billiard room. Just an ordinary Sunday? Surely not, it's the eve before the start of the famous Verhoeven Open, the former Sang Lee tournament. Most of the people who come to watch the stars gather around the table where Semih Saygıner plays a training match against Michael Kang and two of Korea's famous players, Jae Ho Cho and Dong Koong Kang are playing at the billiard closer to the bar. The Asian champion Haeng Jik Kim has found a sparring partner in Huberney Catano, the Colombian star. Martin Horn just returns from two hours of training, same as Murat Naci Coklu, Tayfun Tasdemir, Jérémy Bury and the American favourite Hugo Patino.
The Carom Cafe is buzzing in the hours before the draw for the Verhoeven Open on Sunday. The first qualifications will be played with 105 players in 15 groups of seven in a round robin to 25 points. The top two players from each group (30) and two numbers three (makes 32), together with three players from the lottery and the five seeded players make forty players for the next round. In the second selection, these forty players, divided into five groups of eight play a round robin again to 35 points. The top three and one fourth best together make sixteen for the knockout in the final stage later this week. The group heads in the first qualifying round are Michael Kang, Hugo Patino, Quoc Nguyen Nguyen, Tayfun Tasdemir, Jae Ho Cho, Jérémy Bury, Martin Horn, Dong Koong Kang, Huberney Catano, Quyet Chien Tran, Haeng Jik Kim, Roland Forthomme, Murat Naci Coklu, Sonny Cho and Semih Saygıner.
The venue was filled with many spectators on the last training day to enjoy the ambiance and the high class level. Jessica Caudron told us that here, in the Carom Café, she got to know Frédéric Caudron in 2007, with whom she married a few years ago. ,,I have lived here for four years and always feel at home.'' That's one of the reasons why she didn't join the number one in the world on his Mexican sponsor tour.
The pool tables are mainly the domain of many young, Asian and Latin ladies. Those who want to take a break from billiards gather with friends around the bar for a drink or a bite to eat or in lounge to relax. For those who want to look beyond the Carom Café, there is so much beauty at close range. Ten minutes walk to Downtown Flushing, the north eastern part of Queens, Manhattan in about ten, fifteen minutes by taxi or train, Long Island and so many attractions in this cosmopolitan city.
The hall of the Carom Cafe is a mecca for the true enthusiasts. Fantastic Verhoeven tables, flawlessly maintained. For spectators there are comfortable chairs at about ten meters from the billiards, you can walk around and choose which side you want to see. The Danes travelled to the Big Apple with eighteen men and are excited by the atmosphere and the attractive format. They usually don't play World Cups anymore because of the chance to get eliminated after one or two matches. They are more than happy to pay the 350 dollars for the registration in New York because they will play at least six matches and can mingle with the best players in the world in the days before the start.
The pre-selection of the Verhoeven Open, starting on Monday (August 1st, 10.00) is played in a round robin. After the first qualifying rounds a second one will follow in which the five seeded players (Frédéric Caudron, Torbjörn Blomdahl, Eddy Merckx, Dick Jaspers and Raymond Ceulemans) enter the proceedings. And then there is the knockout stage with sixteen to determine the winner. The three previous winners on the honour list of New York: Dick Jaspers, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Frédéric Caudron.
The schedule was kept secret until the hours before the official start. Charles Brown, the sports director and Merril Hughes, his right hand man, were bombarded with many questions: how many groups, how many players, which format. ,,It's always impossible to say in advance'', Merrill assures. ,,We wait until the last minute to see how many players have registered and how many will actually show up. Only thereafter can we determine how we play.''
On Sunday, 105 players had signed up for the qualifying. Semih Saygıner, Raymond Ceulemans and Roland Forthomme were amongst the last participants gave the field even more luster than it already had.
Raymond Ceulemans, the legend, and his son Kurt were in the house of the American Robert Mercer for some private lessons. Robert Mercer is not only a great and wealthy billiard enthusiast. He also has great plans for an invitational tournament with unique, never-before-seen footage and camera positions in his private domain. It must turn out to be a gala of top players and fantastic live images with the highest prize money ever seen in three cushion.
Tournament director Charles Brown shows the result of the draw and the matches
The audience watching the draw in the venue of the Carom Cafe
Semih Sayginer pulling the card for his draw in New York
Haeng Jik Kim and Michael Kang during the draw
The cards on the billiard table in Carom Cafe to start the draw for the qualifications
The group format for the first qualification rounds
The tournament can be followed live on Kozoom, the results can be seen on Kozoom.com, Merrill's facebook group: three cushion billiard players.
Charles Brown will publish the results on:
www.professorqball.com
Kozoom keeps you informed with all the live coverage, reports and interviews.