TURNHOUT – The Biljart Express team maintained its top position in Belgium, the runner-up Op de Meir failed was knocked out. The top match in the Belgian team competition at Biljart Expres on Monday evening turned into a thrilling evening for some 60, 70 spectators. The eventual victory went to the home team, when Eddy Merckx defeated Eddy Leppens 40-34 in 21 innings in the deciding match. That brought the final score to 5-3. Biljart Express leads the standings with 27 out of 17 and was this week’s main winner after T's Place and Mister 100 drew 4-4 on Tuesday evening.
The top matches at Biljart Express were captivating on all tables until the final caroms. Gerwin Valentijn and Guy van Litsenborg kicked off before the break against Barry van Beers and Wesley de Jaeger. Valentijn dominated most of the match in the Dutch clash. In the final stages, it was a close call. Valentijn was first to the line, Van Beers equalized with 1 point from the spots.
Guy van Litsenborg seemed poised for victory against Wesley de Jaeger when he led 37-25, but De Jaeger fought back strongly and even made the first winner. Van Litsenborg succumbed to the pressure and missed the equalizer: 39-40. As a result, Op de Meir led 1-3 at halftime.
The second half ended in a double victory for Biljart Expres, however the margins were again minimal. Frans van Kuyk trailed in the match with Jef Philipoom 39-34, Philipoom missed a decent match point, and Van Kuyk made 6 to the finish. Because Philipoom didn't have an equalizer, Biljart Express tied the match at 3-3. The match between the two Eddy’s would decide the outcome. Eddy Merckx managed to gain a riant lead, but Leppens came back with 11. The Biljart Expres leader, however, remained calm and finished the match at 40-34 in 21. Leppens missed the equalizer, giving Biljart Expres the victory at 5-3.
The two runners-up in the rankings, T's Place and Mister 100, met one day later in Aalst. The match ended 4-4 in an equally exciting one. Peter Ceulemans for Mister 100 and Steven van Acker for T's Place concluded the draw. Peter Ceulemans defeated De Backer 40-34 in 20, and Van Acker defeated Kurt Ceulemans 40-38 in 29. The other two matches were also evenly matched. Joey de Kok defeated Bart Ceulemans 40-39 in 36, while Marco Janssen defeated Berry Dallinga 40-32 in 37.
BC De Leug won their away match against Koninklijke Brugse 6-2 thanks to victories by Davy van Havere, Therese Klompenhouwer, and Mik Durwael, defeating Koen Saver, Bart Leys, and Peter Mostrey. The winners averaged 1 in the round. Henk Blauwblomme played the best game of the evening, beating Jeffrey Jorissen 40-33 in 33.
BC De Ploeg defeated Zevenbergen 6-2 in an away match, with Ronny Lindemann scoring the best: 40 in 24.
Herstalien plays their away match against Mister 100 2 tonight.