LINT – As a young Belgian, he was once one of the great talents in his country, and he occasionally returns to the spotlight. Steven van Acker is now 40, a billiards player with a full-time job, plays in the Belgian and Dutch leagues, but is rarely seen in World Cups. On Monday, this Belgian player made a remarkable start to the World Cup in Lint with an average of 1.764 over his two matches. He finished in his group ahead of Kostas Kokkoris, a well-known Greek player with a European team title. In the daily rankings, Van Acker was the leader ahead of Dionisis Tsokantas, Beom Yeol Lee, Peter De Backer, and Philippe Vandendriessche. Seven Belgians survived the initial selection.
Steven van Acker once had a chance to break through. As a young twenty-something, he finished second at the 2003 World Junior Championships behind Filipos Kasidokostas and two years later third at the World Junior Championships behind Javier Palazón. At those two World Championships, Steven van Acker beat players such as Sameh Sidhom, Ruben Legazpi, Sergei Jimenez, and Jeffrey Jorissen. These were no flukes, as the Belgian also finished second at the 2005 European Junior Championships behind a now almost forgotten Dutchman: Nick Zuykerbuyk. And much later, Van Acker stood on the podium at a Belgian championship behind Frédéric Caudron and Jef Philipoom.
It just goes to show that Steven van Acker is no ordinary billiards player. On Monday, he was one of the Belgians competing in the World Cup on the first day of the preliminary rounds. His first opponent was Marc Celen, a volunteer organizer, who he defeated by a wide margin: 40-11 in 19 innings. The second match was even more impressive: Steven van Acker defeated Kostas Kokkoris 30-16 in 15 innings.
The best of the Belgians even dwarfed the group, which featured three strong players. Frenchman Tangui Duriez, Belgian Thomas Broux, and Spaniard Daniel Sainz Pardo came to this World Cup with ambitions. Tangui Duriez had a great start against Thomas Broux, whom he defeated 30-11 in 14 innings. Daniel Sainz Pardo also defeated the Belgian, 30-23 in 22 innings. The deciding match determined the winner of the group of death: Duriez couldn't match the level of his first performance and was eliminated by Sainz Pardo 30-21 in 25 innings.
Peter De Backer was another notable Belgian on the first day. In the group of three Belgians, one of whom, Bart Ceulemans, had an off day, De Backer shone with class and consistency: against Bart Ceulemans, he won 30-15 in 20 innings and against Davy van Haevere 30-35 in 20 innings, good for an average of 1.500.
Korean Beom Yeol Lee opened promisingly with comfortable victories over Ferrara and Oliveto, winning with a score of 1.538. The same average was recorded for Greek Tsokantas.
Therese Klompenhouwer entered the tournament with a freshly won women's world title, but couldn't generate high expectations. The Dutch player was knocked out by a five-goal run from Henk Blauwblomme, one of the average Belgians on the day with a 0.967 average.
Cédric Melnytschenko knocked out good old Martin Spoormans 30-27 in 28. Pedro Gonzalez did the same with Dirk Weeremans, 30-20 in 30, but didn't quite impress as a top player: the American finished with a 1.016. Philippe Vandendriessche defeated Francis Forton, among others, and advanced with a 1.363.
The overview on the first day at the World Cup arena
Korean player Boom Yeol Lee in top three
Spaniard Daniel Sainz Pardo won the group of death
The winners of the day:
- Steven van Acker 4-1,764-8
- Dionisis Tsokantas 4-1.538-8
- Beom Yeol Lee 4-1.538-7
- Peter De Backer 4-1,500-5
- Philippe Vandendriessche 4-1.363-8
- Daniel Sainz Pardo 4-1.276-7
- Joseba Escribo 4-1.153-11
- Pedro Gonzalez 4-1,034-8
- Dany Boutet 4-1,000-9
- Henk Blauwblomme 4-0.967-4
- Cédric Melnytschenko 4-0.882-5
- Konstantinos Prassas 4-0.869-5
- Quoc Thuan Pham 3-1.052-5
- Ronny Brants 3-0.869-7
- Paul Wallerand 2-0.916-4