ANTALYA – The final gold medal at the European billiards championship went to the French and the Dutch on Sunday evening. The Belgian rulers of three-cushion suffered an unexpected knockout on the final day of play. On the last day at the European championships in Antalya, the medal list was completed, with the Netherlands and Germany emerging as the most successful nations, both with 3 gold medals. The close-knit French team celebrated a wonderful team gold medal in the men's competition on the final day following a victory over the Belgians. For the Netherlands, Therese Klompenhouwer and Karina Jetten secured the final gold medal against the Turkish women.
The tournament, a mega-event held in a Turkish luxury hotel where 13 gold medals were contested over 9 days, was a real success. The European countries competed in both the men's and women's categories in three-cushion, one cushion, classic disciplines, 5-pins, and artistic billiards. Considering all disciplines, France and the Netherlands were the top countries, each winning 8 medals in a total of 13 disciplines. Peter Ceulemans' European title, the big Belgian success following Frédéric Caudron's world title last year, and Therese Klompenhouwer's double were the most notable victories in three-cushion billiards. Therese Klompenhouwer won the women's individual final against Charlotte Sörensen and added the team title on Sunday. The multiple champion had a strong teammate in Karina Jetten. The Dutch duo defeated the Turks in the final.
Early on the morning of the final day, Sweden and Belgium played an improbable Scotch Double in the men's three-cushion, after Blomdahl had beaten Merckx (40-27 in 17) and Forthomme had leveled against Pennör (40-31 in 24). The Scotch Double deserved to go down in history. The Belgians started with 14, the Swedes responded with 3, the Belgians missed, and in a magnificent finish, Sweden miraculously reached the finish with 12: Sweden-Belgium 15-14 in 2 innings.
Frédéric Caudron also played a magnificent match in the game between Belgium 1 and Netherlands 2. Frédéric Caudron faced Jean Paul de Bruijn, two friends who fought out great duels in cushion billiards and played together for some time in the PBA in South Korea. The match between those two was a demonstration by Caudron, who won 40-8 in 12 innings. Peter Ceulemans defeated Sam van Etten 40-36 in 20. The world champion (Caudron) and the European champion (Ceulemans) presented themselves as the big favorites for the title, but later ran into France.
The European Championship saw successes in the classical games for Frenchman Xavier Le Roy in cushion billiards, Austrian Arnim Kahofer in 7 1/2 frames, and Dutchman Raymund Swertz in 4 7/2, among others. The big German talent Amir Ibraimov, only 18 years old, won the European under-24 Three-Cushion. In the artistic billiards final, Turk Baris Cin defeated Dutchman René Dericks, who became world champion last year. German Toni Rosenberg won the 5-pins event in the absence of the Italians, who withdrew due to the threat from the Middle East. Among the ladies, three Danes stood on the podium, with Charlotte Koefoed winning the gold.
The European billiards championship in all disciplines concluded this weekend with the three-cushion team tournaments. At the end of a long week, the highest earner is the player who became European three-cushion champion: Peter Ceulemans earned 12,000 euros for himself, while losing finalist Eddy Merckx received half of that winner's prize.
The Royal Seginus Hotel in Antalya, where all those billiards players, coaches, and fans had such beautiful accommodation, closed its doors on this Sunday after the final ceremony. Therese Klompenhouwer had to make it with 2,000 euros, and Karina Jetten received 800 euros for winning the team championship. The French players Jérémy Bury and Mikaël Devogelaere also received that prize. Amir Ibraimov is the junior champion and earned a nice sum of 1,700 euros for a billiards-playing student.
Dutch ladies Karina Jetten and Therese Klompenhouwer alant with the gold medal in the ladies