BERLICUM - The 21 national titles won by Dick Jaspers do not yet guarantee another championship in the Netherlands. At the Jumbo Masters in Berlicum, kicked off this Wednesday afternoon with 15 men and one lady, the world's number one was beaten in his first appearance by a complete outsider in this field: showman and one-year older Amsterdam billiard dealer Frans van Schaik (58). It was 3-2 in sets in the opening match, so Dick Jaspers will have to start a catch-up race to reach the last eight of these Masters. The best on the opening day was Dave Christiani, with a win over the reigning champion Jean Paul de Bruijn 3-1 (2,438), followed by Glenn Hofman, the Hague player who has returned from the PBA at 32 year of age. We all remember who won the Masters last year: also an ex-PBA player, Zeeuw Jean Paul de Bruijn. Best player on the first day of play: Dave Christiani with a win over Jean Paul de Bruijn and a final run of 10.
The first, early skirmishes in the beautiful arena of the Beneluxtheatre gave an early glimpse into the chances, quality and form of the contenders. Two (or three) of the four series leaders fell in the overture, but will of course get a retake in the coming days. Dick Jaspers was a totally unexpected loser, Jerry Hermans and Adrie Demming, the other group heads, are not directly among the top favourites. That does apply, given the first scores, for the remainder of the preliminary rounds at least for a podium place for Dave Christiani, Glenn Hofman, Raymund Swertz, Jean van Erp and Raimond Burgman.
Glenn Hofman, the second youngest in these Masters following Joey de Kok, flashed out of the starting blocks with a brilliant match against Barry van Beers. That was Hofman's first appearance after his brief adventure in the PBA and after the suspension he suffered to play the Masters. Jean Paul de Bruijn did the same last year and even crowned his come-back with the Masters title. For Hofman, there is still a long way to go, most of all because he has been drawn in the toughest group for the Masters. The Hague professional's start bodes well, as Barry van Beers, yet another renowned Masters player, was swept off the table with a riant 3-0 score. Only in the third set, Van Beers was equally threatening with seven from the start, but Hofman leveled with seven and scored the winning point at 9-9 (10-6 in 5, 10-2 in 5, 10-9 in 4, 2,142/1,308).
The star in the last evening's matches, Dave Christiani, surpassed the best match so far. The Limburg player made the first day even more sensational after Jaspers' loss on the early day session. The ever erratic and unpredictable Christiani faced Jean Paul de Bruijn, the 2022 Master. The titleholder was not yet shocked by the first set, which he lost by 10-6 in 4, narrowly went to a 10-9 win in the second, but was taken to the rack in the next two sets. Christiani first won 10-5 in 5 for a 2-1 in sets and exploded in the last with the maximum run of 10 from the break. The 3-1 victory showed averages of 2.438 for Christiani and 1.400 for De Bruijn. That provides Christiani with an excellent starting position. ''I usually start very bad at the Masters, which forces me to win both other matches. Now I was good from the start: I went full speed and could win, so finally an excellent start at the Masters.'' In his group, Joey de Kok was the other winner in the match against Adrie Demming: 3-1. Therefore, De Kok is the next opponent of Christiani, on Thursday in the first session.
Jean van Erp and Jeffrey Jorissen played for the first, important win in this most dangerous group. The match went up and down with first win for home-playing Van Erp (10-8 in 10), Jorissen's equalizer (10-5 in 4), a lead for the Hague plyer with a second set win (10-9 in 6) and finally Jean van Erp's knockout: 10-4 and 10-5 (1,466 for Van Erp, 1,275 for Jorissen). The gun smoke only just cleared after Frans van Schaik miracle match against Dick Jaspers. ''I could win only once before against Dick, but lost 14 out of 15 times.'' That's why this was somewhat historic for the Amsterdam native, who announced with his famous bluff after the match: ''We go for a little party tonight.''
Frans van Schaik said before the game still discouraged: ''I did the break five times when practicing on these new cloths and missed four times.'' But in the match, there was a miraculous turn around: Van Schaik won the first two sets against the faltering Jaspers 10-5 in 4 and 10-4 in 6. The former and five-time world champion looked a bit perturbed, went on to win his first set 10-0 and made the equalizer 10-6 from 8. Then it came to a 7-0 for Jaspers in the decisive fifth set, but Van Schaik suddenly saw the light. On a score of 8-1 for Jaspers, the sensation was complete: Frans van Schaik played out the set and the match with a final run of 9: 3-2 (1,541 for Jaspers, 1,500 for Van Schaik).
Raymund Swertz made a flawless start in the same group. With apparent ease, the Limburg player beat his opponent Kay de Zwart by a dry 3-0 (10-2 in 6, 10-2 in 5, 10-9 in 9). That resulted in a nice 1.500 for the long-time renowned classic player.
Raimond Burgman, according to insiders in the latter days of his career, made a punitive expedition of his match against Therese Klompenhouwer (3-0) at the start of the evening sessions. That painful beating for the world champion, who just turned 40, comes exactly four days after she won the Dutch women's title with a big margin and with over 1 average.
Therese ran into a wall against the player who once was her billiard teacher. Burgman showed his familiar strategy, dominating the match and rarely leaving makeable balls for Klompenhouwer. The scores were striking: 10-4 in 6, 10-2 in 6 and 10-1 in 5 (Burgman 30 in 17, 1.764, Therese 7 in 15, 0.466 average). Things are getting exciting in this group, as Jack Wijnen won 3-2 on the other billiard against his teammate and team boss Jerry Hermans (1.143/1.114). Jack Wijnen from Dongen, at 62 years the oldest in these Masters, suddenly sees chances to make it to the top eight as number two of his group. He is playing his third Masters and has never made it to the knock-out stage. His first Masters was still at De Blauwe Kei in Veghel in 1995, when Henk Habraken won a car for a run of 15.
The standings after the first day:
Groupl A:
1 Raymund Swertz 2-1,500-6
2 Frans van Schaik 2-1,500-9
3 Dick Jaspers 0-1,541-6
4 Kay de Zwart 0-0.722-5
Group B:
1 Glenn Hofman 2-2,142-7
2 Jean van Erp 2-1,466-5
3 Jeffrey Jorissen 0-1.275-3
4 Barry van Beers 0-1,307-7
Group C:
1 Raimond Burgman 2-1,764-5
2 Jack Wijnen 2-1,142-7
3 Jerry Hermans 0-1,114-5
4 Therese Klompenhouwer 0-0.466-2
Group D:
1 Dave Christiani 2-2.437-10
2 Joey de Kok 2-0.950-5
3 Jean Paul de Bruijn 0-1.400-4
4 Adrie Demming 0-0.743-4.
Dave Christiani, best match of the day in the last session with a maximum run of 10
Dave Christiani was the better of Jean Paul de Bruijn in the last session
Glenn Hofman, back from PBA, best winner on the first day at the Masters
Raimond Burgman, a bridge too far for Therese Klompenhouwer
Jean van Erp, well on his way after victory over Jeffrey Jorissen
Jack Wijnen, the oldest at the Masters, started with a win over Jerry Hermans
Joey de Kok, winner in match with Adrie Demming, next opponent Dave Christiani
Jorien and Yara applaud for daddy Raymund Swertz