LIER - He has his fans and opponents in Belgian billiards, because Kurt Ceulemans has an outspoken opinion and never minces words. The Belgian federation, the KBBB, always feels Kurt Ceulemans' hot breath on its neck, because 'Kurtje', for his friends, is averse to bureaucracy and nepotism. That’s why he regularly clashes with the chairman and with other directors and why 'his BTS' is many times in disarray in the big body called KBBB.
The BTS is an organization in its own right, the organizer of tournaments and, in the past, the Superprestige. The BTS' rankings were not recognised by the KBBB at one point, it came to a series of conflicts and eventually a hefty split. The BTS announced two sabbaticals, the competitions ground to a halt and the Superprestige (once with golden years in Lommel) disappeared from the calendar.
Until Kurt launched the announcement these weeks: the Superprestige returns as the Supercup and will be played in Lier in a few weeks' time. So in the venue of the Mister 100. With the Belgian top and with the 16 players who have qualified from the rankings. So the first question to Kurt: is there peace again between KBBB and BTS. And between Belgian federation president Benny van Goethem and BTS leader Kurt Ceulemans?
''Yes, we are on speaking terms again,'' Kurt replied, although not yet fully. ''We’re going to work together again, the ranking is accepted, we retain autonomy, but we’re going to make good agreements and work together again.'' The die is cast, in short. And so the Superprestige, now under the name Supercup, returns to the calendar. The playing dates and the new name: Grand Prix EG-ELEC, in the Mister 100, Friday 1 September: quarter-finals, Saturday 2 September semi-finals from 14.00 and final at 16.00.
Kurt Ceulemans, on the antecedents: ’’The plan was to have the Super Cup played in Belsele near Sint Niklaas. At a certain point, the sponsorship did not quite materialize. We were faced with the choice: to go on or not. I went to work behind the scenes, contacted Erwin van Hoeck of an electricity company in Turnhout, who was already involved in the Superprestige. He wanted to be our main sponsor and we, with the Mister 100, were willing to organize the tournament with low budget. We did have to call the players to see if they agreed to reduce the prize money. That was no problem, everyone agreed.''
Of course, the organization also had to take into account the top players, because the international calendar is always getting busier. And when that too was resolved, the announcement could be made. Kurt Ceulemans: ’’Just keep in mind that there is a lot more to come, but that is for later. First and foremost, we don't want Belgian billiards go down further. That's never going to happen either.''
Starting with a clean slate? ’’Yes, more or less that is the intention,'' Kurt Ceulemans points out. ''It was the Mister 100 yes or not to organize. We won't do it in the party hall, because that was not possible, but upstairs, in an equally wonderful entourage. The most important thing for now is that after two years without it, it just goes on again.''
From now on, the rankings will again be made up over three BTS tournaments, the Belgian championship, the Cup of Belgium and the next three BTS tournaments.
The group format for the Super Cup:
Group A:
Jef Philipoom, Dirk Weeremans, Henk Blauwblomme, Kurt Ceulemans
Group B:
Steven van Acker, Ronny Brants, Davy van Havere, Marc Donvil
Group C:
Roland Forthomme, Francis Forton, Martin Spoormans, Andy de Bondt
Group D:
Eddy Merckx, Philippe Vandendriessche, Peter Ceulemans, Marc Celen.
There will also be a Next generation honorary prize for young players that week, Thursday 31 August: participants: Luca Philipoom, Nino Coeckelbergs, Nick Rosier and Tim van Hoeck.