The Belgian league has been underway for barely two weeks and the sensational scores are coming thick and fast. Three leaders still have maximum match points after a fantastic start. The teams from Biljart Express and Mister 100 have not lost a single match yet, while Herstalien is a notable number three. Roland Forthomme had an overwhelming start to the competition for his team. The leader won his first match with 40 in 8 against Ronny Brants and on Monday evening with 40 in 18 against Jef Philipoom. Two Belgian veterans had absolutely no chance against the maestro, who could have finished much earlier on Monday, but took five innings over his last carom.
The best starter has an average over 3 for 80 caroms in his first matches. Herstalien had another remarkable player. Thomas Broux started the competition weakly with 40 in 49, but this Monday evening there was a completely different player at the match table. Herstalien came back from a 3-1 deficit at the break against Op de Meir thanks to its leaders Forthomme and Broux. The one match point before the break came from Roland Uijtdewillegen with a 40-40 against Dany Boutet.
Thomas Broux defeated Barry van Beers 40-22 in 14 innings, a stark contrast to his first match. Broux started against Vandendriessche with a win, but with an average 0.816. This Monday, he scored an astonishing 2.857, more than three times better than in his first appearance. Thomas Broux was the man of the evening at Op de Meir, which, with its top players Jef Philipoom and Barry van Beers, was swept off the tables by the two stars of the evening. Thomas Broux said the next morning: “I played a lesser game for the start of the competition, but now I had the perfect start with 7 and a finish with 6, 0, 8, and 7.” That was the climax of the evening
Thomas Broux is 37, lives in Gingelom near Sint Truiden, is father of three children, and works as a project manager for a municipality. Thomas was not a standout junior, even though he started playing billiards at the age of ten. Quality comes with age. "My best year was last year with 1.350 on average, my best game was in 16 innings. And now 14 innings, it’s almost unbelievable. The omens were already good, I played a draw against Polychronopoulos in Porto. I really have to say: I learn incredibly from Roland Forthomme, our leader. He is an example to me in experience, mentality, vision, and concentration. It's a pleasure to play with him."
At the top of the rankings, Biljart Express leads after two rounds on match scores, after the Turnhout team defeated Koninklijke Brugse at home. Eddy Merckx was the best player with 40-24 in 18 against Henk Blauwblomme, Frans van Kuyk, Guy van Litsenborg, and Martin Spoormans won in 23, 26, and 39 turns. A nice detail during the match: Frans van Kuyk and Henk Blauwblomme both made a run of 11 at the same time.
After a less successful day in the Netherlands, Peter Ceulemans once again almost reached an average of 2 with a victory over Ronny Brants: 40-26 in 21. Kurt Ceulemans, Jerry Hermans, and Bart Ceulemans were the other three winners, bringing Mister 100 to 16 wins after two matches.
T's Place won the away game against De Ploeg 5-3 thanks to Peter De Backer, Huub Wilkowski, and Joey de Kok, who played 40-40 against Johan Claessen. DBC De Leug lost at home to De Witte Molen, where Johan Loncelle was the best player with a win over Jeffrey Jorissen: 40-32 in 26 turns. Davy van Havere defeated Francis Forton 40-31 in 28.
Roland Forthomme, a fabulous start of the competition in Belgium