SINT WILLEBRORD – The honor list of achievements continues to grow and impress every year, his World Cup victories keep rolling in, Dick Jaspers remains the undisputed number one in the world rankings for three-cushion. The Dutch billiard player turns 60 today (born on 23 July 1965 in Sint Willebrord), celebrating his birthday at home with his two children and three-month-old grandson Louèn. ’’I still feel in top shape, I still feel capable of winning major tournaments, but I realise that my career is in its final part. My generation of sixties and more is facing increasing competition from young players and huge talents in our sport.’
Dick Jaspers has been world three-cushion champion five times, European champion five times and World Cup winner 32 times. That makes him one of the greatest players in history of three-cushion billiards. ’’It's a privilege to still be number one in the world at the age of 60,’ he realises. "Look at Raymond Ceulemans, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Marco Zanetti to see that billiard players can stay on top for a very long time. I don't know how long that will last for me. It takes a tremendous amount of energy, concentration and eagerness to still win tournaments. It would be nice if I could keep it up for a few more years, but every year will be more difficult and tougher. My last World Cups were not so convincing, that doubt always remains, I want to be there and compete for every tournament, I want to fight for every title to reach the top."
His famous predecessor, Raymond Ceulemans, turned 88, eleven days ago, Marco Zanetti turned 63 this year and Torbjörn Blomdahl 63 later this year. Dick Jaspers grew up in three-cushion billiards with that famous generation. ’’I achieved my first wins when I was 24 in 1990: two Dutch titles, second at the European Championship in a final against Blomdahl. After that, I achieved successes in almost every period, with the world titles as highlights.’ Jaspers won world gold in 2000, 2004, 2011, 2018 and 2021. He also won the World Games twice, in 2009 and 2022, the event in which Jaspers will be participating again in China in two weeks' time.
Dick Jaspers grew up in the café where his parents and grandparents ran a café/dancing. He followed the classical trainings and only later, in 1983, switched to the supreme discipline of three-cushion billiards. His breakthrough came at the age of 26 with his first World Cup victory in Tokyo with an average of 1,712. Jaspers became a professional billiards player when he signed a contract with Minolta in 1992. "For years, I had doubts about whether I wanted to make a living from billiards only. It has been uncertain for a long time, and even now. I always wanted to have a job on the side, for half days for example, but in the end I always remained a professional. That is an absolute privilege, even now. Times are always uncertain. We have just come through a period where we had five or six tournaments in Korea, now there is only one left. So for young players today, becoming a professional player, remains a gamble."
The milestone of his 60th birthday has certainly not affected Dick Jaspers' high class. In the UMB Events Ranking, the most important ranking, Jaspers leads ahead of Myung Woo Cho (Korea), Quyet Chien Tran (Vietnam), Eddy Merckx (Belgium) and Marco Zanetti (Italy). ’’I'm playing against young players who are extremely talented,’ he notes. "I will cherish every victory I achieve now. I’am extremely satisfied with my career so far; I think I've done very well. I realise that my strength is declining and my eyes will rreduce, so I'm under no illusion that I can keep this up until I'm 70. But I will continue to fight for every victory. I still belong to a small, select group that can win those big tournaments. The challenge is to stay on top as long as possible and keep up with the world's best."
