TURNHOUT – A strong four-team leading group has been formed in the Belgian team competition this week. Mister 100 is topping the pack with 10 match points out of 6 matches after defeating Herstalien 6-2 in the top match. The teams one point behind the leaders are Biljart Express, Herstalien, and Op de Meir. Two matches stood out this week in terms of scores. Biljart Express played a fantastic team average of almost 2 (1.975) against De Leug, with Eddy Merckx and Frans van Kuyk as strong leaders. Mister 100 took the lead in the head-to-head match against Herstalien. Peter Ceulemans was the dominant leader in the match against Roland Forthomme, winning 40-26 in 17 innings (2,352). It was a Ceulemans party in this top-billings, because Kurt and Bart also defeated Broux and Wyn.
Eddy Merckx, playing for Biljart Express, defeated Jeffrey Jorissen, the leader at De Leug, 40-29 in 13 innings, averaging 3.076 for Merckx, 2.230 for Jorissen. Frans van Kuyk defeated Davy van Havere 40-15 in 14 innings, averaging 2.057. Gerwin Valentijn posted a respectable 1.818 against Andy de Bondt, with only Guy van Litsenborg trailing slightly with 1.250. The team performance itself was phenomenal.
BC Op de Meir had a walkover against the last-place team. The second team of Mister 100 was defeated 8-0. Barry van Beers, also in top form in the Netherlands on Sunday, was the best player for the Op de Meir team in 20 innings against Marc Celen, while Jef Philipoom was only a little down, winning against Tom de Ruyter in 22 innings.
T's Place gave Kon. Kortrijkse no chance at home, thrashing them 8-0. The victories were all substantial. Only Ronny Brants came close against Peter De Backer, winning 40-32 in 31 innings. Brants was the only player over 1 average, the rest of the team had an off day. Steven van Acker was the best winner for T's Place, scoring 40 in 21 innings against Frédéric Roelants, who only managed 15 points. Huub Wilkowski and Joey de Kok were the other two winners, scoring 40 in 38 and 33 innings.
Royal Bruges and BC Zevenbergen shared match points and remain near the middle of the pack. Henk Blauwblomme was the best winner in 25 innings. The score could have gone in BC Zevenbergen's favor with wins for Tom Persyn and Rudy de Laet, but Peter Mostrey saved one point for Bruges by winning by one carom against Jordy de Kuijf.
The standings after six rounds (only De Witte Molen-De Ploeg are still being played on Thursday):
- Mister 100 Lier 10-1,159-13
- Biljart Express 9-1,392-14
- Op de Meir 9-1,278-16
- Herstalien 9-1,246-14
- T’s Place 7-1,230-9
- Kon. Bruges 7-1,035-11
- De Witte Molen 6-1,040-9
- Zevenbergen 5-1,035-11
- De Leug 4-1,067-9
- Kon. Kortrijk 2-0,962-10
- BC De Ploeg 1-1,024-13
- Mister 100 Lier 2 1-0,935-8