Two tables with history.
My team played a league match this evening in Zundert (Den Hoek), a legendary billiard room near the Belgian border in the Netherlands. No other room in the world can claim that two runs of 28 were made on their tables. Owner Louis Havermans, a former top player himself who was 9th on the world ranking at his peak, told us the story of the first of those two runs, made by Junichi Komori in 1993.
I’ll let Louis speak:
“Two journalists were there, and they had come especially for Komori. He was a legend of course, and it was the first time ever that a Japanese player had performed in the Dutch League. It didn’t go well at all for Komori who was visibly nervous: opponent Frans van Kuijk reached the halfway point at 31-11 in 21. That’s when Komori started his record-breaking run. He played it so beautifully; there was never a fluke and everything was controlled speed. When the ref announced “15”, Jan Arnouts and Richard Bitalis at the other table stopped playing. Now the atmosphere became even more electric. There was applause after every point, but you could hear a pin drop when Komori lined up his next shot. Such a shame that there was no video camera that day. I have forgotten what the 29th point was like, but that day I’ll never forget.” Final score: Komori wins 50-40 in 33.
One last detail about those 28’s: Frans van Kuijk is the only person in the world who witnessed THREE of them. He was Komori’s opponent in 1993, he was playing on the adjacent table when Roland Forthomme ran 28 in 2012, and he was Raymond Ceulemans’ teammate when Mr. 100 ran 28 in the Dutch League in 1998.
American players sometimes ask about billiard rooms worth visiting when they tour Europe. I’ll say “Den Hoek” (in Vincent van Gogh's birthplace) should be on your list. Food’s pretty good too!
My team played a league match this evening in Zundert (Den Hoek), a legendary billiard room near the Belgian border in the Netherlands. No other room in the world can claim that two runs of 28 were made on their tables. Owner Louis Havermans, a former top player himself who was 9th on the world ranking at his peak, told us the story of the first of those two runs, made by Junichi Komori in 1993.
I’ll let Louis speak:
“Two journalists were there, and they had come especially for Komori. He was a legend of course, and it was the first time ever that a Japanese player had performed in the Dutch League. It didn’t go well at all for Komori who was visibly nervous: opponent Frans van Kuijk reached the halfway point at 31-11 in 21. That’s when Komori started his record-breaking run. He played it so beautifully; there was never a fluke and everything was controlled speed. When the ref announced “15”, Jan Arnouts and Richard Bitalis at the other table stopped playing. Now the atmosphere became even more electric. There was applause after every point, but you could hear a pin drop when Komori lined up his next shot. Such a shame that there was no video camera that day. I have forgotten what the 29th point was like, but that day I’ll never forget.” Final score: Komori wins 50-40 in 33.
One last detail about those 28’s: Frans van Kuijk is the only person in the world who witnessed THREE of them. He was Komori’s opponent in 1993, he was playing on the adjacent table when Roland Forthomme ran 28 in 2012, and he was Raymond Ceulemans’ teammate when Mr. 100 ran 28 in the Dutch League in 1998.
American players sometimes ask about billiard rooms worth visiting when they tour Europe. I’ll say “Den Hoek” (in Vincent van Gogh's birthplace) should be on your list. Food’s pretty good too!
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