Therese Klompenhouwer just finished playing in a "Grand Prix" tournament in Holland and finished 9th, with an average of 1.254. Not bad for a women player or anyone else in the USA.
OOSTERHOUT – The champ was at his very best, and on the days of truth, nobody could touch him. Today (Saturday), Dick Jaspers won the oosterhout Grand Prix with supremacy and class seldom before seen. The man from Brabant defeated his compatriot Barry van Beers in the final: 40-29 (17).
It was Jaspers’ first Grand prix victory of the season, following Raimond Burgman’s two wins earlier in the year. In the third part of the cycle, the former European and World champion was in a class of his own. The title belonged to Jaspers, and to nobody else. The audience in the cosy billiard room in Oosterhout was treated to matches on an international top level, durinng the final days.
Dick Jaspers recorded short match after short match, had a high run of 17, and turned his opponents into fish, in the pond where he was the shark.
His 4 matches in the knockout stage of the tournament gave him a general average that can only be played by the greatest of the greats: 2.622. He produced that in matches against Adrie Demming (40 in 14), Jean van Erp (40 in 14), Glenn Hofman (40 in 16) and finally the championship match against Barry van Beers (40 in 17 innings).
The rhythm and authority were back, his game had precision, his confidence at the table was obvious, and he was hungry to show who is the best in his home country.
Was there ever any doubt? Yes, for a while, because Dick Jaspers did not have his best year and Raimond Burgman seemed to launch an attack on the throne of the phenom.
He won two GP’s and was runner-up at the EC, but that of course is not yet a match for Dick Jaspers’ international palmares.
We’ll have to conclude that this was a temporary slump, caused possibly by changes in his private life, a form dip or a different human cause, not unlike other great players such as Torbjörn Blomdahl, Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx and Dani Sánchez have experienced.
Is Dick Jaspers back?
That remains to be seen, as one swallow does not make a summer. But there is no denying that his performance in this Grand Prix was impressive.
Today, he beat Barry van Beers in the final, making him the best of the rest. The man from Brabant was considered to be a major talent years ago, but he never fulfilled that promise with shining results.
,,I still have too many ups and downs'', said Van Beers after he had knocked Raimond Burgman out of the tournament. But sometimes, on his good days, he is unstoppable. Like last year, in a World Cup, also against Burgman, where he made his two sets of 15 points in a combined 10 innings.
Raimond Burgman will remain the leader in the Grand Prix cycle ranking. He is on 186 points after three tournaments. Jean Paul de Bruijn is second, before Barry van Beers, Dick Jaspers and Martien van der Spoel.
Dick Jaspers and Dave Christiani have both missed one of the three tournaments.
The final ranking for “Oosterhout”:
1 Dick Jaspers, 2.187
2 Barry van Beers 1.662
3 Jean Paul de Bruijn 1.535
4 Glenn Hofman 1.474
5 Raimond Burgman 1.672
6 Jean van Erp 1.364
7 Jan Arnouts 1.347
8 Wim van Cromvoirt 1.064
9 Therese Klompenhouwer 1.254
10 Martien van der Spoel 1.196.
The interim standing in the Grand Prix cycle:
1 Raimond Burgman 186, 2 Jean Paul de Bruijn 118, 3 Barry van Beers 108, 4 Dick Jaspers 106, 5 Martien van der Spoel 92, 6 Glenn Hofman 90, 7 Dave Christiani 70, 8 Jan Arnouts 68k, 9 Jeffrey Jorissen 64, 10 Harrie van de Ven 52.
Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
OOSTERHOUT – The champ was at his very best, and on the days of truth, nobody could touch him. Today (Saturday), Dick Jaspers won the oosterhout Grand Prix with supremacy and class seldom before seen. The man from Brabant defeated his compatriot Barry van Beers in the final: 40-29 (17).
It was Jaspers’ first Grand prix victory of the season, following Raimond Burgman’s two wins earlier in the year. In the third part of the cycle, the former European and World champion was in a class of his own. The title belonged to Jaspers, and to nobody else. The audience in the cosy billiard room in Oosterhout was treated to matches on an international top level, durinng the final days.
Dick Jaspers recorded short match after short match, had a high run of 17, and turned his opponents into fish, in the pond where he was the shark.
His 4 matches in the knockout stage of the tournament gave him a general average that can only be played by the greatest of the greats: 2.622. He produced that in matches against Adrie Demming (40 in 14), Jean van Erp (40 in 14), Glenn Hofman (40 in 16) and finally the championship match against Barry van Beers (40 in 17 innings).
The rhythm and authority were back, his game had precision, his confidence at the table was obvious, and he was hungry to show who is the best in his home country.
Was there ever any doubt? Yes, for a while, because Dick Jaspers did not have his best year and Raimond Burgman seemed to launch an attack on the throne of the phenom.
He won two GP’s and was runner-up at the EC, but that of course is not yet a match for Dick Jaspers’ international palmares.
We’ll have to conclude that this was a temporary slump, caused possibly by changes in his private life, a form dip or a different human cause, not unlike other great players such as Torbjörn Blomdahl, Frédéric Caudron, Eddy Merckx and Dani Sánchez have experienced.
Is Dick Jaspers back?
That remains to be seen, as one swallow does not make a summer. But there is no denying that his performance in this Grand Prix was impressive.
Today, he beat Barry van Beers in the final, making him the best of the rest. The man from Brabant was considered to be a major talent years ago, but he never fulfilled that promise with shining results.
,,I still have too many ups and downs'', said Van Beers after he had knocked Raimond Burgman out of the tournament. But sometimes, on his good days, he is unstoppable. Like last year, in a World Cup, also against Burgman, where he made his two sets of 15 points in a combined 10 innings.
Raimond Burgman will remain the leader in the Grand Prix cycle ranking. He is on 186 points after three tournaments. Jean Paul de Bruijn is second, before Barry van Beers, Dick Jaspers and Martien van der Spoel.
Dick Jaspers and Dave Christiani have both missed one of the three tournaments.
The final ranking for “Oosterhout”:
1 Dick Jaspers, 2.187
2 Barry van Beers 1.662
3 Jean Paul de Bruijn 1.535
4 Glenn Hofman 1.474
5 Raimond Burgman 1.672
6 Jean van Erp 1.364
7 Jan Arnouts 1.347
8 Wim van Cromvoirt 1.064
9 Therese Klompenhouwer 1.254
10 Martien van der Spoel 1.196.
The interim standing in the Grand Prix cycle:
1 Raimond Burgman 186, 2 Jean Paul de Bruijn 118, 3 Barry van Beers 108, 4 Dick Jaspers 106, 5 Martien van der Spoel 92, 6 Glenn Hofman 90, 7 Dave Christiani 70, 8 Jan Arnouts 68k, 9 Jeffrey Jorissen 64, 10 Harrie van de Ven 52.
Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
