The small town of Zundert is on the Dutch side of the border with Belgium, and Vincent van Gogh’s birthplace is a remarkable little hamlet. Just 20.000 people, but nowhere will you find more expertise about dahlias, strawberries or garden shrubbery. The annual flower corso is to Zundert what the Palio is to Siena, Italy. They love sports, but soccer is not a big deal here. Cycling is nr. 2, and billiards is nr. 3, dodging taxes of course being the nr. 1 most popular sport. Continue reading These Verhoevens have seen it all→
Meet Philip: he’s a fun guy, but he does his thinking and talking in reverse order regularly. That can be annoying in some, charming in others. He gets away with it, thanks to a streetwise sense of humor. And he’s a strong player. I never get tired of telling that story of him, “explaining” his average. “I did just under 0.900 last season, which is poor for me. But I won 17 of my 22 matches. I say, if you are a team player, you should not care about innings. I play defensive when I have to, because the game is all about winning. I can average 1.100 for a season, easily. But in the league, It’s not about your vanity, it’s about the team result. I don’t play for average, I play to win.” Continue reading 3-cushion should have an ELO-rating. Oh wait… it has.→
The first day of play has been completed, Marco Zanetti has just beaten Rene Hendriksen from Switzerland 40 – 33 in 44 (!) innings, and I hear one of those cynical know-it-all 3-cushion journalists say: “We may not know who will win this tournament, but at least we know who will NOT win it.”
Let me help you answer that question. It’s not the tip, even though they are outrageously overpriced these days. It’s not the shaft, even though Molinari, to name just one of several fine brands that will hate me tomorrow, charge more for a 314-2 than I paid for my first car. And surprise surprise, it’s not the butt either. Continue reading What is the most expensive part of your cue?→
No, I’m not talking about Karma, the cue manufacturer. I am sure they are decent people who make fine sticks. This is about things from your past, that jump up and bite you in the neck. It may be something you do, it may be something you say. It could take twenty years, it could take ten minutes. Continue reading Karma is a bitch→
How do you get a group of Europeans to jump off a bridge? It sounds difficult, but it isn’t. You tell the British it’s a tradition. To the French, you say it’s fashionable. The Dutch will jump when you tell them it’s free. The Germans? Just show them the paperwork and give the order. And you tell the Italians that it is forbidden. Continue reading A good German. And an even better one.→
We are quite used to having a Korean World Cup tournament on the calendar now. But that tradition started just a few years ago, in 2007. The country of Hyundai and Samsung has really taken the 3-cushion world by storm. Here’s a short recap of the events where Korea was our host: Continue reading They speak Korean. That’s my only point of criticism→
The World Cup in Porto did not have a dull moment. It was top entertainment all week, and both finalists deserve a lot of credit. Forthomme had been away from the podium since 2006 (!), but he proved he’s still a major player. He won from (far) behind twice, eliminated Caudron and was just a kiss away from his third World Cup victory. Jaspers had not won since 2011 (Lima), and he must have been so relieved. Two miraculous wins, the first a shootout against Vietnamese revelation Tran (40-40, then 9-3), the second against Roland the lion, 40-39 the final score. Yes, he was saved by an unlucky kiss at match point for Forthomme. But what a superb run of four did he come up with, to win the title! Second and third point, both extremely demanding positions, played with exemplary technique and great courage. Continue reading As so often, the scoreboard was lying→
There was a bright, pool-playing youngster on English Kozoom chat the other day, watching 3-cushion with appreciation. He was critical of the equalizing inning. With typical 20-year old overconfidence, he said: “Completely idiotic system, if you are the first to cross the finish line, you win. Who wants a draw in sports anyway? Why even play the lag, if there is no advantage in winning it?” Let me say it again, it was a smart kid. But his comments proved he was clueless about the psychology of billiards. An equal-innings match is a thing of beauty. If you’ve played a thousand of ‘em, you know. Continue reading Equal innings, what’s the point?→
Our prized possession, our trusted friend, the tool of our craft. Most of us even own more than one, and they are good ones. We are like a chef and his knives, or a Tiger and his woods. Billiard players relate to their cue as to their car: not only should it get them from A to B, it should also tell the world who they are.
So this is what we do: we buy a good cue, and then a better one. A few years later: another one, even better still. We are adults for a while, realising the rest is up to us, it’s not going to be the cue’s fault from now on. This is our stick, we are proud of it. Then one day, there is a cue brand that convinces us they have made a significant improvement of some sort. A world class player uses their cue, and his game is fingerlickin’ good. We are a kid again. We want that cue. Continue reading The stick we never seem to be able to stick with→
The game is bigger than everyone else! "Torbjorn Blomdahl"
The small town of Zundert is on the Dutch side of the border with Belgium, and Vincent van Gogh’s birthplace is a remarkable little hamlet. Just 20.000 people, but nowhere will you find more expertise about dahlias, strawberries or garden shrubbery. The annual flower corso is to Zundert what the Palio is to Siena, Italy. They love sports, but soccer is not a big deal here. Cycling is nr. 2, and billiards is nr. 3, dodging taxes of course being the nr. 1 most popular sport. Continue reading These Verhoevens have seen it all