Raymond Ceulemans of Belgium is generally considered to be the best billiard player of all time. He has won the world title 17 times since 1962. He was born in the small village of Nijlen on 12 July 1937.
Raymond Ceulemans of Belgium is generally considered to be the best billiard player of all time. He has won the world title 17 times since 1962. He was born in the small village of Nijlen on 12 July 1937.
Perhaps the most amazing fact about him is that he has only ever played matches with one cue which he freezes after every match.
He was born is 1938 and is a world-class performer in straight billiards, cushion caroms, and all forms of balkline. He has been, since 1962, almost invincible in three-cushion billiards. In 1980 in Buenos Aires he won his 16th world tournament out of the last 17 held. His most impressive record is his 1.678 points per inning scoring average in the 1978 world tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2001, exactly 38 years and 22 days after his first World Championship, at the age of 64, Raymond Ceulemans became World Champion yet again. In Luxemburg, where the UMB tournament was played, Raymond showed the world that he could still beat them all.
In all forms of billiards (he does not play pocket games), Ceulemans has won more than 140 European and world titles. Ceulemans is still playing today but is losing ground to new, younger players. In October 2003, his achievements were recognised by the King of Belgium who awarded him a knighthood and so we can now call the great man "Sir Raymond Ceulemans".
Billiards is usually played on a pocketless table measuring 1.5 by 3 m (5 by 10 feet), using two cue balls (one for each player) and one or two red object balls. The simplest version, called straight, or free, billiards, is the most widely played; a point is scored by caroming the cue ball from one object ball to another. More difficult are cushion caroms, in which the cue ball must contact one or more cushions before completing the carom, and balkline, in which restrictions are imposed by lines drawn on the table.
Most difficult is three-cushion billiards, in which the cue ball must contact three or more cushions before completing the carom. A world tournament is held in a different country each year. Billiards were dominated from 1910 to 1952 by three Americans, Jake Schaefer, Jr. (1894-1975), Welker Cochran (1896-1959), and Willie Hoppe. The strongest U.S. player since 1970 has been Allen Gilbert of Los Angeles.
Links :