The Crystal Kelly Cup or Crystal Kelly Tournament (sometimes: ''Chrystal Kelly'') was a prestigious, generously funded
carom billiards
Carom billiards, also called French billiards and sometimes carambole billiards, is the overarching title of a family of cue sports generally played on cloth-covered, billiard tables. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score ...
invitational tournament in the discipline of
three-cushion
Three-cushion billiards, also called three-cushion carom, is a form of carom billiards. The object of the game is to the off both while contacting the at least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each s ...
, which has been held at different venues from 1994 to 2011, a total of 18 times, mostly in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
and
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million
The tournament was launched in 1994 by the businessman and software-founder of
Volmac
Capgemini SE is a French multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France.
History
Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. Th ...
Joop van Oosterom
Joop van Oosterom (12 December 1937 – 22 October 2016) was a Dutch billionaire, chess and billiards sponsor, and twice correspondence chess world champion. His fortune, made with the Volmac Software Group, was estimated by Dutch financial ma ...
, who is also a billiards and chess enthusiast. The tournament was named after his daughter Crystal Kelly van Oosterom, as well as for the Dutch ''Eredivisie'' club of "Crystal Kelly," which was also very successful. In 1992 Joop already dedicated
Melody Amber
The Amber chess tournament (officially the ''Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament'', previously ''Melody Amber'') was an annual invitation-only event for some of the world's best players, from 1992 to 2011. Since the second edition, the event ...
, a blindfold and
correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less commo ...
tournament, to his other daughter.
In 2010, Joop announced that he will give up the sponsorship the following year. Thus, the 2011-tournament was the last.
Raymond Ceulemans
Raymond Ceulemans (born 12 July 1937) is a Belgian billiards player who won 21 UMB three-cushion World Championship titles, more than any other player. Along with 48 European titles ...
, the three-cushion-legend form Belgium, was part of the tournament from the beginning on, from 1994 to 2006 as a player, in the early years he finished he still finished as a front runner, though he never could win the tournament. After his retirement from active billiards sports (2006) he was the tournament director.
Torbjörn Blomdahl
Torbjörn Blomdahl (born 26 October 1962 in Gothenburg) is a Swedish people, Swedish professional carom billiards (and to a lesser extent pocket billiards, pool) player from Helsingborg, Sweden who plays for FC Porto (billiards), FC Porto. He is ...
and
Dick Jaspers
Dingeman Jacobus Johannes "Dick" Jaspers (pronounced yas-pers) (born 23 July 1965) is a Dutch professional carom billiards player who specializes in the three-cushion event.
Early life
Jaspers started playing billiards when he was three years o ...
participated in all 18 tournaments, in which the latter is eight times record winner of the tournament and Blomdahl was second with 5 wins.
It was carrying out 13 times in Monte Carlo, 3 times in Nice and one time in
Scheveningen
Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
and
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
as of the end of the season in early June. The only exception was in 2005 when the tournament was held in late August.
The tournament was one of the best-paid - the prizes were ever tournament always around U.S. $70,000, there were extra bonuses for services paid and the winner took home about $20,000 - its kind, similar to the AGIPI Billiard Masters in
Schiltigheim
Schiltigheim (, ; Alsatian: ''Schelige'' ; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
The inhabitants are called ''Schilikois'' in French and ''Scheligemer'' in Alsatian.
It is the largest suburb of the ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and it was considered as "The little World Championship". Among the players who called the tournament also "The Monaco", it had a high reputation and everyone gladly followed the invitation of van Oosterom. They were all, including their wives/partners, flown in and have been guests of the family van Oosterom for a week. There was just one game each day for everyone on the time table, and so there was a lot of time for trips and excursions.
Only participant from America was Sang Chun Lee from the USA .
Tournament structure
The number of participants ranged between eight and ten players. A total of 17 different players in the tournament. Many players have been invited over the years, such as:
Semih Saygıner
Semih Saygıner (born 12 November 1964), nicknamed Mr. Magic or The Turkish Prince, is a Turkish world champion professional carom billiards player specialized in three-cushion event.
Family life
Semih Saygıner was born to a tailor father Fa ...
Marco Zanetti
Marco Zanetti (born 10 April 1962) is an Italian professional three-cushion billiards player and a two-time world champion from Bolzano, Italy.
Privat
Zanetti started playing billiards at 7. He needed a chair to play. His father, Erwin Zanetti ...
(11 ×) and Daniel Sánchez (8 ×). In the last tournament in 2011 the ten participants were divided into two groups of five players each.
These were:
* Groupe A:
**
Marco Zanetti
Marco Zanetti (born 10 April 1962) is an Italian professional three-cushion billiards player and a two-time world champion from Bolzano, Italy.
Privat
Zanetti started playing billiards at 7. He needed a chair to play. His father, Erwin Zanetti ...
Eddy Merckx
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
Dick Jaspers
Dingeman Jacobus Johannes "Dick" Jaspers (pronounced yas-pers) (born 23 July 1965) is a Dutch professional carom billiards player who specializes in the three-cushion event.
Early life
Jaspers started playing billiards when he was three years o ...
**
Torbjörn Blomdahl
Torbjörn Blomdahl (born 26 October 1962 in Gothenburg) is a Swedish people, Swedish professional carom billiards (and to a lesser extent pocket billiards, pool) player from Helsingborg, Sweden who plays for FC Porto (billiards), FC Porto. He is ...
Semih Saygıner
Semih Saygıner (born 12 November 1964), nicknamed Mr. Magic or The Turkish Prince, is a Turkish world champion professional carom billiards player specialized in three-cushion event.
Family life
Semih Saygıner was born to a tailor father Fa ...
** Peter Ceulemans
The first stage was played in the round-robin mode with equal innings. The final round was played in a
knock-out
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...
mode as first to 50 points without equal innings. The places 3-10 were played out.
Winners table
;Notes
* Blomdahl plays the unofficial world record of a GA of 2,324 and a SpA of 3,571 (dito 1996).
* Jaspers plays a SpA of 4,166.
* R. Ceulemans plays a SpA of 3,846.
* Jaspers plays a SpA of 5,000, 50 points in 10 innings.
* Blomdahl plays a SpA of 3,846
* In 2009 the best tournament average of 1,865 has been played.
* Jaspers plays a SpA of 4,545.
* Jaspers plays a record GA of 2,623, which is an unofficial record.
Marco Zanetti
Marco Zanetti (born 10 April 1962) is an Italian professional three-cushion billiards player and a two-time world champion from Bolzano, Italy.
Privat
Zanetti started playing billiards at 7. He needed a chair to play. His father, Erwin Zanetti ...
Raymond Ceulemans
Raymond Ceulemans (born 12 July 1937) is a Belgian billiards player who won 21 UMB three-cushion World Championship titles, more than any other player. Along with 48 European titles ...
Raymond Ceulemans
Raymond Ceulemans (born 12 July 1937) is a Belgian billiards player who won 21 UMB three-cushion World Championship titles, more than any other player. Along with 48 European titles ...
Semih Saygıner
Semih Saygıner (born 12 November 1964), nicknamed Mr. Magic or The Turkish Prince, is a Turkish world champion professional carom billiards player specialized in three-cushion event.
Family life
Semih Saygıner was born to a tailor father Fa ...