Raymond Ceulemans facts for kids
Raymond Ceulemans in 2011
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| Born | 12 July 1937 Lier, Belgium |
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| Sport country |  Belgium |
| Professional | 1961–2001 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Belgium |
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| Men's Three-cushion billiards | ||
| UMB World Championship | ||
| Gold | Neuss 1963 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Oostende 1964 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Hilversum 1965 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Buenos Aires 1966 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Lima 1967 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Düren 1968 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Tokyo 1969 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Las Vegas 1970 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Groningen 1971 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Buenos Aires 1972 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Cairo 1973 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | La Paz 1975 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Ostend 1976 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Tokyo 1977 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Las Vegas 1978 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Lima 1979 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Buenos Aires 1980 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Aix-les-Bains 1983 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Heeswijk-Dinther 1985 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Tokyo 1990 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Luxembourg 2001 | Three-cushion |
| Silver | Antwerp 1974 | Three-cushion |
| Silver | Tokyo 1991 | Three-cushion |
| Silver | Tokyo 1992 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Krefeld 1984 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Las Vegas 1986 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Tokyo 1988 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Tokyo 1989 | Three-cushion |
| World Cup | ||
| Gold | 1986 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | 1987 | Three-cushion |
| CEB European Championship | ||
| Gold | Kaatsheuvel 1962 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Brussels 1963 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Copenhagen 1964 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Vienna 1965 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Lisbon 1966 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Angoulême 1967 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Madrid 1968 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | The Hague 1969 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Tournai 1970 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Geel 1971 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Dortmund 1972 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Eeklo 1974 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Rotterdam 1975 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Valencia 1976 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Lausanne 1977 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Copenhagen 1978 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Düren 1979 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Helsingborg 1980 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Vienna 1981 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Porto 1982 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Dunkirk 1983 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Waalwijk 1987 | Three-cushion |
| Gold | Cairo 1992 | Three-cushion |
| Silver | Vejle 1988 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Triest 1961 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Amersfoort 1985 | Three-cushion |
| Bronze | Dordrecht 1991 | Three-cushion |
Raymond Ceulemans is a legendary Belgian billiards player. He was born on July 12, 1937. He is famous for winning more world championships in three-cushion billiards than anyone else. He earned 21 UMB three-cushion World Championship titles.
He also won 48 European titles and 61 national titles. People often called him "Mr 100" because of his amazing skills. In 2001, he became one of the first non-Americans to join the Billiard Congress of America's BCA Hall of Fame.
In 2003, the King of Belgium, Albert II, honored Raymond Ceulemans. He was given a special award called a knighthood. This was to celebrate his incredible achievements throughout his life.
Contents
Early Life and Billiards Beginnings
Raymond Ceulemans grew up in Lier, Belgium. When he was just 7 years old, he started playing billiards. He played on the table in his father's café.
He also enjoyed playing association football for his local team. He was a good midfielder and even caught the eye of a big club in 1958. However, he decided to focus all his energy on billiards instead of football.
A Champion's Professional Career
Raymond Ceulemans won his first Belgian three-cushion title in 1961. He was 23 years old at the time. The very next year, in 1962, he won his first CEB European Three-cushion Championship.
His first world title came in 1963 at the UMB World Three-cushion Championship. He played incredibly well, scoring many points per turn. He then went on to win this world title 11 times in a row! This amazing winning streak finally ended in 1974. He lost to Nobuaki Kobayashi in the final match.
Raymond Ceulemans was the first three-cushion player to reach very high scoring levels. He set new standards for how many points a player could average per turn.
He also won the first ever Three-Cushion World Cup in Paris, France, in 1986. He won two more World Cup titles in 1987 and 1990. In 1998, he tied a world record by scoring 28 points in a single turn during a professional match. This record was later broken by other players.
Raymond Ceulemans won the European three-cushion championship 23 times. He successfully defended his title 19 times. He also won 21 UMB World three-cushion championships. He defended these world titles 16 times.
Even at 64 years old, Raymond Ceulemans was still winning! He won his last UMB world title in 2001. This victory happened in Luxembourg, where he beat Marco Zanetti.
Raymond Ceulemans' Many Achievements
Raymond Ceulemans has won an incredible number of titles throughout his career. Here are some of his most important wins:
- UMB World Three-cushion Championship: He won this 21 times, including a streak of 11 wins in a row.
- UMB World One-cushion Championship: He won this 6 times.
- UMB World Pentathlon Championship: He won this 4 times.
- UMB Three-Cushion World Cup Overall Champion: He was the overall champion 3 times.
- CEB European Three-cushion Championship: He won this 23 times.
- CEB European One-cushion Championship: He won this 13 times.
- Belgian Three-cushion Championship: He won this 24 times.
He also won many other national and international tournaments. These include the International Simonis Cup 9 times and the Schaal Van Laere tournament 20 times.
Records Set by Raymond Ceulemans
Raymond Ceulemans set many records during his career. These records show how dominant he was in billiards.
UMB World Three-cushion Championship Records
- General Average (GA): He set new records for average points per game in 1963 (1.307), 1966 (1.345), 1973 (1.478), 1976 (1.500), 1978 (1.679), and 1986 (1.745).
- Special Average (SA): He also set records for special average in 1963 (2.068), 1966 (2.500), and 1986 (2.631).
- High Run (HR): He achieved high runs of 14 points in 1974 and 15 points in 1975 and 1980.
CEB European Three-cushion Championship Records
- General Average (GA): He set new general average records in 1963 (1.238), 1969 (1.538), 1971 (1.621), and 1991 (1.808).
- Special Average (SA): He set special average records in 1964 (1.764), 1965 (1.818 and 2.068), 1969 (2.222), and 1972 (2.875).
- High Run (HR): He made high runs of 17 points in 1964 and 20 points in 1973.
Awards and Recognition
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Raymond Ceulemans has received many honors and awards for his incredible career:
- Belgian National Sports Merit Award: 1966
- Belgian Sportsman of the year: 1967
- Honorary member of the Royal Belgian Billiard Association KBBB
- Honorary member of the Royal Dutch Billiard Association KNNB: 1980
- Sportsman of the century for the city of Mechelen: 1999
- Introduced into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame: 2001
- Knight in the Belgian Order of Leopold II: 2002
- Honorary member of the European Billiard Confederation: 2007
- Trophy of Legends: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Raymond Ceulemans para niños
