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 (born July 12, 1937) is a famous Belgian billiards player. He is known as "Mr 100" because he won so many titles. He has won more World Championship titles than anyone else.
In 2003, the King of Belgium, Albert II, made Raymond Ceulemans a knight. This was to celebrate his amazing achievements in billiards. He was also put into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 2001. He was one of the first non-Americans to get this honor.
Contents
Early Life and Billiards Beginnings
Raymond Ceulemans was born in Lier, Belgium. He started playing billiards at just seven years old. He played on the table in his father's café.
He also loved playing association football for his local team. He was a good midfielder. In 1958, a big club, K. Beerschot V.A.C., noticed him. But Raymond decided to focus on billiards instead of football.
A Legendary Professional Career
In 1961, when he was 23, Raymond Ceulemans won his first Belgian three-cushion title. The next year, he won his first CEB European Three-cushion Championship.
In 1963, he won his first world title at the UMB World Three-cushion Championship. He played incredibly well, scoring many points per turn. He then won this title an amazing 11 times in a row!
His winning streak ended in 1974 when he lost to Nobuaki Kobayashi. Raymond was the first three-cushion player to reach very high average scores. This showed how skilled he was.
Ceulemans also won the first 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 one turn during a professional match.
He won the European three-cushion championship 23 times. He also successfully defended this title 19 times.
Raymond Ceulemans won a total of 21 UMB World three-cushion championships. He also defended these titles 16 times.
His last UMB world title came in 2001 in Luxembourg. He was 64 years old at the time and beat Marco Zanetti to win.
Major Titles and Achievements
Raymond Ceulemans has won many important titles throughout his career:
- UMB World Three-cushion Championship: 21 wins (1963–1973, 1975–1980, 1983, 1985, 1990, 2001)
- UMB World One-cushion Championship: 6 wins (1968, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984)
- UMB World Balkline 47/1 Championship: 1 win (1976)
- UMB World Straight rail Championship: 1 win (1969)
- UMB World Pentathlon Championship: 4 wins (1965, 1972, 1974, 1975)
- UMB Three-Cushion World Cup: 8 wins (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993)
- UMB Three-Cushion World Cup Overall Champion: 3 wins (1986, 1987, 1990)
- UMB Three-cushion Grand Prix: 6 wins (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995)
- CEB European Three-cushion Championship: 23 wins (1962–1972, 1974–1983, 1987, 1992)
- CEB European One-cushion Championship: 13 wins (1963–1967, 1969, 1970, 1977–1979, 1984–1986)
- CEB European Balkline 71/2 Championship: 5 wins (1963, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1979)
- CEB European Balkline 47/1 Championship: 1 win (1976)
- CEB European Pentathlon Championship: 2 wins (1973, 1979)
- CEB European Pentathlon Championship (national teams): 4 wins (1969, 1971, 1975, 1992)
- CEB European Cup: 4 wins (1967, 1968, 1969, 1986)
- CEB Grand Prix: 2 wins (1987, 1988)
- Belgian Three-cushion Championship: 24 wins (1961, 1962, 1964–1968, 1970–1981, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1999, 2001)
- Belgian Cup: 3 wins (1992, 1994, 2001)
Other Tournament Wins
Besides his national, European, and world titles, Ceulemans also won many other tournaments:
- International Simonis Cup: 9 victories
- Rotterdam Briljant Toernooi: 2 victories (1991 and 1992)
- Wetsteijn toernooi: 1 victory (1991)
- Boerinnekes Pentathlon Antwerp: 15 victories
- Schaal Van Laere tournament Gent: 20 victories
Impressive Records
Raymond Ceulemans set many records during his career:
UMB World Three-cushion Championship Records
- General Average (GA): This is his average score per turn over a whole tournament. He set new records in: 1963 (1.307), 1966 (1.345), 1973 (1.478), 1976 (1.500), 1978 (1.679), 1986 (1.745).
- Special Average (SA): This is his average score in a single match. He set new records in: 1963 (2.068), 1966 (2.500), 1986 (2.631).
- High Run (HR): This is the most points he scored in one turn. He set records of: 14 (1974) and 15 (1975, 1980).
Three-Cushion World Cup Records
- General Average (GA): 1.516 (1986/2)
- High Run (HR): 15 (1999/5)
CEB European Three-cushion Championship Records
- General Average (GA): 1.238 (1963), 1.538 (1969), 1.621 (1971), 1.808 (1991)
- Special Average (SA): 1.764 (1964), 1.818 (1965), 2.068 (1965), 2.222 (1969), 2.875 (1972)
- High Run (HR): 17 (1964), 20 (1973)
Awards and Recognition
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Raymond Ceulemans has received many honors for his amazing career:
- Belgian 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
- 3rd Sportsman of the Century for the Antwerp province: 2000
- Inducted 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
