Although losing to Ghent 5-4, Brugge was able to take the Four Cubes home. Losing to Ghent meant that three clubs were tied at first place with 3 encounters won and one lost. To break the tie, the ancient Four Cubes codex had to be consulted. It revealed that in this case, the number of matches won in the 3 encounters between the equally ranked teams would break the tie. Brugge, who won 9-0 to Brussels and lost 4-5 to Ghent, ended up with 13 matches won, 4 more than Gent and 8 more than Brussels.
Ghent was seriously handicapped by the absence of Bert Van Kerckhove (the Scourge of the Lowlands). However, the team was led by a highly motivated Geert Van der Stricht, who set the example by winning his three matches (best score of the evening with 3/3). Johan Huyck and Robin Bilderbeek both won one match and sadly lost one each through clock violation. Johan, who was leading 6-4 against Guy and in the process of bearing in against a 4-point anchor, somehow forgot to keep track of his remaining seconds and lost on time. The same happened to Robin, who had brutally gambled on a 4-cube at 3-away 4-away against Michel Lamote, suddenly had real winning chances, but also allowed the time flag to drop on him. These two points proved to be extremely valuable to Brugge, who might otherwise have lost 7-2… What a thrill!
Brugge appeared in their strongest formation, with Guy Van Middelem and Paul Van Dijke completing the team led by captain Michel (2/3 on the night). Although probably the strongest club team in Belgium, Brugge looks quite vulnerable with only three players available for the team. Gent and Brussels appear to be the strongest challengers for the 2016 Four Cubes contest, with more players of Advanced level ready to complete the team.
Thanks to all teams and players for competing well in this prestigious competition.
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