Motivation comes natural to me
By Bert van Manen, May 2015
If Blomdahl would be supremely self-confident in interviews, we might not like that very much. If he was surprisingly modest at the table, that would not help his game. Good thing he does it the other way around. In Brandenburg (Germany) last week, he won his ninth European title in 3-cushion and regained the nr. 1 position on the world ranking. That was a good moment to ask him for a few comments about the tournament he just won, about his game, and the sport, our sport in 2015.
"BvM: What (in 2013 and last week) did you like about the new multi-discipline European championships, and what didn't you like?
TB: What is really nice about the organization in Brandenburg is that you get to know a lot of billiard players you wouldn't normally meet. For me, it was fun to watch some balkline matches. I had never seen 47/2 or 71/2 live. I actually watched a lot of billiards in these nine days, including the artistic. The 5-pins was very exciting, but that wasn't new to me of course. I played that game in world- and European championships many times. Also, I liked the walking around in Brandenburg, which has an exciting mix of old, new and renewed.
In 2013, there was a nice players party, but they didn't have that this year.
What is not so good, is the fact that it's bi-annual. The scope of event makes it difficult to have everything run smoothly. Scheduling and referee appointment were far from perfect.
BvM: There are many cross-connections between 3-cushion, 1-cushion and balkline, but the 5-pin seems to be a community on its own. Does it belong in Brandenburg?
TB: I find it okay that 5-pins is a part of it, even if it isn't a carom discipline. The team final and the individual were very exciting, I am looking forward to seeing that again in 2017.
BvM: Should there have been prize money for the women in this EC?
TB: Of course the women should have prize money. That is my personal opinion.
BvM: You won your matches, in chronological order, in 30, 26, 22, 20 and 17 innings. I know it's impossible to do it the other way around, still, this must have felt good?
TB: Yes, it feels great to see your skills are kicking in, more so every game. I was little unsettled at first but it got better. I had a bit of luck on my side in the match against Polychronopoulos. In the final, I could cope with Eddy Merckx's strong comeback. Confidence grew all the way.
BvM: Is staying motivated something you have to work on, or is it automatic? If it takes work, how do you go about it?
TB: Motivation is not automatic, but it does come natural to me. However, I can never relax too much and rely on it. Every now and then, I find myself in the middle of a match, not motivated at all, and I have to reboot and restart all the engines. Sometimes, it's too late. Of course, you should do these things before the match, but motivation dips occur so seldom that I seem to forget.
BvM: There have never been more good players than today, many of them in their thirties. You are 52 and the world nr. 1. What are they doing wrong, what should they do to catch you?
TB: Just look at me when I was a 30-year old. I was in the middle of my development, still not sure about how to play shots in the right way. I think it is normal that you reach your top level a bit later, if you consider the greatness of the game we play. But there are some excellent young players around, right? Spaniards, Turks, Koreans, I think they will catch me, and they are already doing it by continuously improving. They need to practice and watch the top players.