Sharm El Sheikh World Cup

Sharm El Sheikh, December 10th, 2022.

The billiard world knew that it was inevitable: Myung Woo Cho would one day win World Cups and maybe even world championships. The young fellow from South Korea showed so much talent and dedication, the reward simply had to come. It came today, in Sharm El Sheikh. 

Dani Sánchez, in impressive form in 2021 and 2022, met with another European legend in his semifinal: Marco Zanetti. The Spaniard ran 11 in the first inning, but the Italian responded so well that he even had the lead at the halfway point. But Sánchez countered again, and a run of nine created the gap. He beat Zanetti 50-38 in 23/22 innings. 

The other semifinal was an all-Korean affair. Chang Hoon Seo had made a big impression when he beat Quyet Chien Tran in the quarters, but he was overwhelmed by Myung Woo Cho who ran away with 21 points after three innings. A dry spell followed, but in the end, the younger of the two Koreans were the stronger: 50-33 in 27/26 innings. 

The final turned out to be both a battle and an exhibition match. Both Sánchez and Cho, who are friends away from the table, produced spectacular and sometimes even genius points to entertain the crowd. Cho built up a 15-point lead, but Sánchez fought back to 46-45. Myung Woo Cho, on the brink of winning his first World Cup, showed composure when he took a time-out at match point and finished in great style: 50-45 in 17 innings.  

Without taking anything away from Sánchez, always a popular winner, it was obvious that Cho was the crowd favorite. All his long practice hours were worth it, the promise was fulfilled. 

UMB president Farouk Barki awarded the overall World Cup of 2022 to Dick Jaspers, who won the tournaments in Ankara and Las Vegas.  

The Sharm El Sheikh tournament average was 1.574. The best match was played by Quyet Chien Tran (50 in 14), and he also made the high run of the event, with 22. Dani Sánchez had the highest general average of the field: 2.212. 

UMB.