Bogota 3-Cushion World Cup 2026

The best player in Bogota won the first World Cup of 2026. You would be excused for saying “the best player in the world won Bogota”, because the world champion of 2024 currently is. His victory started to look inevitable after his majestic run of 17 in the final against Thanh Luc Tran, taking him from 10-22 to 27-22. Cho followed up on the 17 with 3-2-3-5 and that was the load that broke Tran’s back.

Myung Woo Cho started his World Cup career as a 13-year-old kid with a ton of talent. He paid his dues, and all through the years he never stopped learning. Even a forced 18-month pause in his billiard life due to military service didn’t put him off. That’s maybe the most remarkable thing about this new flag-bearer of 3-cushion: that he still hasn’t reached his plateau. Myung Woo Cho could become even more scary than he already is.

The Vietnamese Bogota winner of 2025 is now firmly one of the top contenders in the circuit. Few World Cup wins will have been defended a year later with such determination, and Tran’s courage is a thing to behold. He will trust his judgment on shots with kiss danger, and he often lives on the edge, which makes good viewing. Had he succeeded in defending his Bogota title, he would have been the first player to win the same World Cup two years in a row since Frédéric Caudron (Sluiskil 2008 & 2009).

In the first semi of the day, Cho had a dream first half where he ran away from Tayfun Tasdemir by an amazing 25 points to 3. The Turk did put up a fight after that, but it was a hill too high: 50-26 in 20/19. Cho finished in style with a run of 10.
The second semi between Tran and Horn went to 23-23 before Tran broke the deadlock with a run of 11. For once, the German did not have an answer and Tran cruised to a 50-33 in 27/26 win. It’s the 10th bronze medal for Horn in his World Cup career, and he has three golds and seven silvers. It gives him an almost identical resume to Tayfun Tasdemir, who is on 3/7/12.

The tournament average in Bogota (last 32) was 1.546.
The best individual general average was played by Marco Zanetti: 2.240.
The best match was played by Dick Jaspers, Marco Zanetti and Luis Martinez: 3.636 (40 in 11).
The tournament high run was made by Luis Martinez: 21.

The World Cup circuit will have its second event of the 2026 season in Ho Chi Minh City next month (18-24 May).