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He was called “the future best player in the world” when he was barely fourteen. The prodigy from South Korea has not let his fans down. He was the world champion in 2024, and he is now the number one player in the world, having won his third World Cup. The final was mostly dominated by the Koreans, who managed to freeze out the old warrior from Bolzano, Marco Zanetti, with good defence and a little slice of luck. Cho used a few more innings than he liked, but when the scoreboard said 50-30 in 28, he knew he had done enough.

Call it the third stage of his career if you will. Frédéric Caudron was the world’s number one multi-discipline player for many years, changed career paths to become the number one player in the Korean PBA, returned to the World Cup circuit two years ago, and has now added a fourth UMB world title to his resume. He was world champion earlier in 1999 (Bogota), 2013 (Antwerp) and 2017 (Santa Cruz).

The final of the Sharm El Sheikh World Cup was played by two of the hardest-to-beat professionals in the world: Marco Zanetti and Eddy Merckx. In a strange, two-faced match the Italian had the last word: 50-46 in 28. The Belgian had been as good as handcuffed for the first twenty innings, which must have been frustrating. It was also a testament to Zanetti’s perfect defence. Merckx broke loose with a wonderful run of 15, to change 46-31 into 46-46. Zanetti instantly replied with a winning run of four, to win the fifth World Cup in his long career. The last time he won a WC, was also in Sharm, in 2019. His five Cups put him eighth on the all-time list, now ahead of Sang Chun Lee. 

He will turn sixty next year, but there is no talk of retirement. Jaspers loves his billiards too much to go sit on the porch. And he loves winning World Cups, as he did this week in Seoul for the 31^st time, beating Tayfun Tasdemir in the final: 50-36 in 20/19 innings. If the new generation wants to take the crown away from this Dutchman, they will have to match his mental strength and professionalism. That’s a big ask. 

Who can stop the Vietnamese tsunami? Not even Frédéric Caudron could do it. In a tense final where nerves were eating away at both finalists, the precision master from Ho Chi Minh overcame the fluency genius from Turnhout: 50-38 in 28/27 innings. 

The 5-Pins World Championship in Venaria Reale-Torino was recently concluded with the victory of Andrea Ragonesi in this 26th edition, who beat Andrea Quarta in a spectacular final 4-3, defending champion. The podium was completed by Ciro Davide Rizzo and Camilo Gomez. Andrea Ragonesi closed a spectacular championship, which he entered from the qualification phase.

He’s still young, but he carried expectations on his back for the last ten years. Everybody called him “a future world champion”. That’s nice and well-intended, but praise doesn’t make points. Practice does. 

In a one-sided final, Myung Woo Cho dominated the surprise from Vietnam, Thanh Luc Tran. The 35-year-old local had eliminated Legazpi, Zanetti, Bury and Jaspers, and a proud man he must be. But in the final, the balls didn’t obey as well as they did against Jaspers. Tran struggled; Cho played billiards. As the gap in points grew, so did Cho’s confidence. He ended the final with a fluke, but the smile on both players’ faces said they didn’t mind. The final score was a reflection of the match: 50-23 in 20/19.

The under-22 three-cushion has traditionally belonged to South Korea. They have dominated the event for a long time, with great players like Haeng Jik Kim and Myung Woo Cho. This year’s Korean finalist Yeong Yun Jo though, had to concede that the 2024 title belonged to a young Turk: Seymen Ozbas. He won the juniors final 35-26 in 27.

Joy on her face, and also a bit of disbelief. Charlotte Sörensen from Denmark is the 2024 women’s world champion after she beat Therese Klompenhouwer in a high-class final: 30-29 in 27/26. The Dutch woman, five times world champion already, was the big favourite. But Sörensen showed in the final how much she has grown in a short few years. A pupil of Tony Carlsen, she is the real deal and she has not peaked yet. 

On the last day in Seoul, South Korean player CHO Myung Woo was the brilliant winner in a final in which he beat two world champions, Edy Merckx who took second place and Tayfun Tasdemir accompanied in third place by a brilliant player from the Netherlands Glen Hofmann. The tournament was played brilliantly at the Soop Convention Center in Seoul.

There’s no such thing as a bad podium in a World Cup. But a foursome as good as this, you don’t see that very often. The Porto World Cup was the 30^th win for Dick Jaspers after he beat Myung Woo Cho in the final: 50 – 35 in 27/26.  

The second consecutive edition held in Ankara of the World Artistic Billiards Championship has closed with the unappealable victory of the Turkish player Haci Arap Yaman, escorted by the Turkish players Baris Cin who obtained the silver medal and Serdar Gumus, only the Spanish player Hector Cuadrado was able to resist Turkish hegemony, reaching the podium with the bronze medal.

It was an eight-year wait, but worth it. Jung Han Heo from South Korea, one of the most stylish 3-cushion players on the circuit, followed his 2016 El Gouna win with a victory in Ankara in 2024, where he beat Phuong Vinh Bao from Vietnam in the final: 50 – 31 in 26/25.