LIVE SCORE
http://umb.cuesco.net/competition/info?idx=192
SOOP STREEMING & MORE
https://billiards.sooplive.co.kr/moments/match
OFFICIAL RESULTS & INFORMATION
https://www.umb-carom.org/PG344L1/Union-Mondiale-de-Billard.aspx
Porto, July 5th 2025.
The reigning world champion from Korea has added a second World Cup victory to his resume. One of the most obviously gifted players in the world, Myung Woo Cho, defeated his final opponent Jeremy Bury 50-34 in 23 innings. He made the difference in the second half of the final, because at 22-22 it was still anybody’s match. But a little stretch of 5-5-3-8 by Cho was too much for Bury, who struggled with difficult starting positions. Cho on the other hand, can sometimes break through his opponent’s defense with ease, which makes him such a crowd pleaser.
Both Bury and Cho had one career World Cup win: Cho in Sharm El Sheikh 2022, Bury in Guri 2016. This is the fifth silver medal for the meticulous Frenchman, who has also won eleven bronzes.
In the first semifinal of the day, Myung Woo Cho was out of the blocks so much better than his opponent Gökhan Salman, the tournament surprise. The Turk made two runs of seven late in the match, but by then the damage had long been done. Salman could never come back from 33-8, not against this opponent. The final score was 50-24 in 22/21, and the likeable “Kojak of billiards" can look back on the best tournament of his life.
The second semifinal was a classic: Zanetti – Bury. The two are former teammates, they played for the European Cup winner Agipi for a decade. Both men have thick skin and hard skulls, with a solid defensive game to back up their scoring. It was mostly Zanetti in the lead, with Bury never far away. But at 48-39 it looked to be advantage Italy. Zanetti had two chances to make his final point, both difficult positions. He couldn’t score, and Bury kept it together in his closing innings, finishing with a four: 50-49 in 37/36. It brought another one of those rare matches into the books, where the loser has a higher average than the winner (1.351 / 1.361).
Despite the heat, the players gave it their all and performed admirably. The tournament average (1.497) was lower than Ankara two weeks ago, but certainly higher than most would have expected after day one.
The high run in Porto was made by Eddy Merckx: 19.
The best average to 40 points was played by Eddy Merckx: 11 innings (3.636).
The best average to 50 points was played by Ruben Legazpi: 13 innings (3.846).
The best general average was played by Nikos Polychronopoulos: 2.161.
Dick Jaspers remains in the no. 1 position on the ranking, followed by Cho, Tran, Merckx and Zanetti.
In the race for the overall World Cup of 2025, Jaspers leads with 152 points, ahead of Merckx on 142, Q.C. Tran on 118, Myung Woo Cho on 116 and Bury on 116.
The season will continue with World Cups in Antwerp (October), Korea (November) and Egypt (December).
Closing statement.
Due to the UNFORSEEN exceptional European HOT weather conditions, during the first days of the 2025 Porto World Cup, the temperature in the playing arena was warmer than we were used to.
The organization did its very best to solve this unfortunate issue. We must consider that the Porto World cup has been traditionally held in the “Dragao” stadium of FC Porto that is currently under construction for renovation.
FC Porto has a long history of exceptionally well-organized Continental and International events since 2002, with an attractive venue that meets the highest standards. Gratefully, we are looking forward to next year's Porto World Cup.
UMB..
Porto, July 4th 2025.
Gökhan Salman is one of the big guys now.
The gentle giant of Turkish billiards has made his breakthrough: Gökhan Salman is in his first World Cup semifinal after a famous victory over Frédéric Caudron. A revitalized Myung Woo Cho defeats Eddy Merckx to book his place in the semi’s. Jeremy Bury, with a win over Sergio Jimenez, and Marco Zanetti who defeated Ruben Legazpi complete the line-up of the final day.
Jeremy Bury played the best match of the day in the round of 16 when he beat Haeng Jik Kim 50-44 in 15/14 innings. That’s a losing average over 3.000 for HJK. It was high quality all around, and the contrasting playing styles of the two made it even more interesting. Bury followed it up with a comfortable win over Sergio Jimenez who got outplayed: 50-22 in 21/20.
Marco Zanetti had what looked like a walk-over against M.J. Cha. The Korean is a formidable player, but he was depleted in this match: 50-19 in 36 to the Italian. Zanetti faced much tougher opposition from Ruben Legazpi, who trailed all the match but never gave up the chase. The senior player in the field got over the line just in time: 50-46 in 30.
Gökhan Salman has had his share of World Cups where he played well but it just didn’t go his way. Third in the group, that seemed to be his fate. But this week he has risen above himself. First there was a win over Berkay Karakurt (50-43 in 29) who is ranked well higher than he is. Then, a close battle with Frédéric Caudron who was showing signs of some pre-hip-operation form. But Salman kept his cool and won 50-44 in 28.
Myung Woo Cho is the reigning world champion, but he did have a few lackluster World Cups in the past two seasons. He looks to be back, with a win over Tolgahan Kiraz (50-35 in 29/28) and a close, hard battle with Eddy Merckx, the most recent World Cup winner. Cho had the best finish: 50-47 in 27.
Tomorrow’s semifinals:
Salman – Cho
Zanetti – Bury
All matches are streamed on Soop.
Porto, July, 3rd 2025.
Porto: Jaspers eliminated, Poly and Merckx look ominous.
You simply can’t describe a long and tough match day in Porto without mentioning the heat, which was reportedly over 40 degrees Celsius in the arena. The players dealt remarkably well with the sweaty conditions: a few were over 2.000 average for their group matches, and there were runs of 19 (Merckx) and 18 (M.W. Cho). Merckx was the day’s star player with a 40 in 12 and a 40 in 11.
Group A. Wildcard Kolfad from Lebanon found himself in a group with three giants, he’s had a good learning week. Jaspers lost to Caudron and Kim, he’s out. Caudron and Haeng Jik Kim, once again the master of doing just enough, advance.
Group B. A remarkable three wins for Vinh Ly Dao, who stays ahead of Myung Woo Cho. The Korean world champion looks strong though. The revelation from the qualification, V.H.M. Thon, and Rui Costa are eliminated.
Group C. Merckx dominates the group with three wins and some heavy scoring. All three others on one win, Ruben Legazpi by far the winner on average. H.C. Thai and J.M. Soares are out.
Group D. Another upset: Quyet Chien Tran is out. Nikos Polychronopoulos is on fire with 2.181, Peter Ceulemans beats Quyet Chien Tran and Phuong Vinh Bao on average, his 1.723 was the best of the rest.
Group E. Three players with two wins, Bury clearly the best with 1.883. But how unlucky for J.J. Garcia (1.421) to lose out to Berkay Karakurt (1.424). The difference was less than a point, less than an inning. T.L. Tran finishes fourth.
Group F. The two highest-ranked players in this group both struggling: Horn and Tasdemir are out in 3d and 4th place. Gökhan Salman does remarkably well with three wins, Myeong Jong Cha is playing a strong week, he’s second.
Group G. A clear-cut one and two for Marco Zanetti and Glenn Hofman with four points, two points for Ömer Karakurt and Jung Han Heo, one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Group H. Qualifier Emrullah Basegmez came close but he had to settle for third. Modest averages even for the numbers one and two in the group: Tolgahan Kiraz and Sergio Jimenez. Sameh Sidhom in fourth place must have been disappointed.
Tomorrow’s K.O. matches:
Merckx – Ceulemans
Kiraz – M.W. Cho
Caudron – Hofman
Salman – B. Karakurt
V.L. Dao – Jimenez
Bury – H.J. Kim
Zanetti – M.J. Cha
Polychronopoulos – Legazpi
Thon and Caudron give their calling card.Porto.
July,2nd 2025
On a World Cup Wednesday, every small mistake will get punished. You need to aim for the group win, because only three best numbers two will also advance to the main draw. Sometimes, the fight for those spots is as fierce as the battle for first.
Two players were above the fray in terms of average: Viet Hoang Minh Thon (2.000) and Frédéric Caudron (1.951). The Belgian super-allrounder deserved a round of applause when he indicated that his opponent Pierre Soumagne’s point was good, when the Frenchman himself was not certain enough to claim it. On an adjacent table, Myeong Jong Cha called a foul on himself for a double contact with the cue ball. The sport of 3-cushion must be proud of behavior like that.
Ömer Karakurt had a narrow escape when opponent Huberney Catano ran three in the equalizer, needing four. Glenn Hofman started with a loss but he bounced back with a strong win against Nguyen Chi Long, running 13 and 14. Of the dangerous Colombian foursome, only J.J. Garcia survived.
Ruben Legazpi, Vaan Ly Dao and Haeng Jik Kim are three best numbers that will advance.
The day’s group winners:
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 2.000
F. Caudron 4 – 1.951
P. Ceulemans 4 – 1.403
J. Bury 4 – 1.290
M.J. Cha 4 – 1.269
Ö. Karakurt 4 – 1.269
E. Basegmez 4 – 1.194
S. Jimenez 3 – 1.951
G. Hofman 2 – 1.975
G. Salman 2 – 1.780
J.J. Garcia 2 – 1.436
N. Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.385
Best seconds:
R. Legazpi 3 – 1.428
V.L. Dao 2 – 1.642
H.J. Kim 2 – 1.500
Main tournament, first round draw:
Jaspers – H.J. Kim
Caudron – Kolfad
M.W. Cho – Costa
Thon – Dao
Merckx – Legazpi
Thai – Soares
Q.C. Tran – P.V. Bao
Ceulemans – Polychronopoulos
T.L. Tran – Garcia
B. Karakurt – Bury
Tasdemir – Salman
Horn – M.J. Cha
Zanetti - Hofman
J.H. Heo – Ö. Karakurt
Sidhom – Jimenez
Kiraz – Basegmez
Porto , July 1st 2025
Porto speaks Spanish, for a day.
How good were the Colombians, on this sweaty Tuesday in Porto? They dominated several of the groups and are all over the top half of today’s honor list. Truth be told: these are not one-hit wonders or young talents; they’re all experienced now, and they can hit you with a 40 in 15 if it’s their day in the sun. Alexander Salazar was the best of the bunch with two wins and 1.666.
The further along in the tournament, the stronger the players who get eliminated. Today, the likes of V.L. Dao, Wilkowski, Stamm, de Kok, Tachoire, Alp, Uymaz, de Bruijn and Kahofer had to settle for second or third place. Amir Ibraimov recovered well from a loss in his first match: he bounced back with a 35 in 16.
Huberney Catano had the day’s high run with 12, and there were several 11’s.
Here’s today’s list of group winners who will return tomorrow:
A Salazar 4 – 1.666
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 1.372
J.J. Garcia 4 – 1.320
S. Jimenez 4 – 1.296
H. Catano 4 – 1.228
D. Morales 4 – 1.206
D. Seleventas 4 – 1.206
N.C. Long 4- 1.166
M. Panaia 4 – 1.093
K. Vasseur 4 – 0.897
M. Morales 3 – 0.955
H. Szivacz 3 – 0.933
J. Philipoom 2 – 1.372
A. Ibraimov 2 – 1.148
E. Basegmez 2 – 1.065
S. Bas 2 – 0.985
An impressive line-up of players will make their first appearance tomorrow: van Etten, Ceulemans, Bury, Haeng Jik Kim, Caudron, Hofman, Legazpi to name just a few.
All matches can be viewed on Soop. Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Tachoire and Löwe rise above the field.
Porto , June 30th 2025
The Porto World Cup reverted to normal, after a difficult opening day. Two European players excelled in their group: Adrien Tachoire and Tom Löwe had two wins and fine averages, 1.666 and 1.463 respectively. Both Ibraimov’s made the cut, as well as N.C. Long and V.H.M. Thon, strong representatives from Vietnam. Among the reputed players that were eliminated, we find D.H. Kim, D. Moreno, H. Blauwblomme, J. Reverchon and K. Kokkoris. Tachoire had the day’s high run with 11. This is the list of Monday’s group winners:
A Tachoire 4 – 1.666
T. Löwe 4 – 1.463
A. Salazar 4 – 1.250
M. Morales 4 – 1.224
J. Philipoom 4 – 1.200
N.C. Long 4 – 1.176
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 1.132
T. Duriez 4 – 0.952
A. Ibraimov 4 -0.845
L. Pinto 4 – 0.779
H. Szivacz 4 – 0.759
T. Bouerdick 3 – 1.250
O. Jacquemond 3 – 0.967
A. Ibraimov 2 – 1.232
D. Pennör 2 – 0.919
A. Demming 2 – 0.797
For tomorrow, we can look forward to seeing the likes of Goren, Abu Tayeh, Catano, Seleventas, Uymaz, Rahmet and others. All matches are streamed on Soop.
Porto is off to a hot and difficult start.
Porto , June 29th 2025
Due to the high temperatures currently in Porto and northern Portugal, which are expected to continue next week, the UMB will, on an exceptional basis, allow participants to wear short-sleeved polo shirts.
This will always respect the rule that tattoos on players' arms cannot be visible.
Naturally, the qualification rounds in Porto will not be as strong as those in, say, Ho Chi Minh or Ankara where the talent pool is so much larger. But the difference looked especially stark, with all the qualifier talents from Vietnam and Turkey so fresh in our memory. The first day of play in Porto had one super match (Crespo made 30 in 12), and quite a few painfully long battles. Not often do we see a match that lasts over 75 innings.
Here are the group winners of the day, with Crespo in a class all by himself:
C. Crespo 4 – 1.818
A. Salazar 4 – 1.034
M. Canton 4 – 0.983
L. Pinto 4 – 0.869
G. Santos 4 – 0.845
N. Roestel 4 – 0.833
J. Reverchon 4 – 0.833
N.D. Luan 4 – 0.779
R. Edgar 4 – 0.779
T. Duriez 4 – 0.705
H. Blauwblomme 4 – 0.612
A. Silva 4 – 0.594
F. Bouchat 3 – 0.659
J. Escribano 2 – 0.945
U. Kapusiz 2 – 0.880
Tomorrow (Monday), we’ll see players like Demming, Löwe, father & son Philipoom, Kokkoris, Szivacz and Ibraimov enter the arena.
All matches can be seen on Soop.
For an eighteenth time, the Porto / Matosinhos cities will host a UMB World Cup. From 29 June – 5 July the fourth World Cup of the 2025 season will be played in a different venue from last year: the Pavilhão Municipal Do Lagarteiro. The new location will also host the European Club Team finals, traditionally played right after “Porto”. The weather, the city, the food and the Portuguese love of billiards have always made this tournament a favorite among the fans.
The most successful player in Porto’s history is Dick Jaspers, with four wins. Both Frédéric Caudron and Dani Sanchez have won three times here.
The UMB has seeded the following players: Jaspers, M.W. Cho, Merckx, Q.C. Tran, T.L. Tran, Hong Chiem Thai, Tasdemir, Zanetti, Sidhom, Kiraz, J.H. Heo, Horn, B. Karakurt and P.V. Bao. The local wildcards went to Manuel Rui Costa and Jose Miguel Soares, the UMB/AMECC wildcard went to Jihad Kolfad from Lebanon.
The three World Cups played so far in 2025 were won by Thanh Luc Tran (Bogota), Dick Jaspers (Ho Chi Minh) and Eddy Merckx (Ankara).
All matches will be streamed by Soop. Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
The tables in Porto are Carrinho, the cloth is Simonis 330 Prestige, the balls are Dynaspheres. The usual ranking points are at stake: 80-54-36-26-18-10-8.
PODIUM PORTO W.C. 2024
LIVE SCORE
http://umb.cuesco.net/competition/info?idx=192
SOOP STREEMING & MORE
https://billiards.sooplive.co.kr/moments/match
OFFICIAL RESULTS & INFORMATION
https://www.umb-carom.org/PG344L1/Union-Mondiale-de-Billard.aspx
Porto, July 2nd 2025.
Thon and Caudron give their calling card.
On a World Cup Wednesday, every small mistake will get punished. You need to aim for the group win, because only three best numbers two will also advance to the main draw. Sometimes, the fight for those spots is as fierce as the battle for first.
Two players were above the fray in terms of average: Viet Hoang Minh Thon (2.000) and Frédéric Caudron (1.951). The Belgian super-allrounder deserved a round of applause when he indicated that his opponent Pierre Soumagne’s point was good, when the Frenchman himself was not certain enough to claim it. On an adjacent table, Myeong Jong Cha called a foul on himself for a double contact with the cue ball. The sport of 3-cushion must be proud of behavior like that.
Ömer Karakurt had a narrow escape when opponent Huberney Catano ran three in the equalizer, needing four. Glenn Hofman started with a loss but he bounced back with a strong win against Nguyen Chi Long, running 13 and 14. Of the dangerous Colombian foursome, only J.J. Garcia survived.
Ruben Legazpi, Vaan Ly Dao and Haeng Jik Kim are three best numbers that will advance.
The day’s group winners:
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 2.000
F. Caudron 4 – 1.951
P. Ceulemans 4 – 1.403
J. Bury 4 – 1.290
M.J. Cha 4 – 1.269
N. Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.385
Best seconds:
R. Legazpi 3 – 1.428
V.L. Dao 2 – 1.642
H.J. Kim 2 – 1.500
Main tournament, first round draw:
Jaspers – H.J. Kim
Caudron – Kolfad
M.W. Cho – Costa
Thon – Dao
Merckx – Legazpi
Thai – Soares
Q.C. Tran – P.V. Bao
Ceulemans – Polychronopoulos
T.L. Tran – Garcia
B. Karakurt – Bury
Tasdemir – Salman
Horn – M.J. Cha
Zanetti - Hofman
J.H. Heo – Ö. Karakurt
Thon and Caudron give their calling card.
On a World Cup Wednesday, every small mistake will get punished. You need to aim for the group win, because only three best numbers two will also advance to the main draw. Sometimes, the fight for those spots is as fierce as the battle for first.
Two players were above the fray in terms of average: Viet Hoang Minh Thon (2.000) and Frédéric Caudron (1.951). The Belgian super-allrounder deserved a round of applause when he indicated that his opponent Pierre Soumagne’s point was good, when the Frenchman himself was not certain enough to claim it. On an adjacent table, Myeong Jong Cha called a foul on himself for a double contact with the cue ball. The sport of 3-cushion must be proud of behavior like that.
Ömer Karakurt had a narrow escape when opponent Huberney Catano ran three in the equalizer, needing four. Glenn Hofman started with a loss but he bounced back with a strong win against Nguyen Chi Long, running 13 and 14. Of the dangerous Colombian foursome, only J.J. Garcia survived.
Ruben Legazpi, Vaan Ly Dao and Haeng Jik Kim are three best numbers that will advance.
The day’s group winners:
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 2.000
F. Caudron 4 – 1.951
P. Ceulemans 4 – 1.403
J. Bury 4 – 1.290
M.J. Cha 4 – 1.269
N. Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.385
Best seconds:
R. Legazpi 3 – 1.428
V.L. Dao 2 – 1.642
H.J. Kim 2 – 1.500
Main tournament, first round draw:
Jaspers – H.J. Kim
Caudron – Kolfad
M.W. Cho – Costa
Thon – Dao
Merckx – Legazpi
Thai – Soares
Q.C. Tran – P.V. Bao
Ceulemans – Polychronopoulos
T.L. Tran – Garcia
B. Karakurt – Bury
Tasdemir – Salman
Horn – M.J. Cha
Zanetti - Hofman
J.H. Heo – Ö. Karakurt
Thon and Caudron give their calling card.
On a World Cup Wednesday, every small mistake will get punished. You need to aim for the group win, because only three best numbers two will also advance to the main draw. Sometimes, the fight for those spots is as fierce as the battle for first.
Two players were above the fray in terms of average: Viet Hoang Minh Thon (2.000) and Frédéric Caudron (1.951). The Belgian super-allrounder deserved a round of applause when he indicated that his opponent Pierre Soumagne’s point was good, when the Frenchman himself was not certain enough to claim it. On an adjacent table, Myeong Jong Cha called a foul on himself for a double contact with the cue ball. The sport of 3-cushion must be proud of behavior like that.
Ömer Karakurt had a narrow escape when opponent Huberney Catano ran three in the equalizer, needing four. Glenn Hofman started with a loss but he bounced back with a strong win against Nguyen Chi Long, running 13 and 14. Of the dangerous Colombian foursome, only J.J. Garcia survived.
Ruben Legazpi, Vaan Ly Dao and Haeng Jik Kim are three best numbers that will advance.
The day’s group winners:
V.H.M. Thon 4 – 2.000
F. Caudron 4 – 1.951
P. Ceulemans 4 – 1.403
J. Bury 4 – 1.290
M.J. Cha 4 – 1.269
N. Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.385
Best seconds:
R. Legazpi 3 – 1.428
V.L. Dao 2 – 1.642
H.J. Kim 2 – 1.500
Main tournament, first round draw:
Jaspers – H.J. Kim
Caudron – Kolfad
M.W. Cho – Costa
Thon – Dao
Merckx – Legazpi
Thai – Soares
Q.C. Tran – P.V. Bao
Ceulemans – Polychronopoulos
T.L. Tran – Garcia
B. Karakurt – Bury
Tasdemir – Salman
Horn – M.J. Cha
Zanetti - Hofman
J.H. Heo – Ö. Karakurt