LIVE SCORE
http://umb.cuesco.net/competition/liveScore?idx=187#content
SOOP STREEMING & MORE
https://billiards.sooplive.co.kr/moments/match
OFFICIAL RESULTS & INFORMATION
https://www.umb-carom.org/PG344L1/Union-Mondiale-de-Billard.aspx
Bogotá, March 2nd 2025.
Following in the footsteps of Quyet Chien Tran (4X) and Duc Minh Tran, 35-year-old Thanh Luc Tran becomes the third Vietnamese winner of a World Cup. In an exciting and close final, he beat Tayfun Tasdemir from Turkiye 50-47 in 36/35. Tran had the lead all along, but after he missed a bank shot match point at 49-40, Tasdemir gave it his all with a run of seven. The Vietnamese player, acting in his first World Cup final, grabbed his second chance.
Thanh Luc Tran has been regarded as one of the best players in his country for half a dozen years now. He is tremendously talented, with two faces. On the one hand, he’s proved himself to be one of the toughest defenders on the circuit, at one point driving even the great Jaspers to despair. On the other hand, he can sometimes throw all caution to the wind and attempt an outrageous shot. And he often makes it.
In the first semifinal, Jaspers had a slow start and so did Tran. The Vietnamese broke away with a little 4-5-3-2, four useful innings. The world number one was in shackles, Tran’s defense was solid concrete. After the predictable Jaspers fightback, Tran ran an eight to finish, from 42-37 (27). A fluke helped, but it was compensated by a few glorious points.
The second semifinal saw Tasdemir with an early lead (14-1) but Kiraz got back into it. The younger of the two Turks has a (beautiful) game that somewhat resembles that of his opponent, with “touch” being the key word. Anybody’s match at 46-46, but the experienced Tasdemir ran 1 and 3 just when he needed them. It ended 50-46 in 33/32.
The tournament average in Bogota was 1.409.
The high run was made by Eddy Merck: 16.
Merckx also had the event’s best match: 4.000.
Blomdahl had the best individual average: 1.784.
Dick Jaspers remains firmly the number one on the UMB Players Ranking.
The next World Cup will be played in Ho Chi Minh City, from 19-25 May.
UMB.
Bogota: the Turks will have a finalist.
Bogotá, March 1st 2025.
Four players are left standing in the Bogota World Cup: Dick Jaspers, Thanh Luc Tran, Tolgahan Kiraz and Tayfun Tasdemir. The two Turks will meet in the second of the two semifinals on Sunday. The first is the encounter between Thanh Luc Tran and Dick Jaspers at 11.00 local time.
Tolgahan Kiraz, twice a World Cup semifinalist already, had to get past Jun Tae Kim in the round of 16, and managed to do so: 50-38 in 27. He then met Hong Chiem Thai, another rising Vietnamese star. It took a few innings and nerves were jangling, but Kiraz crossed the line first: 50-49 in 38. We’ll hear more from Thai, his game is smooth as silk and he could go all the way in the future.
Tayfun Tasdemir, former world champion, first met Haeng Jik Kim, the multiple junior world champion, who runs hot and cold these days. Tasdemir had a bad start (3 in 13) but he overtook the Korean to win 50-42 in 36. In the quarterfinals he beat his countryman Berkay Karakurt 50-42 in 29. As always with Tayfun, the runs are the backbone of his game, and you can’t stop him once he’s at the table.
Dick Jaspers had a formidable opponent in the round of 16: Quyet Chien Tran. They went neck and neck for most of the match, but Jaspers can often find something extra in the home stretch: 50-40 in 32/31. It was equally hard work against Jeremy Bury in the quarter, a rematch of the 2018 world championship final. The Frenchman had looked strong all week and put up a fight: 50-44 in 37.
Thanh Luc Tran travels a bit under the radar, but he’s one of the top Vietnamese for a reason. Bogota is his first event as a seeded player. He beat Roland Forthomme in the round of 16 (50-31 in 36), then another Belgian in the quarter: the mighty Eddy Merckx (50-25 in 22/21). Thanh Luc is here to stay.
Both Kiraz and Jaspers ran a 12, the high run of the day.
Tomorrow’s semifinals:
11.00 Jaspers – Tran
13.30 Kiraz – Tasdemir
18.00 final
All matches are streamed on Soop. Time difference between Bogota and Western Europe is six hours.
Bogotá. February 28th 2025.
Group day in Bogota, a battlefield.
The toughest day of the World Cup week is Group Day, when all 32 players have to play three matches to 40. Nerves and fatigue come into play, only two of the four advance. Average is important, winning even more so. The venue is a battlefield, and casualties are many.
Group A. Jaspers and Duc Minh Tran head and shoulders better than Tellez and Myeong Jong Cha, but the world number one not yet firing on all cylinders.
Group B. A tough day for the world champion: Myung Woo Cho is out. The two Belgians Roland Forthomme and Peter Ceulemans advance out of a hard-fought group.
Group C. Eddy Merckx surprisingly loses twice but his average saves him. Hong Chiem Thai impresses with three wins, Gonzalez and de Bruijn are out.
Group D. This very dangerous looking group turned out to produce the lowest averages. Bury and Quyet Chien Tran advance, both with around 1.1. Polychronopoulos and Phuong Vinh Bao eliminated.
Group E. Jun Tae Kim group winner, Tolgahan Kiraz beats Glenn Hofman for second place. Ruben Legazpi and Hofman are out.
Group F. Both Berkay Karakurt and Thanh Luc Tran on five points, at the expense of Marco Zanetti and Ja In Kang.
Group G. Tayfun Tasdemir looking strong, Haeng Jik Kim beats out Martin Horn to advance, Gökhan Salman fourth.
Group H. Sameh Sidhom dominates the group with three wins, Torbjörn Blomdahl and Jung Han Heo battle for second place. The Swede wins convincingly and advances, Rui Manuel Costa is out.
The high run of the day was made by Eddy Merckx: 16. Merckx also had the best match: 40 in 10.
Tomorrow’s round of 16:
Sidhom – Merckx
Forthomme – T.L. Tran
Bury – Ceulemans
Jaspers – Q.C. Tran
H.C. Thai – Blomdahl
J.T. Kim – Kiraz
B. Karakurt – D.M. Tran
Tasdemir – H.J. Kim
All matches streamed on Soop.
Bogotá , February 27th 2025
Peter Ceulemans proudly carries his last name.
He has known all his life that surpassing his grandfather’s records would be impossible. But he pursued a 3-cushion career anyway, stubbornly improving year by year until he could go toe to toe with the best. On Thursday, Peter Ceulemans was the first of the twelve group winners, and he booked his place in the main event with an impressive 2.352 average. Myeong Jong Cha and Jeremy Bury were the day’s number two and three.
Perhaps the most interesting group was Jimenez / Hofman / de Bruijn. The two Dutchmen started off with a fireworks match: 40-33 in 13 to de Bruijn. Hofman then beat Jimenez, and he sat waiting in the wings with his two points and an excellent 2.147. De Bruijn, despite his opening result, now needed another win or he’d be second in the group. Jimenez did his sportsman’s duty and lifted Hofman to the group win. De Bruijn still made the last 32, as lucky loser.
Bury, Blomdahl and Haeng Jik Kim had all dropped out of the seeded positions, but they had no trouble with that “extra day” and booked only solid wins.
Peter Ceulemans had the day’s high run with a 15, Bury not being far off with 14.
Peter Ceulemans 4 – 2.352
Myeong Jong Cha 4 – 1.904
Jeremy Bury 4 – 1.632
Ruben Legazpi 4 – 1.632
Berkay Karakurt 4 – 1.632
Gökhan Salman 4 – 1.600
Torbjörn Blomdahl 4 – 1.481
Rui Manuel Costa 4 – 1.403
Haeng Jik Kim 4 – 1.194
Ja In Kang 4 – 1.159
Glenn Hofman 2 – 2.147
Nikos Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.519
Best seconds:
J.P. de Bruijn 2 – 1.800
Roland Forthomme 2 – 1.450
Duc Minh Tran 2 – 1.448
In the main event, matches will be to 50 points without equalizing inning. Streams are available on Soop, results on the pages of Five & Six and the UMB.
Bogotá , February 26th. 2025
Birol Uymaz is back in the spotlight.
He had a few disappointing World Cups, but his ability was never in question. Birol Uymaz is back, and he was the best of today’s group winners with an impressive 1.794 and four points. Two Koreans, Ja In Kang and Doyhun Kim were second and third. Two Colombians are still in the race: Jose Juan Garcia and Mauricio Gutierrez.
The European contingent did remarkably well, producing no fewer than ten group winners.
Among the players who didn’t make it: Morales, Ibraimov (x 2), Vera, Panaia and Kostistansky.
The high run of the day was made by Jose Miguel Soares, with 11.
Birol Uymaz 4 – 1.794
Ja In Kang 4 – 1.627
Doyhun Kim 4 – 1.489
Pierre Soumagne 4 – 1.489
Huub Wilkowski 4 – 1.372
Jose Juan Garcia 4 – 1.346
Sergio Jimenez 4 – 1.250
William Villanueva 4 – 1.186
Carlos Crespo 4 – 1.166
Arnim Kahofer 4 – 1.129
Muammer Rahmet 4 – 1.029
Tarik Yavuz 3 – 1.555.
Mikael Devogelaere 3 – 1.228
Aziz Kilicaslan 2 – 1.048
Mauricio Gutierrez 2 – 1.015
Muharrem Peker 2 – 0.967
Tomorrow’s line-up is filled with world class players already: Blomdahl, Haeng Jik Kim, Bury, Polychronopoulos and others. All matches streamed by Soop.
Bogotá , February 25th 2025.
Aziz Kilicaslan leads the charge.
It was a tough day of qualifying for Colombia. Yesterday, no fewer than eight groups were won by a home player, today there were only three. The Turks also produced three group winners, Aziz Kilicaslan the best of the lot with four points and 1.714. Both Ibraimovs (from Germany) made it, as well as veteran Peruvian Ramon Rodriguez and Italian talent Alessio D’Agata. Carlos Crespo (1.153) and Radek Novak (1.571) came up short on points but they advanced as lucky seconds. Raymon Groot won his group based on his high run of 10, edging out Crespo’s 9, when the two ended on identical averages.
Aziz Kilicaslan 4 – 1.714
Alejandro Santiago 4 – 1.363
Amir Ibraimov 4 – 1.333
Alessio D’Agata 4 – 1.304
Dohyun Kim 4 – 1.276
Mauricio Gutierrez 4 – 1.224
Muharrem Peker 4 – 1.153
Guillermo Ortega 4 – 1.132
Javier Guancha 4 – 1.071
Ali Ibraimov 4 – 1.071
Christian Hernandez 4 – 0.983
Vangelis Moulos 4 – 0.937
Gokhan Uludaglilar 4 – 0.789
Raymon Groot 3 – 1.153
William Villanueva 3 – 1.090
Ramon Rodriguez 2 – 1.074
The high run of the day was made by Javier Guancha, with a 12.
Lots of new faces in the arena tomorrow, among them Soumagne, Patino, J.J. Garcia, In Won Kang, Kahofer, Wilkowski, Lindemann.
Matches are now to 35 points. Stream available on Soop. The time difference between Bogota and Western Europe is six hours.
UMB
Bogotá , February, 24th 2025.
The home country dominates on day one in Bogota.
Christian Hernandez from Mexico.
Two from Spain, two from Turkiye, two from Mexico, one from Costa Rica, one from the USA. And no fewer than eight group winners from Colombia, the host. Day one of the Bogota World Cup was a showcase of talent, and an introduction to many new faces and names. And that is exactly what you want to see in the early stages of a World Cup.
Of the sixteen group winners on Monday, only three averaged below 1.000 for their two matches. That makes the Bogota qualification event instantly competitive. Nobody will make it to day three here because of a “lucky draw”; if you survive two rounds, you’re a serious player.
Christian Hernandez from Mexico tops the list with 1.250, three Colombians follow in his wake. Ufuk Kapusiz had an impressive 1.578, but he had to concede a draw. Mauricio Gutierrrez had the day’s high run with 11.
Christian Hernandez 4 – 1.250
Jaime Montoya 4 – 1.200
Julio Ayala 4 – 1.153
Arley Montoya 4 – 1.090
Javier Gomariz 4 – 1.052
Javier Guancha 4 – 1.034
Alejandro Santiago 4 – 1.016
Cristian Sanchez 4 – 1.000
Guillermo Ortega 4 – 1.000
Geovany Llano 4- 0.967
Alvaro Seas 4 – 0.769
Ufuk Kapusiz 3 – 1.578
Mauricio Gutierrez 3 – 1.333
Carlos Crespo 2 – 1.243
Victor Cuzzi 2 – 0.670.
The event continues with the PPQ round on Tuesday, when we will see (among others) players like Raymon Groot, Radek Novak, Adrien Tachoire and Alessio D’Agata in the arena. The time difference between Colombia and Western Europe is six hours. All matches are streamed on Soop (formerly Afreeca TV). Match results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Arley Montoya, COL.
Bogotá , February 20th 2025.
It will be a fourth visit to Bogota, a fifth to Colombia. From 24 February – 2 March, the 2025 World Cup season will kick off in the country known as the “gateway to South-America”. The 2025 cycle will again have seven tournaments, to be played in Colombia (Bogota), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), Turkey (Ankara), Porto (Portugal), Belgium (Antwerp), Korea (location to be determined) and Egypt (t.b.d).
We are all aware of the large talent pool in Colombia, and the enthusiasm that greets the players there. Former winners in Bogota: Sayginer (twice), Caudron and Q.C. Tran.
The UMB has seeded the following players: Jaspers, M.W. Cho, Merckx, Q.C. Tran, J.T. Kim, Zanetti, Horn, J.H. Heo, Sidhom, Tasdemir, T.L. Tran, Kiraz, P.V. Bao, H.C. Thai. The wildcards went to Huberney Catano and Pedro Gonzalez (local) and Erick Tellez (CPB/UMB).
The tables in Bogota are Jimar Billiards, the cloth is Simonis 330 prestige, and the balls are Dynaspheres. As usual, there will be group matches to 30 - 35- 40 points with equalizing inning, followed by K.O. matches to 50 without equalizing inning. The ranking points at stake are 80-54-36-26-18-10-8.
All matches will be streamed by Soop (formerly Afreeca TV). The time difference between Colombia and Western Europe is six hours. Full match results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
U.M.B.
