LIVE SCORE
http://umb.cuesco.net/competition/liveScore?idx=202#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
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE.
Viersen , March 1st , 2026.
Champions in 2024, runner-up in 2025, champions again in 2026. The most dominant nation in international 3-cushion isn’t Belgium or Korea. It’s Vietnam. Quyet Chien Tran and Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen defeated hosts Germany in a tense final: 40-30 in 17 between Tran and Horn, 40-38 in 28 between Nguyen and Ibraimov.
Tran was trailing 29-30 when he ran a beautiful 11 and out, nothing Horn could do. When QCT finished, TTT had a big lead over Ibraimov: 37-28. The second Vietnamese had trouble making the last point, and he took a few extra innings. Ibraimov’s equalizing inning was no longer relevant, but it took him to 38 anyway. Another superb learning week for the young German promise. And Tran Thanh Tu can sleep on both ears, knowing that he managed to fill the shoes of Phuong Vinh Bao.
In the second semi, Germany had relied on yet another Scotch Double shootout to get past Colombia. The prize fighters from South America are very hard to beat in this format. Amir Ibraimov did well to beat Huberney Catano 40-38 in 29, but Martin Horn stayed below his best when he lost to Pedro Gonzalez: 40-39 in 33/32. The home favorite won the shootout 15-7 in 9.
The first semi gave David Pennör a chance to shine: he beat T.T.T. Nguyen 40-38 in 29. It was needed, because Torbjörn Blomdahl – playing a great week – had lost 40-36 in 19 to Quyet Chien Tran. This Scotch Double went the way of the Vietnamese: 15-7 in 13. The most optimistic country in the world, they call it. Well, the sport of 3-cushion has definitely been richer since Vietnam took center stage.
Final ranking:
1. Vietnam 1.610 – 11
2. Germany 1.490 – 12
3. Sweden 1.621 – 14
4. Colombia 1.426 – 10.
5. Turkey 1.840 – 13
6. Netherlands 1.718 – 10
7. Spain 1.391 – 12
8. USA 1.364 – 14
Viersen , February 28th, 2026.
Scotch Doubles galore in Viersen.
The world championship format says that if both countries win one of the matches (in the K.O. stage), the Scotch Double comes into play. All four players at the table, in a mini match to 15 points. No less than three times were the spectators treated to this pressure cooker tension.
Quarterfinals:
Thanh Tran Tu Nguyen found his stroke just in time, to beat Berkay Karakurt 40-37 in 25. The pride of Vietnam, Quyet Chien Tran, did even better when he got past Tayfun Tasdemir in a high-quality match: 40-35 in 15. The Turks will have to wait a bit for their chance at an eighth title in Viersen. The winner of 2024 (Vietnam, then with Phuong Vinh Bao and Quyet Chien Tran) proceeds to the semifinal.
The Netherlands were seen by many as a title candidate, but two feisty Colombians had other ideas. They repeated their surprise win of 2022 over the Netherlands, by the smallest of margins. Dick Jaspers beat Pedro Gonzalez 40-24 in 20, Huberney Catano beat Glenn Hofman 40-35 in 24, and the Colombians won the Scotch Double 15-14 in 10/9.
Sweden keeps leaning heavily on Torbjörn Blomdahl, who has won Viersen a record nine times, mostly partnered by Michael Nilsson. David Pennör gave it his all but he lost to Pedro Piedrabuena: 40-28 in 30/29. You could say the “upside-down” tactic of the USA, putting their best player second, did deliver. Blomdahl waltzed over Raymon Groot: 40-14 in 16, and the Swedes won the shootout 15-12 in 9. After three days, the 63-year-old legend is the best player in the tournament.
A third Scotch Double was necessary to break the tie between Germany and Spain. Young Amir Ibraimov is obviously coping well with the pressure, but he lost for the first time this week: 40-37 in 38 to Sergio Jimenez. Martin Horn just edged Ruben Legazpi: 40-38 in 20. The Germans were a bit better in the SD: 15-11 in 8. As Horn likes to say: The Germans can always do a little extra “mit dem Adler auf der Brust” (with the eagle on their chest). By which he means: when they play for their country.
Two very promising semifinals:
Vietnam – Sweden
Germany – Colombia.
All matches can be viewed on Soop.
Viersen , February 27th, 2026.
Belgium and Korea are out.
the second day of the World Championships for National teams in Viersen, two major casualties have been made. Belgium and South Korea, both former multi-winners of this event, have not survived the group stage.
Of the four groups, two have been decided, two will be completed tomorrow.
The tough group C had an unexpected outcome, thanks to a revitalized Torbjörn Blomdahl. The record champion (nine wins in Viersen) played a draw and two wins, averaging 2.307 in the process. David Pennör tried his best to fill the large shoes of Michael Nilsson, and he did well. On paper, the Dutch combo of Jaspers / Hofman always looked stronger than the Belgian pair of Merckx / Brants and it showed. Netherlands 1, Sweden 2, Belgium 4, Greece 4.
The lead in group D was given away by Spain, after Legazpi / Jimenez had started so well. They suffered at the hands of the USA, with Piedrabuena and Groot rising to the occasion. Raymon Groot has survived the group stage in Viersen before, when playing with Hugo Patino. The shocker was of course the elimination of Korea, where Wan Young Choi stayed without a win and Myung Woo Cho was unable to do it on his own.
In group A, the Turks are the dominant force. They are already certain to advance. To join them, Colombia will need a draw or better against Jordan. The Japanese team was unable to make an impression this year.
A similar situation in group B: the Germans are certain to advance. The French are out, and Vietnam will need a draw or better against France to reach the quarterfinals. Germany will take on Mexico. Quyet Chien Tran for Vietnam is without a loss so far.
Saturday will have the last group matches, and the quarterfinals. The last three matches (two semifinals and the final) will be played on Sunday. The final is expected around 16.00 local time.
Viersen , February 26th , 2026.
Spain is best out of the blocks.
The Spanish duo Legazpi / Jimenez, runner-up in Viersen two years ago, has made the best possible start on day one of the World Championship for National teams in Viersen. They defeated both Egypt and Korea by the maximum 4-0 score, and now await their final confrontation which is against the USA. Myung Woo Cho, flag bearer for Korea, did not do a lot wrong in his match with Legazpi, but the tall Spaniard was unstoppable. He ran a 13 and an 8 almost back-to-back, to finish well ahead of Cho: 40 – 28 in 15. Spain now obviously leads group D.
In group A, Jordan’s Abu Tayeh distinguished himself with a classy draw against Tayfun Tasdemir. Berkay Karakurt came to his teammate’s rescue with a convincing win. Colombia is in the lead in the group, after a 4-0 win over Japan. Jordan and Japan are looking at an uphill battle against two strong contenders: Turkey and Colombia.
Group B saw hosts Germany open with a promising 4-0 win over dangerous France. Horn and Ibraimov both used 24 innings to beat Bury and Devogelaere respectively. Vietnam conceded one draw, courtesy of Mexico’s Sobreyra, but it beat Mexico 3-1 anyway. France and Mexico need to show something special tomorrow, or Vietnam and Germany will cruise through.
Group C is an especially hotly contested one, with Merckx, Blomdahl, Jaspers and Polychronopoulos all meeting. With such class on board one, it may all be down to the support player, whose points are of exactly the same value. Brants, Pennör, Hofman and Seleventas are going to make that very interesting. Netherlands opened the ball with a 3-1 win over Greece; Sweden did the same to Belgium.
All matches can be viewed on Soop.
Viersen , February 22nd , 2026.
In the 2026 edition, there will be the usual four groups with four countries each, playing Round Robin. The numbers 1 and 2 from all four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, where the K.O. stage begins. Matches that end in a draw (one win each) will be decided in a Scotch Double play-off.
Group A: Turkiye, Japan, Colombia, Jordan.
Group B: Vietnam, Germany, France, Mexico.
Group C: Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Greece.
Group D: Spain, Korea, USA, Egypt.
Looking for possible pre-tournament favorites, you’d have to mention the title defenders Netherlands (Jaspers / Hofman), Turkiye (Tasdemir / B. Karakurt), Vietnam (Quyet Chien Tran/ Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen) and Korea (Myung Woo Cho / Wan Young Choi). Spain (Legazpi / Jimenez) has done well in the recent past, and so has Colombia (Gonzalez / Catano). As a result of their National championship, Belgium will play without world champion Caudron, but with Merckx and Brants. Both Germany (Horn / Ibraimov) and Greece (Polychronopoulos / Seleventas) have again chosen to give an up-and-coming young player the chance to perform on the highest stage.
The tables in Viersen are Gabriels, the cloth is Simonis 330 Prestige, and the balls are Aramith Prestige.
UMB
Viersen , February 17th ,2026.
From 26 February to 1 March 2026, the World Championship Three-Cushion National Teams returns to the Festhalle Viersen in Germany. For the 35th consecutive year, this prestigious tournament will be held in this renowned venue, reaffirming its status as one of the biggest highlights in international three-cushion billiards.
The event brings together the world’s best national teams, delivering four days of skill, strategy and thrilling competition as they battle for the coveted world title.
Participating Nations
A total of 16 nations have qualified for this prestigious event, competing in four groups:
Group A: Türkiye, Japan, Colombia, Jordan
Group G: Vietnam, Germany, France, Mexico
Group C: The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Greece
Group D: Spain, Korea, USA, Egypt
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
Schedule
The official opening takes place on Thursday, 26 February, at 11:00 a.m. with the opening ceremony. The group stage matches begin immediately afterwards:
12:00 – Spain vs. Egypt | Korea vs. USA
14:00 – Netherlands vs. Greece | Belgium vs. Sweden
16:00 – Vietnam vs. Mexico | Germany vs. France
18:00 – Turkey vs. Jordan | Japan vs. Colombia
The quarter-finals will be held on Saturday from 5:00 p.m. On Sunday, the semi-finals take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., followed by the final at 4:00 p.m.
Format
During the group stage, each match consists of two individual games, which may end in a draw. Matches are played to 40 points with no limit on the number of innings.
In the knockout phase, a possible tie is decided in the Scotch Doubles format, where teammates alternate shots. The deciding set concludes when one team reaches 15 points.
Media Information
All content relevant for reporting on the 2026 World Championship is available on the official tournament website and may be used for media coverage:
馃寪 Website
– Latest information, team line-ups, match schedules
馃寪 Media Page
– Press photos, logos, accreditation forms
馃寪 Digital Program Booklet
– Compact summary of the 2026 World Championship
Deutsche Billard-Union e.V.
– Press Office –