When Caudron is in full flow, he is still the irresistible force. The natural talent pur sang, with the quick decisions and the effortless technique. Emotional and turbulent years did not affect his stroke or his focus, a double hip replacement was only a temporary setback. Upon his return to the UMB a few seasons ago, he must have had these two goals in his mind: become world champion again, and start winning World Cups again. He can lean back and treat himself to a vacation now: he’s done both.
In a one-sided final, Caudron ran away from his talented Vietnamese opponent immediately. From 11-0 and 23-14 it was almost done and dusted when Fred ran a 15 to get to 38. Thai’s holy fire had died out, as was visible in his high run of the match: a three. He should be proud of his week though, and a World Cup silver medal is nothing to look down on. Caudron counted his gold medals in WC’s, and saw he now has 22, making him the third-best player ever in World Cups, behind Blomdahl (46) and Jaspers (32).
The first semifinal was remarkable because it had two faces. Merckx had an 18-1 lead after six innings, and Thai looked lost. A little stretch of 10-1-3-14 turned the entire match upside down, and Merckx’s production dried up. Quite obviously, the loud vocal support for Hong Chiem bothered him, but fans will be fans. Thai himself put up a hand in apology for a point that many would not even consider a fluke, which tells you something about the respect he has for his opponent. The 50-46 in 25 took him into the first final of his life.
The second semifinal was a classic: Caudron – Zanetti. The two have a long history together, both bring formidable egos to the table, and they don’t like losing. This encounter in Ho Chi Minh was incident-free though. The match had trouble getting in gear: after 14 innings it was 21-11 to Caudron. After Zanetti had made 9-1-3-5 it got a bit more interesting (41-37), but in the home stretch Caudron was certainly the cooler player: 50-39 in 34/33. Check out the video from this match: you’ll come across a kiss-back shot by FC that looked easy but was a little work of art. And the same can be said about a massé by Zanetti, played with the subtlest of curves.
We can think of a third goal for Caudron: regain the number one position on the world ranking. And who is to say he’s not going to do that as well? He’s climbed to the number two position already, behind Myung Woo Cho.
The tournament average in Ho Chi Minh City was 1.689 (last 32). That is the highest tournament average since Blankenberge 2019.
The best individual general average was played by Ja In Kang: 2.355.
The best match average was played by Jeremy Bury: 4.444.
The tournament high run was made by Eddy Merckx: 20.
After two World Cups, Caudron leads in the race for the Overall World Cup of 2026, followed by Myung Woo Cho, Hong Chiem Thai and Thanh Luc Tran.
The next World Cup will be played in Ankara, from 8-14 June.
***
Ho Chi Minh: the old elite just won’t give up.
Three very established names are in the Ho Chi Minh semifinals: Caudron, Zanetti and Merckx. The one Asian player that completes the foursome is Hong Chiem Thai, who eliminated Dick Jaspers.
The longevity of the European golden generation is remarkable. Marco Zanetti played his first World Cup (which was THE first World Cup) in 1986, forty years ago. Merckx and Caudron were competing at the summit of the game before Hong Chiem Thai was born. And today, in their fifties or sixties, they look as capable as ever.
Eddy Merckx had a tough draw in the last 16, taking on Martin Horn. The German is feared for his consistency and competitive spirit, and Merckx was happy with the 50-43 in 25 result. The Belgian then ended the Cinderella story of young Do Hyeon Kim, who had the week of his life in Vietnam. But experience ruled in the QF match: 50-23 in 19 to “mighty” Merckx who made the best run of the tournament so far: 20.
Marco Zanetti is like a diesel engine this week. Once he’s in gear, he can cruise at a 2 average speed for days, it seems. Nikos Polychronopoulos couldn’t keep up (50-35 in 23 to the Italian), and in the QF Zanetti got past an opponent that has been a thorn in his side for years: Tayfun Tasdemir. The 50-45 in 21 win was as tense as it sounds.
Hong Chiem Thai is one of the most dangerous soldiers in the Vietnamese army: he’s fluent and easy but he closes the door behind him really well. His victim in the last 16 was former world champion Phuong Vinh Bao: 50-47 in 34/33 to Thai. Another nailbiter in the QF: 50-46 in 29 against Dick Jaspers. The Dutchman is still on the top level but he can’t dominate the field like he did for years, and the opponents can sense it.
Frédéric Caudron is steadily completing his journey back to where he belongs: in the top-5 of the ranking. His battle with Myung Woo Cho, currently the best player in the world, was a thing of beauty. The Belgian won it 50-45 in 21/20, and his face showed how much that meant. Caudron went on to beat Jung Han Heo, who played a great week but had to surrender against “Fred”: 50-31 in 21/20.
Tomorrow’s semifinals:
Zanetti – Caudron
Merckx – Thai
All matches can be watched on Soop.
Ho Chi Minh delivers on high expectations
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the stronger a qualification event is, the better the players are who get to take on the seeded elite in the main draw. Expectations are always high in Korean and Vietnamese World Cups, and Ho Chi Minh 2026 does not disappoint. The qualifiers are so good, all the seeds are relieved if they find themselves in the K.O. stage, where the 50-point distance feels a little more reassuring to them.
If you love the tension of a high run (how far could he go?), HCM has already treated us to two 16’s, two 17’s and an 18. The best match so far? 40 in 9. You need three pairs of eyes this week.
Group A.
A clear difference in level between the two best players (Cho and Bao) and the other two (Abdin and Jeong). Cho won three times with 2.222, Bao won twice with 1.705. The wildcard Abdin (1.242, which was excellent) and the qualifier Jeong (1.141) simply couldn’t keep up.
Group B.
Jaspers remains a favorite whenever he plays, but he had to concede two draws and absolutely needed a win in his third match. Hong Chiem Thai won the group with 2.033, he’s getting better every year. Ja In Kang was the unlucky player of the day: he played a great event, had 2.335 in this group but finished third. V.T. Nguyen had a good learning experience.
Group C.
Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen is not the easiest name, but we’ll get used to it; this Vietnamese player is here to stay. Three wins and a sensational 2.790, that is a calling card. Eddy Merckx finished second with 2.017, European champion Peter Ceulemans and Ömer Karakurt were eliminated.
Group D.
Jeremy Bury could not have opened his event any stronger (40 in 9), but in the end he could not be more disappointed. Marco Zanetti was the steady force in the group with three wins and 2.000, Nikos Polychronopoulos did well with two wins. Bury and Forthomme must go home.
Group E.
Tolgahan Kiraz is a stylish player, great to watch, and he can win too. Five points and 1.621 made him first in group E, with Tayfun Tasdemir claiming the second spot with a win and two draws, 1.714. Tarik Yavuz was third, and struggling Haeng Jik Kim, a three-time World Cup winner, is in danger of dropping spots on the ranking.
Group F.
A major upset in Group F, where Quyet Chien Tran got eliminated. The group was won with some authority by Bogota winner Thanh Luc Tran (2.000), but the second place of 17-year-old Do Hyeon Kim (1.220) was maybe the bigger headline. Coming out of the qualifications, the Korean talent has already collected a bunch of scalps in HCM. J.J. Garcia ended fourth.
Group G.
Before the last match in the group (Sidhom – Salman), all four players were just a hair under 2.000 average, with Heo and Karakurt on four points. If Salman would win, three players would have four points and average would decide. Sidhom, already eliminated, did his duty as a sportsman and gave it his all anyway. Jung Han Heo and Berkay Karakurt advance, Sidhom and Salman are out.
Group H.
A copy of the situation in Group G came about in Group H. Horn and Caudron were on four points, and Mikael Devogelaere needed a win with a decent average to make it a 4-4-4 finish. Arnim Kahofer, already eliminated, beat the Frenchman 40-39, clearing the way for Horn and Caudron.
Tomorrow’s K.O. matches:
Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen – Do Hyeon Kim
Martin Horn – Eddy Merckx
Thanh Luc Tran – Dick Jaspers
Hong Chiem Thai – Phuong Vinh Bao
Marco Zanetti – Nikos Polychronopoulos
Tolgahan Kiraz – Tayfun Tasdemir
Jung Han Heo – Berkay Karakurt
Myung Woo Cho – Frédéric Caudron
***
Ho Chi Minh is a test of strength
The World Cup Thursday is a tough day. A spot in the main draw is on the line, so are ranking points, and personal pride. Emotions can run high, disappointment can be profound. Joy can be the reward for good play.
A group of very strong players has survived the long day, Ja In Kang being the best of the lot with two wins and 2.352. He was followed closely by Phuong Vinh Bao and Roland Forthomme, with four points and 1.961 for both. The level of play was top drawer: the lowest average among the group winners was 1.355. That’s a pretty high standard.
Many good players get eliminated despite strong performances, and the 2026 Ho Chi Minh event is no exception. Catano, Piza, Blomdahl, to name a few, played really well but came up short.
The much coveted “best second” places in the groups were won by Ömer Karakurt, Hong Chiem Thai and S.I. Jeong, who goes a bit under the radar but makes a habit out of performing superbly in World Cup qualification rounds.
The day’s winners:
Ja In Kang 4 – 2.352
Phuong Vinh Bao 4 – 1.951
Roland Forthomme 4 – 1.951
Tolgahan Kiraz 4 – 1.904
Do Hyeon Kim 4 – 1.702
Jung Han Heo 4 – 1.538
Mikael Devogelaere 4 – 1.379
Arnim Kahofer 4 – 1.355
Gokhan Salman 3 – 1.632
Jose Juan Garcia 3 – 1.454
Tarik Yavuz 2 – 1.638
Nikos Polychronopoulos 2 – 1.625
These are the groups for the main event:
- Myung Woo Cho, Sung Il Jeong, Phuong Vinh Bao, Mohamed Abdin
- Dick Jaspers, Ja In Kang, Van Tri Nguyen, Hong Chiem Thai
- Eddy Merckx, Peter Ceulemans, Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen, Ömer Karakurt
- Marco Zanetti, Nikos Polychronopoulos, Jeremy Bury, Roland Forthomme
- Tayfun Tasdemir, Tarik Yavuz, Haeng Jik Kim, Tolgahan Kiraz
- Quyet Chien Tran, Thanh Luc Tran, Do Hyeon Kim, Jose Juan Garcia
- Sameh Sidhom, Jung Han Heo, Berkay Karakurt, Gokhan Salman
- Frédéric Caudron, Arnim Kahofer, Martin Horn, Mikael Devogelaere
All matches can be watched on Soop. Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB.
Mikael Devogelaere is on the way up
Jeremy Bury’s position as the number one player in France is undisputed, it has been for two decades. But in his shadow, several players have attempted to take center stage. J.C. Roux was second in command for years, and so was Jerome Barbeillon. Soumagne and Melnytschenko knocked on the door, but couldn’t quite get in. And now there is Mikael Devogelaere, whose star shines bright this year. The Frenchman was the best of Wednesday’s group winners, and he did it in style. A glorious run of 18 and an average of 1.891, c’est merveilleux. He has the game, and an excellent temperament.
Dutchman Volkan Cetin was the unlucky player of the day: undefeated but eliminated, with 3 points and 1.272. Other notable names that did not make it: Alp, Wan Young Choi, Chang Hoon Seo, D’Agata, Soares.
The list of the day’s winners:
- Devogelaere 4 – 1.891
M.T. Huyen 4 – 1.707
M.K. Doan 4 – 1.627.
T.T. Le 4 – 1.627 - van Etten 4 – 1.590
Q.T. Ho 4 – 1.555
J.J. Garcia 4 – 1.555 - Yavuz 4 – 1.400
- Seleventas 4 – 1.320
S.I. Jeong 4 – 1.320
S.Y. Park 4 – 1.272
D.H. Kim 4 – 1.166 - Catano 3 – 1.666
- Piza 3 – 1.489
V.H. M. Thon 2 – 1.361 - Goren 2 – 1.347
Tomorrow, we’ll see players like Orak, Jorissen, Kiraz, Thai, Forthomme, Jimenez, Blomdahl and Bao at the table.
Van Dao Tong leads second-day charts.
Only 29 innings for two winning matches to 30\\, that’s 2\\.068 average for Van Dao Tong\\. It won him flight K\\, which was far from the easiest group\\, with opponents as good as Muharrem Peker and Marcos Morales\\. Tong will have some extra spectators tomorrow\\, as he enters the PQ\\. Two more Vietnamese players were in the day’s top\\-3: S\\.Y\\. Park and V\\.T\\. Nguyen\\. J\\.J\\. Garcia looked strong too\\. It was not a good day for Japan\\. Players that didn’t make it: Takeshima\\, Miyashita\\, Nakajima\\, Umeda\\. Also: Szivacz\\, Crespo\\, Abu Tayeh\\, J\\.M\\. Mas\\. M\\.T\\. Huyen was the unluckiest of the non\\-qualifiers\\, with 1\\.633\\. Here are the day’s winners: V\\.D\\. Tong 4 – 2\\.068 S\\.Y\\. Park 4 – 1\\.818 V\\.T\\. Nguyen 4 – 1\\.714 J\\.J\\. Garcia 4 – 1\\.714 Q\\.H\\. Le 4 – 1\\.621 C\\.T\\. Tran 4 – 1\\.500 A\\. Piza 4 – 1\\.500 Q\\.T\\. Ho 4 – 1\\.428 M\\.T\\. Vuong 4\\- 1\\.153 S\\.W\\. Jang 4 – 1\\.071 A\\. D’Agata 4 – 1\\.071 H\\.W\\. Kim 4 – 1\\.034 A\\. Kilicaslan 4 – 0\\.983 S\\.I\\. Jeong 3 – 1\\.034 M\\.K\\. Doan 2 – 1\\.555 D\\.H\\. Kim 2 – 1\\.361 The day’s high run was a 12\\, made by V\\.T\\. Nguyen \\!\\[ambiance\\.jpg\\]\\(/uploads/content/yul0gvdv\\.szx\\.jpg\\)\\!\\[GARCIA\\, Jose Juan\\.jpg\\]\\(/uploads/content/oul4i45h\\.5lt\\.jpg\\)\\!\\[NGUYEN\\, Van Tai\\.jpg\\]\\(/uploads/content/bjslahst\\.0j4\\.jpg\\)\\!\\[PARK\\, Su Yeong\\.jpg\\]\\(/uploads/content/sxi15gdr\\.dei\\.jpg\\) Tomorrow, there’s an influx of German-speaking and French-speaking talent at the table. We’ll see the likes of Bouerdick, Stamm, Kostistansky and Löwe, but also Vasseur, Panaia, Devogelaere and Soumagne.
All matches can be viewed on Soop.
Ho Chi Minh is off to a flying start
The Vietnamese qualification players have given the Ho Chi Minh World Cup a Formula 1 start. Almost all the group winners averaged over 1.000, with T.H.Do Nguyen topping the list at 1.875. No “first day problems” anywhere, the players get better at dealing with slippery conditions. No really high runs yet: the best on opening day was a 9. Alejandro Piza impressed with a 30 in 10. Vietnam is one of 3-cushion’s Big Three countries, with Turkey and Korea. They currently have six players in the world’s top 50. It’s not a miracle the qualification is so hard to survive in Ho Chi Minh. Here are the group winners in the PPPQ: T.H.Do Nguyen 4 – 1.875 A. Piza 4 – 1.764 Q.H. Le 4 – 1.764 M.K. Doan 4 – 1.500 Q.T. Ho 4 – 1.363 V.D. Tong 4 – 1.304 H.D. Nguyen 4 – 1.250 S.Y. Park 4 – 1.176 S.W. Jang 4 – 1.132 M.O. Ceylan 4 – 1.016 M.T. Vuong 4 – 1.000 H. Nakajima 4 – 1.000 J.H. Pyeon 4 – 0.869 M.T. Huyen 4 – 0.750 C.T. Tran 3 – 1.224 M.T. Nguyen 3 – 1.153 In tomorrow’s PPQ, we’ll see players like Umeda, Crespo, Szivacz, Mas, D’Agata and Takeshima at the table. All matches can be viewed on Soop.
Ho Chi Minh City is the second World Cup of 2026
The buzzing metropolis in the south of Vietnam will once again welcome the 3-cushion World Cup: from 18 – 24 May. As things go in Ho Chi Minh, there will be sun in the mornings, rain in the afternoons, and tension in the venue all day long.
The World Cup cycle of 2026 opened in Bogota last month\\, Myung Woo Cho the winner and current world nr\\. 1\\. The second event of the season has a notoriously difficult qualification event preceding it\\, with a plethora of local talent\\. Ho Chi Minh has been played nine times already \\(since 2015\\)\\, and it had classy winners like Caudron \\(twice\\)\\, Merckx \\(twice\\)\\, Tasdemir\\, Jaspers\\, Blomdahl\\, Q\\.C\\. Tran and the major surprise of 2024\\, Duc Minh Tran\\. For the 2026 edition\\, the UMB has seeded the following players: M\\.W\\. Cho\\, Jaspers\\, Merckx\\, Zanetti\\, Tasdemir\\, Q\\.C\\. Tran\\, Sidhom\\, Caudron\\, Horn\\, B\\. Karakurt\\, T\\.L\\. Tran\\, H\\.J\\. Kim\\, Bury\\, Ceulemans\\. The local wildcards were given to Nguyen Van Tri and Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu\\. The ACBC/UMB wildcard went to Mohamed Abdin\\. \\!\\[Poster\\.jpg\\]\\(/uploads/content/scs3yuin\\.n2m\\.jpg\\) The tables in Ho Chi Minh are Hollywood\\, the cloth is Simonis 330 Prestige\\, the balls are Aramith Prestige\\. The usual ranking points are at stake: 80\\-54\\-36\\-26\\-18\\-10\\-8\\. All matches can be watched on Soop\\. Full results are available on the websites of Five & Six and the UMB\\.