He will be seventeen in November, and he has the world at his feet. Yun Do Song follows in the footsteps of Haeng Jik Kim and Myung Woo Cho, lifting the world junior trophy. Song beat Amir Ibraimov in the final: 40-32 in 35.
The event in Gradignan was reduced to four players on the final day, and all four appeared to have a legitimate chance of winning it. First contender to be eliminated was Seymen Özbas, almost a veteran among juniors. The strong Turk ran a 9 to take a 21-18 lead in their semifinal, but the Korean’s steady twos and threes proved decisive.
The best player on Saturday was Marcos Morales, but he couldn’t win his semifinal either. The stand in the way was Amir Ibraimov. In an otherwise balanced match, the German decided matters with a 5-1-7-0-5 streak that was too much for Morales. The Spaniard will turn 22 soon, so this was his last participation.
The final took a few innings to gather steam; it was 7-4 to Ibraimov after nine innings. A three-inning sprint (12-2-6) by the Korean changed everything: 13-24 in Song’s advantage. Neither player could get a run going after that, so it turned into a more tactical affair, and the Korean youngster had the coolest head.
If Yun Do Song wants to do his illustrious predecessors proud, he’ll have to win it a few more times. Haeng Jik Kim was the champ four times over, Myung Woo Cho won it three times.
The main tournament average in Gradignan was 1.038.
The best individual general average was played by Hyeon Woo Kim: 1.474.
The best match was played by Yun Do Song and Marcos Morales: 2.000.
The high run of the event was made by Yun Do Song and Hyeon Woo Kim: 12.
Marcos Morales sends out a warning.
September 20, 2026
He’s only 21, and he has big shoes to fill. Half a dozen Spanish players have, in the wake of Dani Sanchez, reached the highest echelon of the sport, and Marcos aims to be the next Legazpi, Palazon, Zapata, Jimenez or Martinez. He announced his ambitions with a wonderful win in the quarterfinal over Trong Van Dinh: 40-26 in 20/19. His victim in the last 16 was Luca Philipoom, who got steamrolled: 40-10 in 26.
Seymen Özbas from Turkey must also be considered a candidate to win the event. He had a convincing win over Toon Bollansee from Belgium (40-24 in 33/32), followed by a win over Jacob Ide from Germany: 40-24 in 32/31. As Seymen is 21, this is his last chance at the world junior title.
Amir Ibraimov (Germany) is paying his dues in the leagues, and he recently went to Korea on a tour with Torbjörn Blomdahl. That’s just what the doctor ordered, for a promising young player. Ibraimov first beat Noah David 40-24 in 26/25, then got past Duvan Martinez 40-28 in 32. The future looks bright for Amir.
Yun Do Song from Korea is only 17, but his star is rising. He got through his last-16 match against Hyeon Woo Kim, who claimed the spotlights yesterday: 40-27 in 20. He also kept David Velandia at arm’s length: 40-31 in 30. It seems the junior title can not be won with 1 average anymore; you need a level above 1.2 to even be in contention.
Tomorrow’s semifinals:
Morales – Ibraimov
Song – Özbas.
One of these four will be the new Junior World Champion.
All matches can be watched on Soop.
The Juniors are knocking on the door.
September 19, 2026
A long day in the group stage of the World Championships for Juniors ended with sixteen players advancing and eight eliminated. Hyeon Won Kim was the leader of the pack with two wins and 1.538. The 16-year-old Korean also produced the high run of the day: 11.
Korea, Spain, Turkey, Colombia, they are the usual suspects when it comes to delivering talented youths to the circuit. This year is no exception. Amir Ibraimov (Germany), Seymen Özbas (Turkiye), Duvan Martinez (Colombia), Marcos Morales (Spain) and Trong Van Din (Vietnam) have all thrown their hats into the championship ring. Behind Hyeon Won Kim, Ibraimov (1.333) and Morales (1.250) were the best.
Tomorrow’s K.O. matches will look like this:
Hyeon Woo Kim – Yun Do Song
Seymen Özbas – Toon Bollansee
Toni Garcia – Jacob Ide
Tango Duriez – David Velandia
Amir Ibraimov – Noah David
Trong Van Dinh – Burkan Yildrim
Duvan Martinez – Steven Ortiz
Marcos Morales – Luca Philipoom
All matches can be watched on Soop.
The Juniors follow the Ladies in Gradignan.
September 18, 2026
Right on the heels of the World Championships for Ladies, won yesterday by Turkiye’s Güzin Karakasli, the Juniors will play their big event. In a format similar to that of the ladies, the under-22-year-olds will compete from 18 – 20 September. The title holder is Ubaldo Sanchez, but he is no longer in the field.
The UMB has invited 10 players from CEB, 4 from CPB, 6 from ACBC and 2 from AMECC.
These are the groups:
A) Marcos Morales, Ryusei Miyamoto, Jacob ide
B) Seymen Özbas, Carlos Ochoa, David Noah
C) Amir Ibraimov, Minh Tri Nguyen, Burkan Yildirim
D) Ataberk Cerkez, Hyeon Woo Kim, Yun Do Song
E) Tangui Duriez, Steven Ortiz, Jae Hong Park
F) Toon Bollansee, Trong Van Dinh, Nicolas Cermak
G) Luca Philipoom, Duvan Martinez, Fady Girgis
H) David Velandia, Toni Garcia, Mio Svensson
Group matches are to 30 points, K.O. matches are to 40, without equal inning.
There’s always extra attention to the WC for Juniors, because of its past. This event saw the likes of Kasidokostas, Haeng Jik Kim, Javier Palazon, Myung Woo Cho and Burak Hashas grab the title and, as it were, announce their upcoming career. Who will be the next star?
All matches can be watched on Soop.