In recent years, Turkey has dominated the 3-Cushion Team World Championships in Viersen/Germany. It’s been six years since the South Korean team, for once, stood atop the podium. But after the defending champion was eliminated in the group stage, it was clear since Saturday afternoon that a new world champion would be found in the Festhalle today.

First, the two semi-finals were on the schedule, and as it turned out, the first duel between Vietnam and the USA turned into a true thriller. While Quyet Chien Tran decisively defeated Raymon Groot with a score of 40:19, Hugo Patino on the American side equalized with a score of 40:36 against Phuong Vinh Bao. At the same time, he forced the decisive Scotch Double, which has always been an open matter.

This was also the case this time; both teams couldn’t really pull away. In the end, it was Phuong Vinh Bao who secured the fifteenth point for the Vietnamese with a score of 15:13, thus leading his team into the final.

The second semi-final between Spain and Japan was also full of tension. After victories by Sergio Jimenez and Ryuuji Umeda, this match also had to be decided in the doubles. The Spaniards quickly took a 7:1 lead, but Japan narrowed the gap to 5:7 with a small run. Jimenez and his partner Ruben Legazpi were warned and seized the next opportunity. With eight consecutive points, they ended the game with a score of 15:5, thus advancing to the grand final.

Due to the time-consuming semi-finals, the final started with a one-hour delay. In the singles match between Phuong Vinh Bao and Sergio Jimenez, neither player initially pulled away, but the Vietnamese player began to score significantly more frequently. The match ended quite clearly with a score of 40:22 in favor of Phuong Vinh Bao.
At the second table, Quyet Chien Tran started with a perfect 11-point run, but then he failed to score any further points in endless eleven innings. Ruben Legazpi, on the other hand, steadily scored points, paving the way for the Spaniards to equalize. Tran continuously tried to narrow the gap and made it exciting towards the end.

With a score of 36:40, he had the chance to score the four points needed for the title win with his final inning. Unfortunately for the Vietnamese, he only managed to score two caroms, so the final had to be decided in the Scotch Double.

Tran/Bao had a better start here and were able to take a 11:5 lead midway through the game. However, Legazpi/Jimenez did not give up and equalized to 11:11 in the seventh inning.

At this point, the nervousness of the four protagonists was evident. While the two Spaniards struggled to score, the Vietnamese managed to collect some points. In the 13th inning, Phuong Vinh Bao had a first match point but narrowly missed it.

Spain then caught up to 14:14 in the following two innings. Tran had another match point, missing it by a few millimeters. Now Legazpi had a match point for his team. He initially took a time-out to fully focus. But even that didn’t help; he missed the winning point by a few centimeters.

Phuong Vinh Bao then did better, solving an extremely difficult shot and thus crowning his team as 3-Cushion Team World Champion for the first time! The two Vietnamese players celebrated enthusiastically, as did the numerous spectators in the Viersen Festhalle.

Thus, four days of world-class 3-cushion billiards in Germany come to an end. The spectators on-site and via livestream witnessed many spectacular and first-class matches, but also small and larger dramas. Everything that makes the sport of billiards so interesting and unique.

PHOTOS & RESULTS

Semifinals:
➡️ USA vs Vietnam 2:3
➡️ Japan vs Spain 2:3

Final:
➡️ Spain vs Vietnam 3:2

Closing:
➡️ Award Ceremony