With a festive and atmospheric opening ceremony, the 38th World Championship Three-Cushion National Teams got underway at midday today in Viersen. Since 1990, the Festhalle has continuously been the venue for this international billiards highlight.

Following the march-in of the referees and the 16 national teams into the Festhalle, new mayor Christoph Hopp welcomed the athletes, officials and spectators. In his address, he emphasized the importance of the event for the city of Viersen, which has been hosting this World Championship with great passion for decades.

Afterwards, DBU President Enrico Wahle addressed words of welcome and appreciation to the guests, underlining the significance of the World Championship for German billiards. UMB President Farouk Barki (pictured), who always enjoys visiting Viersen for this event, paid tribute to the long tradition of the tournament and the excellent organization on site, before officially declaring the World Championship open.

All three speakers expressed their sincere thanks to tournament organizer Helmut Biermann (Chairman of the DBU Board), to Peter Bröckskes of main sponsor SAB Bröckskes, to Sportland North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Chancellery, all further partners, and the many dedicated helpers working behind the scenes.

Musical highlights were provided by the orchestra of the Clara-Schumann-Gymnasium, conducted by Pierre Leibfried, which gave the ceremony a festive yet modern setting.

Following the opening ceremony, the Team World Championships got underway. A total of sixteen teams have qualified for the event in the Festhalle in Viersen and will compete until Sunday evening to determine the successor to defending champion Netherlands. A year ago, Dick Jaspers and Jean-Paul de Bruijn won the title against Vietnam.

Group A
In Group A, Team Colombia opened with a somewhat surprising 4:0 victory over Japan. Pedro Gonzalez and Huberney Catano were always several points ahead of their opponents and celebrated a completely deserved perfect start. Turkey was not far behind, defeating Jordan 3:1. Berkay Karakurt led the way and beat Ahmed Al Ghababsheh 40:20 in 25 innings. This meant former world champion Tayfun Tasdemir could even afford a draw against Mashhour Abu Tayeh, which did not change Turkey’s overall victory.

Group B
In the group featuring host nation Germany, Martin Horn and Amir Ibraimov achieved a 4:0 victory over France. Young star Ibraimov took control from the very beginning against Mickael Devogelaere and steadily pulled away. Toward the end, Devogelaere managed to reduce the gap, but it no longer changed the 31:40 defeat.

At the same time, Martin Horn and Jeremy Bury were level for long stretches, so the decision was only made toward the end. Here, the German produced several fantastic points on the table to loud applause from the enthusiastic crowd, securing a 40:38 victory.

In the second match of this group, Vietnam also prevailed 3:1 against Mexico. Quan Chien Nguyen kept Christian Hernandez under control at all times and won convincingly 40:18 after 23 innings. At the same time, Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen and Luis Sobreyra made it much more exciting. After 32 innings, the match report showed a draw, which secured Vietnam the overall victory.

Group C
Defending champion Netherlands started the World Championship with a victory over Greece. Glenn Hofman laid the foundation for the overall win with a 40:22 victory over Dimitrios Seleventas. Although Hofman did not achieve higher runs, he proved to be the more consistent player overall. At the same time, Dick Jaspers played against Nikos Polychronopoulos and reached the finish line first at 40:39. However, Polychronopoulos managed to equalize in the equalizing inning, so the Netherlands emerged as 3:1 winners overall.

In the second duel of this group, Sweden and Belgium faced each other—two countries that have also left Viersen holding the trophy. In the duel of the veterans between Torbjörn Blomdahl and Eddy Merckx, both played at a great level and logically shared the points after 21 innings with an average of 1.904 each. The decisive point in favor of Sweden ultimately came from David Pennor, who celebrated a 40:35 victory over Ronny Brants.

Group D
In this group, the four teams have already completed two matches. At midday, Spain defeated Egypt 4:0, while South Korea drew with the US-team.

In the evening session, Spain faced South Korea and Egypt faced the USA. Ruben Legazpi and Sergio Jimenez (Spain) continued almost seamlessly from their performance at the start of the day and left South Korea with few chances. Thanks to another 4:0 victory, Spain has already secured its place as the first quarterfinalist.

Egypt and the USA also drew, meaning the US players Pedro Piedrabuena and Raymon Groot are currently in second place in the standings. Groot lost to Sameh Sidhom before Piedrabuena secured the equalizer against Mahmoud Ayman.

Results of the first day

Spain – Egypt 4:0
South Korea – USA 2:2
Netherlands – Greece 3:1
Belgium – Sweden 1:3
Vietnam – Mexico 3:1
Germany – France 4:0
Turkiye – Jordan 3:1
Japan – Colombia 0:4
Spain – South Korea 4:0
Egypt – USA 2:2