The illustrious list of winners of the title of 3-cushion billiards world champion has been enriched by a completely new name. Phuong Vinh Bao, until recently a totally unknown billiard player from Vietnam, grabbed the 2023 world three cushion billiard title at the tournament held in Ankara, Turkey.
In a demonstration of skill and class, Tayfun Tasdemir has won the 2022 UMB 3-cushion world title. In Donghae City, South-Korea, he defeated Ruben Legazpi in a one-sided final: 50-14 in 15/14 innings. For Turkiye, it had been a nineteen-year wait since Semih Sayginer was world champion in 2003.
Pedro Piedrabuena defeated long-time rival and former champion Miguel Torres to win his 11th USBA 3-Cushion National Championship title.
His play throughout the event was nearly perfect and included an incredible come-from-behind victory against Kang Lee in the penultimate Semi-final round.
At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (the 2021 Olympics, in reality), several new sports were added to the line-up for the Games. It’s always the case with each new Olympic Games that some sports will be removed from the roster, with new additions added to take their place. The process is complicated, involving input from the host city, lobbying from different sports bodies and the whims of the big-wigs on the IOC. Among those to be added to the Tokyo Olympics was skateboarding. And the question begs: if skateboarding can be an Olympic sport, why not 3-cushion billiards?
If you talk to the majority of professional billiards players about earnings, they will promptly inform you that it’s tough to earn a living. Generally speaking, prize money has risen significantly in recent years, thanks in part to the rise of the PBA, but it is still something of a slog when you are not at the very top of the sport. Dick Jaspers might make a comfortable living from 3-cushion billiards, but many others do not.
Jim Watson, a long-time American player of both pocket and carom games, died in the first week of September, 2020. Details are still emerging, but it appears he died of a heart attack. Jim had had heart problems for a number of years and had open heart surgery two years ago.