'World No. 1' Jo Myeong-woo writes new Asian history! Defeats Yaspers, wins 3-cushion World Cup title for the fifth time in his career

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korea's 3-cushion national team representative Jo Myeong-woo (28, Seoul City Hall) won the 2026 Ankara World 3-Cushion Billiards World Cup, becoming the first Asian player to claim a fifth World Cup trophy in his career.

On the 14th (Korean time), Jo Myeong-woo defeated the Netherlands' Dick Yaspers (61, Netherlands) 50-49 in a 21-inning final held in Ankara, Turkey, to claim the title.

This is the first time since the World Cup's inception in 1986 that an Asian player has achieved five victories, matching the record of five wins set by Korean-American Lee Sang-cheon in Las Vegas in 1999.

Among active players, Jo Myeong-woo is the sixth to reach five or more victories, following Sweden's Torbjörn Blomdahl (46 wins), Yaspers (32 wins), Belgium's Frédéric Caudron (22 wins), Belgium's Eddy Merckx (14 wins), and Italy's Marco Zanetti (5 wins).

As expected in a final, the match was closely contested. Yaspers took an early lead, scoring consecutively in the first eight innings to go up 21-8, a 13-point margin. However, Jo Myeong-woo immediately responded in the second turn with a high run of 20 points, flipping the score to 28-21. He then extended his lead to 41-28 over the next 12 innings, maintaining an average of 3.333 and appearing to cruise to victory. But Yaspers fought back in the 13th and 14th innings, narrowing the gap to 43-37, causing the momentum to shift again.

Ultimately, in the 20th inning, Yaspers caught up to tie the score at 49-49, leaving both players holding match points. In the 21st inning, Yaspers' opening shot narrowly missed, handing the luck to Jo Myeong-woo, who did not miss his chance, sinking the final point to secure the championship.

Yaspers has been a tough opponent for Jo Myeong-woo. Jo lost to Yaspers 35-50 in the final of the July 2024 Portugal World Cup and 42-50 in the semi-finals of the November 2024 Seoul World Cup. However, he achieved revenge in this final with a direct victory.

Jo Myeong-woo's World Cup victory trail is also notable. He claimed his debut title by defeating Spain's Daniel Sanchez 50-45 in Sharm El Sheikh in December 2022, then secured his second title by beating France's Jeremy Bury 50-34 in Portugal in 2025. Shortly after, he added his third win by defeating Italy's Marco Zanetti 50-30 in the Gwangju tournament, and in February this year, he defeated Vietnam's Tran Thanh Luoc 50-35 in Bogota to reach four wins. Just four months later, he returned to the top, finally entering the "5-win Club."

Furthermore, he set a new personal best by winning in Ankara, where his previous best result was the round of 16. He is the second Korean champion to win in Ankara, following Heo Jeong-han (Gyeongnam), who won the title in 2024.

As the world's No. 1 ranked player, Jo Myeong-woo is the centerpiece of the newly reorganized national team. With this victory, he secured his second trophy of the season, further solidifying his No. 1 position.

Meanwhile, Jo Myeong-woo is scheduled to return to Korea through the first terminal of Incheon International Airport at 5:40 p.m. on the 15th (Korean time), with a welcome ceremony planned at Incheon Airport.

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*This content was translated by AI.