The 2026 Ankara World Cup officially started on Monday with the opening Pre-Pre-Pre Qualification (PPPQ) round at the Turkish Billiards Federation headquarters. Sixteen groups were in action as players from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America battled for a place in the next stage of the tournament.
While the world's elite players will only enter the competition later in the week, the opening day already produced several impressive performances and a number of closely contested matches.
Min Suk Kim Leads the Field
South Korean player Min Suk Kim emerged as the standout performer of the day. The winner of Group C recorded the highest general average of the PPPQ round with an excellent 1.500 over two matches.
Kim first defeated Turkish player Furkan Senel 30-12 in 21 innings before producing an even stronger performance against Mujde Karakasli, reaching 30 points in just 19 innings. His match average of 1.578 was among the best figures recorded during the opening session.
The Korean player now advances to the next qualification round as one of the early favorites among the surviving contenders.
Strong Home Performances for Turkish Players
As expected, Turkish players enjoyed a successful opening day on home soil.
Vedat Yilmaz was one of the day's strongest performers, winning Group G with a general average of 1.333. He secured two victories and also produced the highest run of the PPPQ round with a series of 10 points.
Another impressive qualification came from Muhammed Cavusoglu, winner of Group J. The Turkish player opened his campaign with a convincing 30-18 victory over Germany's Norbert Roestel in only 18 innings, posting a remarkable match average of 1.666. He followed up with another win against Egypt's Mostafa Fadl to finish unbeaten.
Other Turkish group winners included Seymen Ozbas, Hayri Altuntaslar, and Serkan Kahraman, all of whom successfully negotiated the opening hurdle.
Mixed Fortunes for the French Players
France experienced contrasting results during the PPPQ round.
Cedric Melnytschenko delivered one of the best performances of the day by winning Group K. The Frenchman finished with a strong general average of 1.276 and produced the tournament's highest run with an outstanding series of 12 points during his victory over Omer Ercin.
Another French representative, Jerome Riotto, was particularly unlucky. Riotto posted an excellent general average of 1.279, higher than several group winners, but was denied qualification after losing the decisive match against Vedat Yilmaz. He finally got his ticket for PPQ by finishing best second.
Korean Contingent Makes an Early Statement
South Korea once again demonstrated its growing strength in international three-cushion billiards.
Alongside Min Suk Kim, both Yang Seungmo and Kwon Miru topped their respective groups, while Kim Ha Eun also secured qualification. The Korean delegation therefore placed four players into the next round, underlining the country's remarkable depth of talent.
A Long Road Ahead
As always, the opening qualification rounds present unique challenges. Players must quickly adapt to unfamiliar tables and conditions while knowing that a single defeat can end their World Cup campaign.
One of the longest matches of the day came in Group L, where Iraq's Mohamed Saleh narrowly defeated Lebanon's Salim Fakhouri 30-29 after an extraordinary 92 innings.
The sixteen players advancing from the PPPQ round are:
- Seymen Ozbas (Turkey)
- Hayri Altuntaslar (Turkey)
- Min Suk Kim (South Korea)
- Dominik Nebuda (Austria)
- Volkan Cetin (Netherlands)
- Miguel Canton (Venezuela)
- Vedat Yilmaz (Turkey)
- Aygun Cin (Germany)
- Kostantinos Kokkoris (Greece)
- Muhammed Cavusoglu (Turkey)
- Cedric Melnytschenko (France)
- Daniel Kristiansen (Denmark)
- Serkan Kahraman (Turkey)
- Kim Ha Eun (South Korea)
- Yang Seungmo (South Korea)
- Kwon Miru (South Korea)