The third day of the Lier World Cup 2026 brought the PQ stage (third qualifying round) to an end, with 48 players fighting across 16 groups for the final places in the next round.
There was plenty to celebrate for the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Korea, Greece and several other nations, while the day proved particularly difficult for the host country Belgium. All five Belgian players competing in the PQ were eliminated.
Jorissen sets the pace
The outstanding performance of the day came from the Netherlands.
Jeffrey Jorissen dominated Group M, winning both of his matches and finishing with an impressive 70 points in only 43 innings, for a 1.627 general average. He tops the overall PQ ranking.
Behind him, Spain had an excellent day with Carlos Crespo and José María Más finishing second and third overall. Crespo won Group H with 70 points in 45 innings at 1.555, while Más took Group O with 70 points in 47 innings at 1.489.
The Netherlands also had Sam van Etten among the strongest performers, winning Group B at 1.320, while Jorissen's compatriot Huub Wilkowski finished third in the same group.
Korea delivers another spectacular performance
Korea once again made a strong impression in Lier.
Ye Sung Jeong finished second in Group I but produced one of the most spectacular performances of the entire day. He scored 35 points in just 10 innings, an incredible 3.500 average, including a run of 12.
He finished the group with 61 points in 31 innings and a 1.967 general average, placing him 15th in the overall ranking despite not winning his group.
Park Su Yeong also went through as a group winner, beating both of his Turkish opponents in Group K. He finished at 1.250.
The third Korean, Son Jun Hyuk, took second place in Group M behind Jorissen, but also produced a superb 1.906 average over 32 innings.
Turkey continues to make an impact
Turkey was one of the best represented nations in the successful group winners.
Tarik Yavuz won Group D with 70 points in 55 innings (1.272), while Cenk Yildiz took Group C at 1.093.
Muammer Rahmet also advanced as the winner of Group G, finishing with 1.111, while Ahmet Alp and Serdal Bas both finished second in their respective groups.
A strong day for Greece and Austria
Greece also had several players in action.
Nikolaos Christoforidis won Group A with 70 points in 66 innings at 1.060, while Kostantinos Kokkoris took Group P with the same score and average. Dimitrios Seleventas finished second in Group H and Konstantinos Prassas was runner-up in Group G.
Austria had a particularly strong result through Herbert Szivacz, who won Group E with an excellent 1.489 average. Gerhard Kostistansky also won Group L at 1.076.
France: Soumagne through, Panaia and Vasseur out
For France, the PQ brought mixed emotions.
Pierre Soumagne was the French success story, winning Group F with 62 points in 46 innings and a 1.347 average. His performance included a superb 35 points in 20 innings.
Maxime Panaia came very close. He finished second in Group E with 70 points in 50 innings at 1.400, while Kevin Vasseur also took second place, finishing Group O at 1.118.
So, of the three French players in the PQ, only Soumagne continues his journey.
Tough day for Belgium on home soil
The biggest disappointment of the day came for the host nation.
After an excellent performance from the Belgian contingent in the previous qualifying stage, none of the five Belgians competing in the PQ managed to advance.
Jozef Philipoom finished third in Group J with 1.065, while Bart Ceulemans was third in Group E at 0.959.
Ronny Brants also finished third, recording 0.955 in Group F.
For Peter De Backer, who had been one of the stars of the earlier qualifying stage, the PQ proved much more difficult. He finished third in Group L at 0.800.
Finally, Alain Saeijs finished third in Group P with 0.520.
A frustrating result for the Belgian crowd, with five home players eliminated on the same day.
Vietnam, Colombia and Germany also represented
There were also strong performances from several other nations.
Dinh Quoc Nguyen won Group N for Vietnam with 70 points in 63 innings (1.111), while José Juan Garcia of Colombia finished second in Group I with an excellent 1.468.
Germany's Tom Lowe finished second in Group C with 1.340, while Amir Ibraimov was runner-up in Group F at 1.080.
Austria, Colombia, Vietnam, Germany and the Netherlands will therefore all remain represented as the qualification battle moves forward.
The 16 PQ group winners
The players advancing as PQ group winners are:
Jeffrey Jorissen (NED), Carlos Crespo (ESP), José María Más (ESP), Sam van Etten (NED), Tarik Yavuz (TUR), Park Su Yeong (KOR), Dinh Quoc Nguyen (VIE), Muammer Rahmet (TUR), Cenk Yildiz (TUR), Kostantinos Kokkoris (GRE), Gerhard Kostistansky (AUT), Nikolaos Christoforidis (GRE), Herbert Szivacz (AUT), Nguyen Chi Long (VIE), Pierre Soumagne (FRA) and Jeffrey Jorissen's fellow group winners?
Correction: the official PQ ranking shows the 16 group winners as Jorissen, Crespo, Más, Van Etten, Yavuz, Park Su Yeong, Dinh Quoc Nguyen, Rahmet, Yildiz, Kokkoris, Kostistansky, Christoforidis, Szivacz, Long Nguyen Chi, Ye Sung Jeong and Pierre Soumagne.
The road toward the main draw is getting shorter, and with several big names now entering the competition, the Lier World Cup is beginning to take shape. The Belgian crowd may have lost its PQ representatives, but the tournament is very much alive — and the next stage promises another fascinating battle for qualification.